VickyEZ
22 reviews liked by VickyEZ
Frogun
2022
What a nice little game.
I got it without expecting much of it and what a pleasant surprise. A game with Fun movement and decently challenging it exceeded my expectations.
Highly recommended.
I got it without expecting much of it and what a pleasant surprise. A game with Fun movement and decently challenging it exceeded my expectations.
Highly recommended.
The Beginner's Guide
2015
One of the most influential games in my life. I played it in a moment of self doubt and weakness, and it impacted my life forever.
The Talos Principle
2014
A game that explores what it means to be human. I love the way conversations, symbology, and text extracts are used to create an interesting conversation with the player about their views on identity.
All culminates in a great final sequence in the ascension of the tower.
The pace of the rest of the game is the only thing keeping it from being one of my favorites. A lot of repetitive puzzles at the start of the game and some that require precise relocation of game pieces at the end Stop the progression of history and hinder the potential of the game.
All culminates in a great final sequence in the ascension of the tower.
The pace of the rest of the game is the only thing keeping it from being one of my favorites. A lot of repetitive puzzles at the start of the game and some that require precise relocation of game pieces at the end Stop the progression of history and hinder the potential of the game.
Tomb Raider
1996
Before we begin, we must talk about sprucing this PC port up since it is a 1996 game and we have the tech to make it better. After getting it on either GOG or Steam, you'll need the Automated Fix installer someone made. Basically gives you all that's needed to make the game work as intended: OG PS1 water color, the Unfinished Business expansion that for some reason isn't bundled by default, the whole soundtrack, higher resolution, etc etc, some of which being customizable. That alone should suffice some, but if you're like me and want some extra pizzazz, you'll need one of those engine thingamabobs, a more modern iteration I used being Tomb1Main. This has loads more custom options, like re-activating the PS1 and Saturn versions' save crystals, using control tweaks TR2 and 3 have, allow for enemy health bars, extended draw distance and more. Again, all customizable, so if you're really just aiming to have it look and run better with extra polish, you can opt to use little to none.
Tomb Raider 1996. Another entry in my long list of "I've heard, watched, and looked up everything related to this classic while yet to have actually gone through it". I dunno what exactly compelled me to finally give it a look, but I suspect it might have to do with the fact I got hit with a cinematic platformer bug and this happens to fall inline, albeit more as an adventure title. Whatever the case, I'm pretty glad I did cause quite honestly? It's supremely dope, and despite what I have to say, no amount of "aged" or "clunk" could undermine how surprising of a heavy hitter this ended up being.
In fact, I'm gonna say right now, I struggle to really agree with some of these people regarding the mechanics and operation within the environment and overall lateral edges and blocks you interact with. Just seems like one of those "It's slow and deliberate which equates to having to grapple and learn the feel and rhythm of the movement to get the most out of it, which I don't like nor want to do" cases, which funnily enough is probably the reason I ended up grooving to the control scheme to the same level as tank controls; just becomes second nature in terms of what could be jumped via a standard or running start, sidestep and/or walking around to orient yourself, and bouncing around chaining all these sorts of maneuvers together. I'm also rather pleased to say the camera's also commendable for the most part, opting to stay behind you while you move around and follow along from there. There's a Look option you have to press and hold down in case you need to see what's above and below, and this also works when you're in tight spots and aren't quite sure what's safe and what isn't, so it goes without saying that it's one of the most vital tools in your kit. In fairness to those I mocked though, I'll concede in that some moments, particularly near the end of the game, do end up getting too rambunctious to properly handle the challenge and flow of what lies ahead, but rarely is it because of the platforming predicament and more on the combat and enemies, but I'll save that for later.
Indiana Jones is always brought up as a point of reference to the series, but there's a couple of other influences that helped give Toby Gard the concept and design plan needed to create Lara Croft, and it's something that especially clicks in if you're familiar with it: Ultima Underworld. The play-by-play of the environment and the trappings within it, interactions with objects, puzzles, and other action-based pulls and levers, and that whole boxy dungeon feel is present throughout as it goes along, and doubling with the whole spelunking atmosphere, if the controls weren't doing so already, this gives a lot of weight in selling the idea that she's been going through this multiple times. It's also just, funny as someone who's only experience was the 2013 reboot, to see this Lara gleefully blowtorch an elevator cable up to the rooftop of the villain's Big Office Building, invade their office, and then read their hired goon's journal in a manner that makes it seem like she's the one in charge. Also, that motorcycle stunt she does during the ending Egypt FMV? Hilarious, probably the best thing about the whole package right there. I don't aim to knock the Modern Era games just yet, but it's wild to see how different these two interpretations are irregardless of the time difference between them.
Another aspect I grew to appreciate was the framing of discoveries. For example, after going through the beginning portion of St. Francis' Folly, you come across a corridor that, at the end of it, you'll then need to climb up on. After this, you'll then see a Jenga-like tower construct, with the music beginning to play while you go on over and examine it, all while fighting off bats and getting a timed secret that reveals after activating a specific panel. Upon closer inspection, you find four levels of four different Greek Go- oh wait, Toby messed up and accidentally added in Neptune, a Roman god, and Thor, a Norse god, into the mix. Whoops! At least he amends that blunder in the remake. Anyway, four levels, four puzzle rooms based on each deity's strength and iconographies, each containing a key needed to unlock a door at the bottom, where at some point you'll also encounter Frenchmen Pierre as he learns about your arrival and aims to stop you dead. It's a fantastic setpiece and layer of design mechanically, in the soundscape, and visual feedback, culminating in one of my favorite levels in the game.
Sadly though, that's what a lot of my favorite events in the game end up as: moments. Like, everyone knows about the random appearance of dinosaurs in Lost Valley as one example, and there's this random outburst during the endgame of Tomb Of Tihocan where an experimented Atlantean Centaur comes to life and starts firing explosive at you, or pretty much the final levels doubling down on horror aspects of body gore and weird meat as you see these enemies burst to life... but the actual game ends up being just good enough in most cases. Like, Peru's set starts the venture off good, then Greece became slightly gooder than it, then Egypt became the goodest set, and Atlantis starts off good but then ends slightly less good. I've had dips and peaks between them - Palace Midas and The Great Pyramid ended up as my least favorites while I love the aforementioned St. Francis' Folly, Natla's Mines, and Sanctuary of the Scion - but there wasn't a specific stretch where I can say the game achieves greatness, if that makes sense.
