Reunion is unquestionably the definitive version of Crisis Core. It is a direct facelift using FF7R's combat engine and textures while still retaining the cutscene animations of the original game. This results in a tremendously improved gameplay experience that made me want to do the endless side missions a lot more than I did in the original. Additionally, new QoL features like being able to skip limit break scenes and start over from the beginning of a fight if you Game Over are greatly appreciated.

Hilariously, the hold-over animations from the PSP version result in a lot of uncanny scenes of high fidelity characters still doing exaggerated PSP movements, and honestly I wouldn't have it any other way. None of the charm of the original ends up being lost here.

While we are dealing with a new voice cast as dictated by VII Remake, the new Zack grew on me quite well and the voices of other star characters are as impeccable as they were in VII Remake (maybe except for Reno). I'll always hold Gomez's performance (as the original Zack) in high regard, but it is certainly not enough for me to recommend the original release over this one in any way. If you love Crisis Core and want to replay it with a fresh coat of paint, or if it is your first time through, Reunion is absolutely recommended.

While I appreciate what he was going for with this one in terms of themes, it fell a little bit short of the mark. Even only being ~30 minutes, it felt a little bit plodding. Having the narrative text appear on screen as you walk around was a decent idea to keep players moving, but ultimately it meant there were sections where I still had to stop walking to read, or move away to make text disappear so I could read other text. In the end, notes probably would've worked better (especially considering the story).

On top of that, there were also a couple of key moments where I felt the narrative was telling, rather than showing. It would've been a lot more effective to hear sounds, rather than read about sounds for example. Still, I didn't totally hate it - it was more on the execution than the story itself.

Just a great further refinement of Splatoon. I was admittedly apprehensive about picking this up, would a third game really change up enough to be a necessity over continuous support of the fantastic Splatoon 2? And it turns out, it does just enough.

Multiplayer is no longer a chore to play with friends. Create a lobby and your friends can just join you, no hassle. Similarly, Salmon Run is available at all times now making it a lot more accessible to just jump in. Gameplay is as tight as ever and the new weapons like the splatana are really cool, I just wish that motion aiming didn't disable the right stick entirely - this feels like a big mistake and a misunderstanding of why motion aim assist is such a boon for controllers in the first place.

The campaign is excellent as expected as well, with a satisfying number of fun levels to splat through and hubs to explore and dig up collectibles in. I'd say maybe the only disappointment here is that the boss fights aren't quite up to par with what I expect after the second game with only one and a half that really stood out to me.

Still, if you enjoyed Splatoon 1 or 2 this is certainly a no-brainer. I look forward to all the splatfests and the inevitable expansion that the game gets. Good on Nintendo to make one of the best shooters around right now.

A solid introduction to the world of FFXIV. The world of Eorzea is wonderfully crafted with many cities, towns, and fields to explore, dungeons to party up through, and FISHING to partake in. The story is on the plainer side, featuring many simple fetch quests likely to serve as introductions to mechanics and systems, as well as establishing characters and conflicts.

That being said, it has still rightfully gripped me and I hope by the time I hit 60 or complete Heavensward, I will be allowed to purchase the game.

I've been disappointed with the output of Platinum Games for far too long. Ever since Revengeance, it's been licensed games, the mediocre and soulless Bayonetta 2, and the alright Astral Chain. Automata was outstanding, but it felt like none of that was a result of Platinum's contribution to the combat. It is with the utmost pleasure that Bayonetta 3 has surpassed all expectations and delivered on a true return to form, style, creativity, and humour.

Where can I even start here? The plot is insane (but not too convoluted like the previous title). Viola is a really fun new character and she offers a different sort of challenge during the opportunities you have to play as her, with an emphasis on parrying vs. dodging. She might lack Bayonetta's arsenal but she makes up for it in a really cool sword/punch move set.

Bayonetta 3 also breaks the curse that I have found plaguing every single character action title - environment design. As the game takes you to a large multitude of unique vistas, there is a lot to look at. Exploration too is at its most rewarding with lots of collectibles to find (figures, music, alternative challenge levels, challenge portals, etc.), while still maintaining the linear structure of previous games.

The weapon selection is also by far its most creative with a lot of batshit insane tools to choose from. They all have really cool animations and unique transport methods that replace your dash. The game also introduces summons that you can call out very liberally in battle (such as Gomorrah, Madame Butterfly, etc.). They actually can make combat a little bit too easy just because of how long they last and how much damage they do, but you are certainly free to not use them if you wish.

It also runs surprisingly well too for a Switch action game. Unlike Astral Chain, there is a lot less being teleported to the framerate dimension for smooth combat to take place. In fact, there are very rarely any frame drops outside of the odd hiccup.

It is immediately clear why the game had taken so long to come out. There are so, so, so many instances of unique gameplay sequences/minigames that depart from the standard combat gameplay and it really pays off because every single one put a smile on my face.

Simply put, Bayonetta 3 is a labour of love. It is a testament to every strength that Platinum Games has as a studio and the best game they've made in a long time. I really hope to see them put out something like this again someday, but even if they don't - I'm already more than satisfied.

In some ways it feels strange to review a picross game because it's like, dude check out my review for this book of crosswords; but Logic Paint S is a solid game regardless.

It's genuinely impressive how they got several hundred unique pieces of Miku art for each puzzle (and each puzzle has something to do with said reward image). This is an extra mile that would be appreciated from the official Jupiter series. There's 18 songs on the soundtrack, (which seems pretty low given the massive catalogue of Vocaloid music) but they are all great picks and have something to do with puzzles too.

Gameplay-wise, it's serviceable. It's missing some QoL that the Jupiter series has (square counter, different types of markers) and because of the star system which you use to unlock songs, any mistake effectively means a restart if you want to "perfect" a puzzle as the game will also tell you immediately when you do so. I much prefer to be able to make mistakes and have to figure them out later as I fill in the rest.

Still, if you enjoy picross and you like Vocaloid, this is a pretty safe bet. I got around 80 hours out of it so the content is definitely there!