The curve and exposure feels very rocky, due to having times where I've had a smooth ride from one area to the next, then suddenly got slammed headfirst into Padding Zones that serve more so to waste resources and time than to heighten the danger and mystique of these tombs I be raiding. I'm largely glad combat isn't entirely the main focus and it does showcase the puzzle, the platforming, or a mixture of both at most circumstances, but it gets a bizarre sense of focus willy-nilly in ways that I don't feel is quite right. It's especially at its worse when the Atlanteans become the common enemy and not the bats, crocs, and other standard animal wildlife since not only are they spongey no matter if you use the unlimited Pistol, the strong and reliable Shotgun, the quick yet efficient Magnums, and the beastly Uzi, there's also plain obnoxious, more often choosing to hone in to your location and claw at you repeatedly, a few times even getting you stuck due to positioning or cause they're the culprits making the camera freak out and start losing track of what's important. They also explode after death, but considering how surprisingly easy it is to stock up on small and large medpacks even without secret hunting like I did, this becomes a moot quirk of theirs.
Enemies aren't the only thing that can make things exhausting. When there's a consistent string of tough challenges after tough challenges, the toll starts to weigh in heavily, something I even debate on being worsened if I turned on the Save Crystal feature (while I did save scum near the end, for a grand majority I opted to do checkpoint-like saves, doing it at the beginning then doing another once I deemed necessary, culminating in about 3-4 usually being done). In Palace Midas, there's three challenge rooms you have to do in order to get lead bars that you then turn into gold thanks to Midas' "hand". One of these was pretty alright, save for a pretty bad Gotcha! right at the end, but the other two were pure slogs, due to requiring tightly-made jumps, shimmies, what have you. Despite being only 20-30 minutes, it took me almost triple that just to be able to finish it due to all this. It can be quite exhausting at points, and while thankfully it's a rare occurrence, it still feels like an unfortunate blemish regardless, but in this instance, it probably didn't help that I marathon most of the levels within a particular region in about a day, sometimes almost immediately after getting home from work.
Still, I do want to stress and underline something. This was a game released in 1996 developed within 18 months, the tailend also suffering from a bit of crunch overload (a thing that will seem to be a constant baggage for Core Design as a whole...), with a budget of at the time £440,000 - I believe this becomes like £810,034.51, or roughly 976kUSD when adjusted for inflation - largely developed by six people, those being Gavin Rummery, Jason Gosling, Toby Gard, Heather Gibson, Neal Boyd and Paul Douglas, with some extra work such as composer Nathan McCree and the OG Trailblazer for many Lara voices to come, Shelley Blond. Everything considered, it seriously does begin to show how much of a genuine marvel this was once it hit the shelves in the same year as Super Mario 64, as well as being two years shy before Ocarina Of Time did its whole song and dance. Lara Croft may not have been the first female lead in gaming, but she sure as hell gave a giant push for the medium nonetheless. That's powerful, and in some respects this gave me an even larger impression and scope to the strengths this does manage to achieve. I'm pretty in-the-dark as to how the OG Timeline sequels fair, but I'd be more willing to give a look now. For now though, I'm aiming to look at the remake next.
EXPANSION: UNFINISHED BUSINESS
NEXT TIME: TOMB RAIDER ANNIVERSARY
Tomb Raider 1996. Another entry in my long list of "I've heard, watched, and looked up everything related to this classic while yet to have actually gone through it". I dunno what exactly compelled me to finally give it a look, but I suspect it might have to do with the fact I got hit with a cinematic platformer bug and this happens to fall inline, albeit more as an adventure title. Whatever the case, I'm pretty glad I did cause quite honestly? It's supremely dope, and despite what I have to say, no amount of "aged" or "clunk" could undermine how surprising of a heavy hitter this ended up being.
In fact, I'm gonna say right now, I struggle to really agree with some of these people regarding the mechanics and operation within the environment and overall lateral edges and blocks you interact with. Just seems like one of those "It's slow and deliberate which equates to having to grapple and learn the feel and rhythm of the movement to get the most out of it, which I don't like nor want to do" cases, which funnily enough is probably the reason I ended up grooving to the control scheme to the same level as tank controls; just becomes second nature in terms of what could be jumped via a standard or running start, sidestep and/or walking around to orient yourself, and bouncing around chaining all these sorts of maneuvers together. I'm also rather pleased to say the camera's also commendable for the most part, opting to stay behind you while you move around and follow along from there. There's a Look option you have to press and hold down in case you need to see what's above and below, and this also works when you're in tight spots and aren't quite sure what's safe and what isn't, so it goes without saying that it's one of the most vital tools in your kit. In fairness to those I mocked though, I'll concede in that some moments, particularly near the end of the game, do end up getting too rambunctious to properly handle the challenge and flow of what lies ahead, but rarely is it because of the platforming predicament and more on the combat and enemies, but I'll save that for later.
Indiana Jones is always brought up as a point of reference to the series, but there's a couple of other influences that helped give Toby Gard the concept and design plan needed to create Lara Croft, and it's something that especially clicks in if you're familiar with it: Ultima Underworld. The play-by-play of the environment and the trappings within it, interactions with objects, puzzles, and other action-based pulls and levers, and that whole boxy dungeon feel is present throughout as it goes along, and doubling with the whole spelunking atmosphere, if the controls weren't doing so already, this gives a lot of weight in selling the idea that she's been going through this multiple times. It's also just, funny as someone who's only experience was the 2013 reboot, to see this Lara gleefully blowtorch an elevator cable up to the rooftop of the villain's Big Office Building, invade their office, and then read their hired goon's journal in a manner that makes it seem like she's the one in charge. Also, that motorcycle stunt she does during the ending Egypt FMV? Hilarious, probably the best thing about the whole package right there. I don't aim to knock the Modern Era games just yet, but it's wild to see how different these two interpretations are irregardless of the time difference between them.
Another aspect I grew to appreciate was the framing of discoveries. For example, after going through the beginning portion of St. Francis' Folly, you come across a corridor that, at the end of it, you'll then need to climb up on. After this, you'll then see a Jenga-like tower construct, with the music beginning to play while you go on over and examine it, all while fighting off bats and getting a timed secret that reveals after activating a specific panel. Upon closer inspection, you find four levels of four different Greek Go- oh wait, Toby messed up and accidentally added in Neptune, a Roman god, and Thor, a Norse god, into the mix. Whoops! At least he amends that blunder in the remake. Anyway, four levels, four puzzle rooms based on each deity's strength and iconographies, each containing a key needed to unlock a door at the bottom, where at some point you'll also encounter Frenchmen Pierre as he learns about your arrival and aims to stop you dead. It's a fantastic setpiece and layer of design mechanically, in the soundscape, and visual feedback, culminating in one of my favorite levels in the game.
Sadly though, that's what a lot of my favorite events in the game end up as: moments. Like, everyone knows about the random appearance of dinosaurs in Lost Valley as one example, and there's this random outburst during the endgame of Tomb Of Tihocan where an experimented Atlantean Centaur comes to life and starts firing explosive at you, or pretty much the final levels doubling down on horror aspects of body gore and weird meat as you see these enemies burst to life... but the actual game ends up being just good enough in most cases. Like, Peru's set starts the venture off good, then Greece became slightly gooder than it, then Egypt became the goodest set, and Atlantis starts off good but then ends slightly less good. I've had dips and peaks between them - Palace Midas and The Great Pyramid ended up as my least favorites while I love the aforementioned St. Francis' Folly, Natla's Mines, and Sanctuary of the Scion - but there wasn't a specific stretch where I can say the game achieves greatness, if that makes sense.
The curve and exposure feels very rocky, due to having times where I've had a smooth ride from one area to the next, then suddenly got slammed headfirst into Padding Zones that serve more so to waste resources and time than to heighten the danger and mystique of these tombs I be raiding. I'm largely glad combat isn't entirely the main focus and it does showcase the puzzle, the platforming, or a mixture of both at most circumstances, but it gets a bizarre sense of focus willy-nilly in ways that I don't feel is quite right. It's especially at its worse when the Atlanteans become the common enemy and not the bats, crocs, and other standard animal wildlife since not only are they spongey no matter if you use the unlimited Pistol, the strong and reliable Shotgun, the quick yet efficient Magnums, and the beastly Uzi, there's also plain obnoxious, more often choosing to hone in to your location and claw at you repeatedly, a few times even getting you stuck due to positioning or cause they're the culprits making the camera freak out and start losing track of what's important. They also explode after death, but considering how surprisingly easy it is to stock up on small and large medpacks even without secret hunting like I did, this becomes a moot quirk of theirs.
Enemies aren't the only thing that can make things exhausting. When there's a consistent string of tough challenges after tough challenges, the toll starts to weigh in heavily, something I even debate on being worsened if I turned on the Save Crystal feature (while I did save scum near the end, for a grand majority I opted to do checkpoint-like saves, doing it at the beginning then doing another once I deemed necessary, culminating in about 3-4 usually being done). In Palace Midas, there's three challenge rooms you have to do in order to get lead bars that you then turn into gold thanks to Midas' "hand". One of these was pretty alright, save for a pretty bad Gotcha! right at the end, but the other two were pure slogs, due to requiring tightly-made jumps, shimmies, what have you. Despite being only 20-30 minutes, it took me almost triple that just to be able to finish it due to all this. It can be quite exhausting at points, and while thankfully it's a rare occurrence, it still feels like an unfortunate blemish regardless, but in this instance, it probably didn't help that I marathon most of the levels within a particular region in about a day, sometimes almost immediately after getting home from work.
Still, I do want to stress and underline something. This was a game released in 1996 developed within 18 months, the tailend also suffering from a bit of crunch overload (a thing that will seem to be a constant baggage for Core Design as a whole...), with a budget of at the time £440,000 - I believe this becomes like £810,034.51, or roughly 976kUSD when adjusted for inflation - largely developed by six people, those being Gavin Rummery, Jason Gosling, Toby Gard, Heather Gibson, Neal Boyd and Paul Douglas, with some extra work such as composer Nathan McCree and the OG Trailblazer for many Lara voices to come, Shelley Blond. Everything considered, it seriously does begin to show how much of a genuine marvel this was once it hit the shelves in the same year as Super Mario 64, as well as being two years shy before Ocarina Of Time did its whole song and dance. Lara Croft may not have been the first female lead in gaming, but she sure as hell gave a giant push for the medium nonetheless. That's powerful, and in some respects this gave me an even larger impression and scope to the strengths this does manage to achieve. I'm pretty in-the-dark as to how the OG Timeline sequels fair, but I'd be more willing to give a look now. For now though, I'm aiming to look at the remake next.
EXPANSION: UNFINISHED BUSINESS
NEXT TIME: TOMB RAIDER ANNIVERSARY
Bravely Default II
2021
So I went into this game with pretty mild expectations and I came out extremely surprised. For a little backstory; I picked this up right after finishing BD1 and was a good bit disappointed in that game, but I still felt like I wanted to give the series a second chance. Not wanting to play a game that's a direct sequel to BD1 I decided to skip Bravely Second and jump into this. I'll refrain from constantly comparing the two as I feel like that's unfair to either. With all that said let's just jump into this.
Firstly, I'll start off with the story. It starts with the typical Final Fantasy "Characters must visit the four elemental crystals throughout the world" trope we've seen before.(mind you this isn't a bad a thing.) Now I'll be honest, premise aside I wasn't expecting much in this area for the game. But this is where I was kind of blown away. While the story never does anything super groundbreaking with the basic concept, there's enough twist and turns that I would go as far to say this is my favorite use of this premise. Even more so than FF5, which is a game I adore!! The pacing also really benefits from it, as for each crystal, your in that town the entire time while trying to retrieve it. This allows each new area and town you visit to all get enough time to develop and feel like their own unique places. Without saying much, the second half of the game does change things up and has some minor pacing issues but nothing to ruin it. Needless to say I was hooked on the plot the entire way and a lot of the later scenes made me really emotional. Overall despite the simplicity, the story is really good and made me cry, clap, shout kino, and even made me anxious...and honestly that's all anyone wants from an RPG!
Next, while we're on story I should mention the characters. They're also good!! Great even!! The main character himself does suffer from being a blank state. I get the feeling he might have been a silent protag at one point in development.(which I'll admit, might have worked out better.) But he still works as someone the player can project on to while also still having some good moments himself. The other characters are all really nice though for this kind of RPG! I think by themselves they're alright but its the party's dynamic that makes them shine. Some of my favorite moments were the party chats(Little optional conversations between story events, think Tales Of skits). Each of the others do have a pretty simple but defined arcs throughout the game that I found myself really caring for them all by the end.(Adelle best girl btw) There's also a bunch of side and minor characters I really liked, namely Anihal and Gladys. Hell, one of the (many)moments that had me crying was involving a side character!
I would also wanna take a moment to mention the villains to. While a few of them a tad generic and just there to "fill their role" in the story, some of them really surprised me. Again, nothing ground breaking but they do a good job of making you hate them, and a couple are even sympathetic. All in all, I can assure you that you won't come out of this game feeling nothing character(or story) wise. I know I'll be thinking about it for awhile, more than I anticipated!
Next, I just wanna mention the music. God the music in this game is so good! The battle theme's especially are such a step up from BD1 its kinda insane. Each one is such a bop and just gets me pumping! Revo out did himself. The town themes are also all really relaxing and fit perfectly for each area. Then there's the story music. A bunch of scenes in the plot were elevated by the music alone and that just shows how good the OST is. I will say the dungeon themes are a tad...white noisey, but only by comparison. Overall one of the best soundtracks for an RPG.(Again, those battle themes are bangers!)
Continuing, I'll mention the visuals a bit. The game looks fucking gorgeous. Like on god. The art style does itself so many favors and a lot of times i would just zoom out in a town and take in all the details. Just a really pretty game. Double so for all the menus. It has this campy "adventure" vibe going on with those that I really fuck with. The characters models and battle animations are also super well done! A lot of the attacks are just cool to watch and give that "oomph" the makes the gameplay so exciting.
And lastly, let's talk about that gamplay....ITS FUCKING AMAZING. Saving the "best" for last, this is a job based rpg and your probably wondering how those are. Well fear not, they're great!! I would go as far and say the job balance and customization beats FF5 for me. Ya i fucking said it. This game is the best job based rpg I've played. There's so many fun and different combos to try and every time I unlocked a new job I instantly started coming up with ways to use it in my party comp.
As for the battle system itself, I. Fucking. Love. It. It uses a mix of standard Turn Based and ATB that just feels so nice. It compliments the Brave/Default mechanic much better than BD1. Planning turns out in battle just gave me such a rush. The equipment system won't be for everyone; it uses a weight based system which i know some people wouldn't like. but personally I loved it. Getting to a new shop was always so exciting as I knew I would spend the next 30 minutes to an hour planning out each character's armor and accessory set up. There's a lot of variety in the latter's regard that I really just loved messing with. Difficult wise, its pretty perfect. I never felt like a fight was unwinnable cuz of a "bad party" like in BD1. And even the super bosses felt like they were strategy based rather than cheese based strats. Legit if you think I'm crazy for anything else in this review trust me on this one; this is unironic one of the best rpgs from a gameplay standpoint ever made. The DQ11 of ATB and job based gameplay, if you will.
Closing thoughts; I love this fucking game. Just writing this review and thinking back on my time with it is making me smile. It does a lot of little things right and not much wrong and it all adds up to an experience I think I really needed in my life right now. If you made it this far into my rambling than thank you!! I hope you enjoyed my gushing over a silly RPG. :)
Firstly, I'll start off with the story. It starts with the typical Final Fantasy "Characters must visit the four elemental crystals throughout the world" trope we've seen before.(mind you this isn't a bad a thing.) Now I'll be honest, premise aside I wasn't expecting much in this area for the game. But this is where I was kind of blown away. While the story never does anything super groundbreaking with the basic concept, there's enough twist and turns that I would go as far to say this is my favorite use of this premise. Even more so than FF5, which is a game I adore!! The pacing also really benefits from it, as for each crystal, your in that town the entire time while trying to retrieve it. This allows each new area and town you visit to all get enough time to develop and feel like their own unique places. Without saying much, the second half of the game does change things up and has some minor pacing issues but nothing to ruin it. Needless to say I was hooked on the plot the entire way and a lot of the later scenes made me really emotional. Overall despite the simplicity, the story is really good and made me cry, clap, shout kino, and even made me anxious...and honestly that's all anyone wants from an RPG!
Next, while we're on story I should mention the characters. They're also good!! Great even!! The main character himself does suffer from being a blank state. I get the feeling he might have been a silent protag at one point in development.(which I'll admit, might have worked out better.) But he still works as someone the player can project on to while also still having some good moments himself. The other characters are all really nice though for this kind of RPG! I think by themselves they're alright but its the party's dynamic that makes them shine. Some of my favorite moments were the party chats(Little optional conversations between story events, think Tales Of skits). Each of the others do have a pretty simple but defined arcs throughout the game that I found myself really caring for them all by the end.(Adelle best girl btw) There's also a bunch of side and minor characters I really liked, namely Anihal and Gladys. Hell, one of the (many)moments that had me crying was involving a side character!
I would also wanna take a moment to mention the villains to. While a few of them a tad generic and just there to "fill their role" in the story, some of them really surprised me. Again, nothing ground breaking but they do a good job of making you hate them, and a couple are even sympathetic. All in all, I can assure you that you won't come out of this game feeling nothing character(or story) wise. I know I'll be thinking about it for awhile, more than I anticipated!
Next, I just wanna mention the music. God the music in this game is so good! The battle theme's especially are such a step up from BD1 its kinda insane. Each one is such a bop and just gets me pumping! Revo out did himself. The town themes are also all really relaxing and fit perfectly for each area. Then there's the story music. A bunch of scenes in the plot were elevated by the music alone and that just shows how good the OST is. I will say the dungeon themes are a tad...white noisey, but only by comparison. Overall one of the best soundtracks for an RPG.(Again, those battle themes are bangers!)
Continuing, I'll mention the visuals a bit. The game looks fucking gorgeous. Like on god. The art style does itself so many favors and a lot of times i would just zoom out in a town and take in all the details. Just a really pretty game. Double so for all the menus. It has this campy "adventure" vibe going on with those that I really fuck with. The characters models and battle animations are also super well done! A lot of the attacks are just cool to watch and give that "oomph" the makes the gameplay so exciting.
And lastly, let's talk about that gamplay....ITS FUCKING AMAZING. Saving the "best" for last, this is a job based rpg and your probably wondering how those are. Well fear not, they're great!! I would go as far and say the job balance and customization beats FF5 for me. Ya i fucking said it. This game is the best job based rpg I've played. There's so many fun and different combos to try and every time I unlocked a new job I instantly started coming up with ways to use it in my party comp.
As for the battle system itself, I. Fucking. Love. It. It uses a mix of standard Turn Based and ATB that just feels so nice. It compliments the Brave/Default mechanic much better than BD1. Planning turns out in battle just gave me such a rush. The equipment system won't be for everyone; it uses a weight based system which i know some people wouldn't like. but personally I loved it. Getting to a new shop was always so exciting as I knew I would spend the next 30 minutes to an hour planning out each character's armor and accessory set up. There's a lot of variety in the latter's regard that I really just loved messing with. Difficult wise, its pretty perfect. I never felt like a fight was unwinnable cuz of a "bad party" like in BD1. And even the super bosses felt like they were strategy based rather than cheese based strats. Legit if you think I'm crazy for anything else in this review trust me on this one; this is unironic one of the best rpgs from a gameplay standpoint ever made. The DQ11 of ATB and job based gameplay, if you will.
Closing thoughts; I love this fucking game. Just writing this review and thinking back on my time with it is making me smile. It does a lot of little things right and not much wrong and it all adds up to an experience I think I really needed in my life right now. If you made it this far into my rambling than thank you!! I hope you enjoyed my gushing over a silly RPG. :)
Ninja Gaiden
1988
I feel like people forget just how influential the first Ninja Gaiden game was, its difficulty eclipsing its ambition.
It's not the first game from this era to put the story in the actual field instead of regulating it to supplementary materials, but it's one of the most notable outings on putting it up the forefront, having cutscenes play both before and during gameplay via interruptions, as well as one that plays out when waiting long enough on the main menu. Gorgeous spritework and art being contributed by a few people such as Masato Kato - yes, that Masato Kato - alongside impressive framing and direction, it's a great showing of how a game's story can be presented within the medium. The story itself is antiquated, sure, and I doubt people back then weren't too blown away by it, but the scale is nothin to scoff at all the same, especially since Hideo Yoshizawa goes on to pen and direct some of the Klonoa games.
The difficulty, however, overshadows this aspect nowadays, being one of the more infamous cases of "NES Hard" difficulty, which I don't think it really deserves... mostly. I will concede the last third or so, starting with Stage 5, is where my patience was being tested. A lot of enemies being thrown at you and requiring near-tight reflexes to dodge or hit lest you lose a life or bar of health, jumps and obstacles requiring near-pixel perfect positioning in order to land safely, it's kind of a mess and the more I went through it, the more I believed the people at Tecmo couldn't be able to properly playtest it. Nowhere is this more evident, though, than the trio gauntlet at the end, the first fight being hard to manage the enemy below as well as a shitton of fireballs being made from the orb you need to hit, the second fight being one of the most poorly designed bosses I've faced in a 2D game yet, and the third one... actually being kinda OK and easy to get a grasp of, surprisingly enough, though the attacks dealing three damage is a bit much. All of this, being compounded by the USA release forcing you to go all the way back at 6-1, instead of the Japan release sending you back to 6-3, so do what I did and play with the restoration patch (don't use the free movement option though, take it like a man/woman/enby/whatever you identify as).
But like I said, that's only the last third that angered me, the other two-thirds was actually pretty smooth sailing. If you have any experience with the Classicvania formula, you'll feel right at home; taking it easy and dealing with what's available now while getting a feel for the patterns, utilizing each subweapon you pick up as best you can and adapting to the situations on the fly, all that jazz. Difference being that, unlike Classicvania wanting you to play more methodically and commit to the actions, NG is faster and looser with what you're capable of, jumping much higher as well as controlling more freely compared to the Belmonts, Morrises, and Lecardes. Enemy encounters are also a bit more forgiving by comparison, the birds might take out three health points, but their arcs and range are predictable enough for a crouch attack, unlike the Medusa Heads (though this game also has a Fleaman equivalent to balance it out). As for the points about respawning enemies and wallgrab loops, again this becomes an actual issue in the last third, I find that just moving forward - which, well, you're supposed to be doing anyway - and ignoring any objects that could lead to hazards, and you'll do just fine. Even the rest of bosses aren't so bad, usually by either just being pathetic in general (Stage 1, 3, and 4) or having the "just tank the hits approach" be super lenient enough to abuse (Stage 2 and 5). It's not perfect at points, but it's still pretty overblown for the overall sequences regardless.
I'm much more willing to play Classicvanis (sans the supreme mid that is SCIV) or even Contra 1 and Super C, but NG1's still a pretty good time. I'd recommend checking it out anyway, solely cause its importance in gaming is very much something to behold over.
It's not the first game from this era to put the story in the actual field instead of regulating it to supplementary materials, but it's one of the most notable outings on putting it up the forefront, having cutscenes play both before and during gameplay via interruptions, as well as one that plays out when waiting long enough on the main menu. Gorgeous spritework and art being contributed by a few people such as Masato Kato - yes, that Masato Kato - alongside impressive framing and direction, it's a great showing of how a game's story can be presented within the medium. The story itself is antiquated, sure, and I doubt people back then weren't too blown away by it, but the scale is nothin to scoff at all the same, especially since Hideo Yoshizawa goes on to pen and direct some of the Klonoa games.
The difficulty, however, overshadows this aspect nowadays, being one of the more infamous cases of "NES Hard" difficulty, which I don't think it really deserves... mostly. I will concede the last third or so, starting with Stage 5, is where my patience was being tested. A lot of enemies being thrown at you and requiring near-tight reflexes to dodge or hit lest you lose a life or bar of health, jumps and obstacles requiring near-pixel perfect positioning in order to land safely, it's kind of a mess and the more I went through it, the more I believed the people at Tecmo couldn't be able to properly playtest it. Nowhere is this more evident, though, than the trio gauntlet at the end, the first fight being hard to manage the enemy below as well as a shitton of fireballs being made from the orb you need to hit, the second fight being one of the most poorly designed bosses I've faced in a 2D game yet, and the third one... actually being kinda OK and easy to get a grasp of, surprisingly enough, though the attacks dealing three damage is a bit much. All of this, being compounded by the USA release forcing you to go all the way back at 6-1, instead of the Japan release sending you back to 6-3, so do what I did and play with the restoration patch (don't use the free movement option though, take it like a man/woman/enby/whatever you identify as).
But like I said, that's only the last third that angered me, the other two-thirds was actually pretty smooth sailing. If you have any experience with the Classicvania formula, you'll feel right at home; taking it easy and dealing with what's available now while getting a feel for the patterns, utilizing each subweapon you pick up as best you can and adapting to the situations on the fly, all that jazz. Difference being that, unlike Classicvania wanting you to play more methodically and commit to the actions, NG is faster and looser with what you're capable of, jumping much higher as well as controlling more freely compared to the Belmonts, Morrises, and Lecardes. Enemy encounters are also a bit more forgiving by comparison, the birds might take out three health points, but their arcs and range are predictable enough for a crouch attack, unlike the Medusa Heads (though this game also has a Fleaman equivalent to balance it out). As for the points about respawning enemies and wallgrab loops, again this becomes an actual issue in the last third, I find that just moving forward - which, well, you're supposed to be doing anyway - and ignoring any objects that could lead to hazards, and you'll do just fine. Even the rest of bosses aren't so bad, usually by either just being pathetic in general (Stage 1, 3, and 4) or having the "just tank the hits approach" be super lenient enough to abuse (Stage 2 and 5). It's not perfect at points, but it's still pretty overblown for the overall sequences regardless.
I'm much more willing to play Classicvanis (sans the supreme mid that is SCIV) or even Contra 1 and Super C, but NG1's still a pretty good time. I'd recommend checking it out anyway, solely cause its importance in gaming is very much something to behold over.
Journey
2012
This review contains spoilers
Hmmmmm do I get artsy-fartsy with this one, or do I lament the game's status within the echelon of mainstream acclaim along the weird negative force it's been obtaining cause of it? Eh, PanzyDragoonSaga did the latter greatly, so let's do the former.
I started this late at night, mainly as a way to spend the remaining few hours I have before turning in for work, especially since for some reason I have yet to actually play this despite knowing a lot about it for years. After spending time getting used to the controls - doubly cause I'm using WASD+Mouse for this one - in the starting area, I made my way towards the designated spots and progression activators, marked by ribbons and stones planted around as a way to guide my eyes as well as curiosity around the sand-filled dunes and waves.
After getting the first confluence, a door opens up and reveals a buried spot of bridges and what seems to be houses, or at the very least the microcosm of a once powerful civilization. I already got the clues before and especially after this, but even then my focus was on the enlightenment and ascending past obstacles. I already noted it was becoming more open with objects that increase my ribbon's length being tucked away just right, when going around chanting other flowing fabrics within the wind to become vitalized yet again. Second confluence down, I make my way towards a magenta-colored dune filled with varied hills and pits, as well as what appeared to be a pet in the form of cloth, probably adjacent to the avian of real life. After another comb through the desert and rescuing even more of these creatures, I finally found another person, deep within a sandstorm-riddled place of broken an- wait what the fuck, the game crashed? How!? There wasn't even that much going on!
...After restarting the game, I found a different person, somehow waiting for me as soon as I step forward. I wasn't exactly sure as to what their thought process was, but after redoing my rescue attempts as well as us finding out that I and whoever I'm co-opting with can, more or less, make ourselves float and glide pretty damn far as long as we time our chants and jump heights properly, which made for some cool maneuvering and funny moments throughout. Gotten back to the sandstorm-riddled towers, both of us climbed it and activated our third confluence, and after a bit of separation anxiety, we got back together and pressed onward towards the sinking city, an area I'm very much familiar with since people love to showcase the game's art direction and fascinating use of graphical fidelity with the heavy autumn and deeply orange colors as we slide along the path laid before us, activating yet another confluence vision.
The next part, within the abyss of the ruins, already set me up for weariness. My partner and I got used to doing short-burst communication with the chants, but the deep blues made things rather ominous, accentuated by traversing onward to a jade-colored environment mixed in with a new, rather alien and manufactured being made things a little more tense. My partner got the brunt of its attack due to stepping into its light of influence, whether to be served as bait for me to get through or due to unintentional mistakes I'll never know, but we both managed to make it on by at the end of it all, finding more murals to uncover as well as balls of light to increase the length of our ribbons, again tucked away in manners that make it easy to figure out and distinguish, and doing a Sand Hill-ass sequence as we slid down yet again, this time against two of those creatures, before barely making it to the wall of orange light. Second to last confluence down, we pressed onward.
The second-to-last area, admittedly, was the inverse of the last one. Instead of beaming our way downward towards the blues, we ascended towards orange light and mysticism of the many murals laid around us, though even then we didn't stop and find all of it. After messing around with what essentially become an orange-filled pool of influence and cloth whales, we received our final confluence, and it was here that it really settled in the trek I was making. Having already dabbled with each path and spots was enough, but gaining a new partner that I still knew so little about, alongside them barely holding on within the mural being conscripted, it felt rather uneasy. This was compounded with the last area being a heavy downpour of winds, cold, and another batch of the stone creatures. Granted, it didn't start tough, but after noticing our ribbons getting shorter and frost-riddled as we marched along, barely gaining with via our chants and huddles, I knew it wasn't gonna be easy. Somehow, I was sensing dread and anxiety more than the two actual horror games I completed prior.
After an encounter with the creatures, not really resulting in that many hits this time, we made it to the final onslaught of those winds, as it kept appearing more frequently. My partner got the brunt of it, and fell down shortly before the end of it, while I made it through. The exit was right there, I could escape and ascend upon the faith of the white robes... but would that be right? Would ditching the only other person I made contact with throughout my journey, someone I experienced contingent and tranquility with, truly make the aspect of holiness and tranquility matter? I decided it wasn't, and hopped on down to try and give them a way forward through those bygone ribbons, as we both made our way back up and through the bitterness of it all, only to plop down from exhaustion, and frostbite. Even then though, it seems like we were rewarded for making it this far, and we reached Apotheosis. All of that hardship was worth it, sailing through the skies and gates all around, not giving a care as to what was happening either in-game or even real life, fully grasping that sense of peace and inner-longing of self. So many things, so many views, a lot of memories formed, in just two hours. Also a newly formed hatred of winter, fuck that season.
As I sit here reminiscing my venture with Journey, I'm reminded of the weird cynicism and literal contrarianism it's gained over the years. "It has no replay value" this, "there's nothing there at all" that, even some weird stakes of "style over substance". I understand not everyone is gonna claim this is a masterpiece worthy of the lofted praise and awards it's gotten, but it sadly makes me think of the times back in Seventh Gen where barely anyone gave a shit about the mantra of games being an artform. The inherent obsession of "replay value" has always struck me as an odd one, since I'm usually content with playing a game once and only picking it up down the line when I finally make the time available to do so (plus it's like two hours, that's basically using an afternoon's worth of time), and "style over substance" is such a close-minded way of viewing the expression and creativity the creator(s) have made within the confides of the art and product in question, as well as how that coincides with the theming and intended tone/mood of it all. As for that middle point, well, look at what I wrote beforehand. I got what I wanted from Journey, and I'm pretty comfortable having this staying with me for years to come.
I started this late at night, mainly as a way to spend the remaining few hours I have before turning in for work, especially since for some reason I have yet to actually play this despite knowing a lot about it for years. After spending time getting used to the controls - doubly cause I'm using WASD+Mouse for this one - in the starting area, I made my way towards the designated spots and progression activators, marked by ribbons and stones planted around as a way to guide my eyes as well as curiosity around the sand-filled dunes and waves.
After getting the first confluence, a door opens up and reveals a buried spot of bridges and what seems to be houses, or at the very least the microcosm of a once powerful civilization. I already got the clues before and especially after this, but even then my focus was on the enlightenment and ascending past obstacles. I already noted it was becoming more open with objects that increase my ribbon's length being tucked away just right, when going around chanting other flowing fabrics within the wind to become vitalized yet again. Second confluence down, I make my way towards a magenta-colored dune filled with varied hills and pits, as well as what appeared to be a pet in the form of cloth, probably adjacent to the avian of real life. After another comb through the desert and rescuing even more of these creatures, I finally found another person, deep within a sandstorm-riddled place of broken an- wait what the fuck, the game crashed? How!? There wasn't even that much going on!
...After restarting the game, I found a different person, somehow waiting for me as soon as I step forward. I wasn't exactly sure as to what their thought process was, but after redoing my rescue attempts as well as us finding out that I and whoever I'm co-opting with can, more or less, make ourselves float and glide pretty damn far as long as we time our chants and jump heights properly, which made for some cool maneuvering and funny moments throughout. Gotten back to the sandstorm-riddled towers, both of us climbed it and activated our third confluence, and after a bit of separation anxiety, we got back together and pressed onward towards the sinking city, an area I'm very much familiar with since people love to showcase the game's art direction and fascinating use of graphical fidelity with the heavy autumn and deeply orange colors as we slide along the path laid before us, activating yet another confluence vision.
The next part, within the abyss of the ruins, already set me up for weariness. My partner and I got used to doing short-burst communication with the chants, but the deep blues made things rather ominous, accentuated by traversing onward to a jade-colored environment mixed in with a new, rather alien and manufactured being made things a little more tense. My partner got the brunt of its attack due to stepping into its light of influence, whether to be served as bait for me to get through or due to unintentional mistakes I'll never know, but we both managed to make it on by at the end of it all, finding more murals to uncover as well as balls of light to increase the length of our ribbons, again tucked away in manners that make it easy to figure out and distinguish, and doing a Sand Hill-ass sequence as we slid down yet again, this time against two of those creatures, before barely making it to the wall of orange light. Second to last confluence down, we pressed onward.
The second-to-last area, admittedly, was the inverse of the last one. Instead of beaming our way downward towards the blues, we ascended towards orange light and mysticism of the many murals laid around us, though even then we didn't stop and find all of it. After messing around with what essentially become an orange-filled pool of influence and cloth whales, we received our final confluence, and it was here that it really settled in the trek I was making. Having already dabbled with each path and spots was enough, but gaining a new partner that I still knew so little about, alongside them barely holding on within the mural being conscripted, it felt rather uneasy. This was compounded with the last area being a heavy downpour of winds, cold, and another batch of the stone creatures. Granted, it didn't start tough, but after noticing our ribbons getting shorter and frost-riddled as we marched along, barely gaining with via our chants and huddles, I knew it wasn't gonna be easy. Somehow, I was sensing dread and anxiety more than the two actual horror games I completed prior.
After an encounter with the creatures, not really resulting in that many hits this time, we made it to the final onslaught of those winds, as it kept appearing more frequently. My partner got the brunt of it, and fell down shortly before the end of it, while I made it through. The exit was right there, I could escape and ascend upon the faith of the white robes... but would that be right? Would ditching the only other person I made contact with throughout my journey, someone I experienced contingent and tranquility with, truly make the aspect of holiness and tranquility matter? I decided it wasn't, and hopped on down to try and give them a way forward through those bygone ribbons, as we both made our way back up and through the bitterness of it all, only to plop down from exhaustion, and frostbite. Even then though, it seems like we were rewarded for making it this far, and we reached Apotheosis. All of that hardship was worth it, sailing through the skies and gates all around, not giving a care as to what was happening either in-game or even real life, fully grasping that sense of peace and inner-longing of self. So many things, so many views, a lot of memories formed, in just two hours. Also a newly formed hatred of winter, fuck that season.
As I sit here reminiscing my venture with Journey, I'm reminded of the weird cynicism and literal contrarianism it's gained over the years. "It has no replay value" this, "there's nothing there at all" that, even some weird stakes of "style over substance". I understand not everyone is gonna claim this is a masterpiece worthy of the lofted praise and awards it's gotten, but it sadly makes me think of the times back in Seventh Gen where barely anyone gave a shit about the mantra of games being an artform. The inherent obsession of "replay value" has always struck me as an odd one, since I'm usually content with playing a game once and only picking it up down the line when I finally make the time available to do so (plus it's like two hours, that's basically using an afternoon's worth of time), and "style over substance" is such a close-minded way of viewing the expression and creativity the creator(s) have made within the confides of the art and product in question, as well as how that coincides with the theming and intended tone/mood of it all. As for that middle point, well, look at what I wrote beforehand. I got what I wanted from Journey, and I'm pretty comfortable having this staying with me for years to come.
Prince of Persia
1989
played using SDLPoP thanks to the PoP Original Trilogy site
The original Prince Of Persia from 1989 is something I feel people know, but haven't played. Granted, this is in large part in it not having seen that many ports in a while, which like, I don't really know why considering how influential and historical it is to the gaming landscape, buuuuut there's been worse cases out and about...
Jordan Mechner was onto somethin with this one, on note of that. It being his second game following Karateka, he pooled a lot more influences - Raiders Of The Lost Ark, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and (obviously) the Arabian Nights for notable cases - and rotoscope tech when creating this, and while it wasn't an immediate success, it slowly but surely started to get the acclaim and appeal it has today thanks to ports and word of mouth. I recommend watching an interview he did for ArsTechnica back in 2020 for more detail and behind the scene processes, it's quite a fascinating thing to see unfold. It's no wonder this basically kickstarted the "cinematic platformer" subgenre, even if I think the terminology is a little corny.
And honestly? This still holds up pretty dang well, all things considered. Controls are heavy and clunky, sure, but considering the design and intent of the game it's w/e, plus you can get a feel and get used to how they handle pretty easily (well, maybe not the jumping, but even then it's fiiiine). Running/walking, jumping, swordfighting, it all feels and flows pretty well with one another, rarely did they get in the way of doing the basic tasks. What actually mangles that aspect, is the level design, which is something that definitely felt like was getting stretched thin as development went along. I hesitate to call it bad, cause it really isn't, but I do have to wonder if Mechner intended for it to become an errand of trail-and-error, getting everything done in a perfect shot or risk failing completely. Having to figure out you need to jump and hit specific platforms to fall in order to climb up and progress, with almost nothing telling you that, is A Moment for sure.
I mean, there is truth to that anyway. You have a set timer of 60 minutes to complete the game, meaning you basically have to memorize (or uh, savescum, thanks to the aforementioned SDLPoP port) the level design in order to mitigate and work out the the best possible strat in order to have sufficient time leftover. In essence, it's training you to speedrun, which in hindsight is pretty funny. I'll say though, it definitely got me to figure out little optimizations, such as instead running from sword fights when necessary, or knowing the exact movement and jump pattern to bypass spikes, falling platforms, pits, and guillotines. On top of keeping task of all of this, there's also collectibles in the form of Mega Potions, of which there are 7 hidden, and lemme tell you getting all of them while still having enough time left over is no easy task. I barely managed to get to the end and defeat Jafar with just 3 minutes to spare, though I'd be lying if I said most of it wasn't a thrill.
There's also one last bit to share, and it's that there's a Shadow Prince that appears after jumping through a mirror in one of the levels halfway in. After doing so, he appears as sort of an obstacle and troll, stealing away an MP from you, forcing you down from the end of Level 6 onto Level 7, and culminating in a penultimate boss where to win you must... put away your sword, merge with it, and afterwards an entire row of platforms appear, letting you get to the exit and Jafar. Granted, by 1989, Zelda II was a thing that's existed for two years and had shown its take on the formula, but still, very cool thing to see done regardless, especially considering PoP89's story is just "rescue the girl".
PoP89 is far from a game I love - I'll sing praises to Sands Of Time either in a review retrospective or when I replay it again down the line - but it's definitely a game I admire and like all the same. Considering how short it is in the grand scheme, I might just keep the files on standby, in case I want to kill an afternoon's worth of time while doing something. There's also like, all those ports, but from the looks of it they really just fancy up the graphics and such. Did you know the Sega CD version has cutscenes and voice acting? I didn't until now! It's also boasting a little more blood, which is surprising to see. If I was to give any port a lookover, it'd probably be the SNES one considering that has 20 levels compared to the original's 12, and from what I've seen they're all vastly different and in some cases, harder. Also, the OST for it kinda bangs? I genuinely wasn't expecting that lmao.
The original Prince Of Persia from 1989 is something I feel people know, but haven't played. Granted, this is in large part in it not having seen that many ports in a while, which like, I don't really know why considering how influential and historical it is to the gaming landscape, buuuuut there's been worse cases out and about...
Jordan Mechner was onto somethin with this one, on note of that. It being his second game following Karateka, he pooled a lot more influences - Raiders Of The Lost Ark, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and (obviously) the Arabian Nights for notable cases - and rotoscope tech when creating this, and while it wasn't an immediate success, it slowly but surely started to get the acclaim and appeal it has today thanks to ports and word of mouth. I recommend watching an interview he did for ArsTechnica back in 2020 for more detail and behind the scene processes, it's quite a fascinating thing to see unfold. It's no wonder this basically kickstarted the "cinematic platformer" subgenre, even if I think the terminology is a little corny.
And honestly? This still holds up pretty dang well, all things considered. Controls are heavy and clunky, sure, but considering the design and intent of the game it's w/e, plus you can get a feel and get used to how they handle pretty easily (well, maybe not the jumping, but even then it's fiiiine). Running/walking, jumping, swordfighting, it all feels and flows pretty well with one another, rarely did they get in the way of doing the basic tasks. What actually mangles that aspect, is the level design, which is something that definitely felt like was getting stretched thin as development went along. I hesitate to call it bad, cause it really isn't, but I do have to wonder if Mechner intended for it to become an errand of trail-and-error, getting everything done in a perfect shot or risk failing completely. Having to figure out you need to jump and hit specific platforms to fall in order to climb up and progress, with almost nothing telling you that, is A Moment for sure.
I mean, there is truth to that anyway. You have a set timer of 60 minutes to complete the game, meaning you basically have to memorize (or uh, savescum, thanks to the aforementioned SDLPoP port) the level design in order to mitigate and work out the the best possible strat in order to have sufficient time leftover. In essence, it's training you to speedrun, which in hindsight is pretty funny. I'll say though, it definitely got me to figure out little optimizations, such as instead running from sword fights when necessary, or knowing the exact movement and jump pattern to bypass spikes, falling platforms, pits, and guillotines. On top of keeping task of all of this, there's also collectibles in the form of Mega Potions, of which there are 7 hidden, and lemme tell you getting all of them while still having enough time left over is no easy task. I barely managed to get to the end and defeat Jafar with just 3 minutes to spare, though I'd be lying if I said most of it wasn't a thrill.
There's also one last bit to share, and it's that there's a Shadow Prince that appears after jumping through a mirror in one of the levels halfway in. After doing so, he appears as sort of an obstacle and troll, stealing away an MP from you, forcing you down from the end of Level 6 onto Level 7, and culminating in a penultimate boss where to win you must... put away your sword, merge with it, and afterwards an entire row of platforms appear, letting you get to the exit and Jafar. Granted, by 1989, Zelda II was a thing that's existed for two years and had shown its take on the formula, but still, very cool thing to see done regardless, especially considering PoP89's story is just "rescue the girl".
PoP89 is far from a game I love - I'll sing praises to Sands Of Time either in a review retrospective or when I replay it again down the line - but it's definitely a game I admire and like all the same. Considering how short it is in the grand scheme, I might just keep the files on standby, in case I want to kill an afternoon's worth of time while doing something. There's also like, all those ports, but from the looks of it they really just fancy up the graphics and such. Did you know the Sega CD version has cutscenes and voice acting? I didn't until now! It's also boasting a little more blood, which is surprising to see. If I was to give any port a lookover, it'd probably be the SNES one considering that has 20 levels compared to the original's 12, and from what I've seen they're all vastly different and in some cases, harder. Also, the OST for it kinda bangs? I genuinely wasn't expecting that lmao.
Shadow the Hedgehog
2005
replayed with the More Reasonable Missions mod as well as Dolphin's Max 99 Lives code, the former barely affected my opinion and like with 06, idrc I used the latter. Also, if you're like me and upscale any game on Dolphin, be forewarned this has some bloom offsets if you're particularly annoyed by that
Like with Forces, I can't make a review of Shadow The Hedgehog due to feeling like I'm unable to add much to it, aside from going "this gets a little too much hate" and "this isn't that far removed from the series considering the buildup from the past few games", so here's three things instead
- As soon as I finished this game, a mod called Shadow The Hedgehog Reloaded released just two hours ago, and from the looks of it, it addresses a good chunk of my issues, albeit I'm rather weary of the "harder difficulty" part. Life just fuckin hates me...
- I still don't think the OST is all that good, far too one-note but I'll admit there's a fair bit more I found to like here than pass by. Cryptic Castle, Death Ruins, and Black Comet are pretty dang good, and GUN Fortress and Lost Impact - which, by the way, isn't THAT bad, The Doom is far worse - are honestly two of my all time favorite tunes in the franchise. Plus, even I can't deny that Never Turn Back is pretty fuckin hype, same with All Hail Shadow.
- I need to like, find a place to hide since I gave this a lower score than Forces. I am well aware this doesn't mean much to most, especially to me since I find both rather mid, but yea.
Like with Forces, I can't make a review of Shadow The Hedgehog due to feeling like I'm unable to add much to it, aside from going "this gets a little too much hate" and "this isn't that far removed from the series considering the buildup from the past few games", so here's three things instead
- As soon as I finished this game, a mod called Shadow The Hedgehog Reloaded released just two hours ago, and from the looks of it, it addresses a good chunk of my issues, albeit I'm rather weary of the "harder difficulty" part. Life just fuckin hates me...
- I still don't think the OST is all that good, far too one-note but I'll admit there's a fair bit more I found to like here than pass by. Cryptic Castle, Death Ruins, and Black Comet are pretty dang good, and GUN Fortress and Lost Impact - which, by the way, isn't THAT bad, The Doom is far worse - are honestly two of my all time favorite tunes in the franchise. Plus, even I can't deny that Never Turn Back is pretty fuckin hype, same with All Hail Shadow.
- I need to like, find a place to hide since I gave this a lower score than Forces. I am well aware this doesn't mean much to most, especially to me since I find both rather mid, but yea.
Star Fox
1993
This game is super cool, it's absolutely wild what they got working on a Super Nintendo and the bosses are really imaginative and dynamic. Definitely worth a look, kinda fucked up that people consider 64 the "real" start of this series because this is great