Goddamn now i understand why everyone wont shut up about this game, always played it for a bit but never had the patience to sit down and play it to the end, till now.

After recently playing aria of sorrow and harmony of dissonance i expected the same mechanics and feeling but damn i can clearly see where literally all of the enemies came from its actually insane the variety of enemies in this game and all makes sense for the most part, and way better suited for this game then in the future gba titles. The art style is top of the line, one of the best pixel art games and the little details with the 3D models brings so much style, the flying books some details in the bosses being 3D, this game really used the ps1 in a creative way, not to mention the lava zone being an actual 3D model peak design tbh. The Ost is so good, its crazy, pretty much every track is a banger, so much i feel sad the transitions are so abrupt. The familiar system is quite a nice idea, a bit sad it didn't make it to gba generation.

I would honestly say this is one of the best games ever, that is if the game ended at the half waypoint, even if great the reverse castle portion of the game feels very creative at first but soon it begins to crack you explore the zones you already know but in "reverse" going from top to down is all fun and games at first but soon you realize half the time you need to be using the bat transformation which is fine but not the best way to move in the game, the enemy placement starts to be a bit chaotic as well, with rooms filled with 20 enemies that push you outside the area, and the ost is not as good as in the normal castle.

That is of course comparing it to one of the best first half game ever, it still is an amazing game but if not for this flaws in the latter game this would be an easy 5/5 game, and honestly i can see myself change my mind later and give this the 5 stars because this game trully is something special

After almost 3 years of on and off play, i can finally say i finished the game. The game is a masterful showing of how they evolved super mario world, from the graphics to the technicalities of mode 7 and so on, every level was an evolution of mario no level where just the same so many gimmicks and so many different ideas and ways to push the SNES. Specially the bosses they really made them unique to one another it really showed how they pushed the console to its limits. I only took so long to finish cause i was attached to the level rating system that made me self aware of not collecting everything in the level , it was only after letting go of that completionist mind that i was able to finish the game.
It really is one of the bests of the SNES no doubt about it, it holds pretty much flawlessly nowadays.

It's amazing, tank controls aside this game really surprised me. The visuals work so well on the limited playstation 1, the wobbly graphics, low resolution and deep darks and fogs realy immerse you like no other recent title. This game feels so avant garde, the way it uses the radio sound to contextualize the enemy presence/threat feels natural and seamless. The soundtrack really goes off the rails sounding like white noise or machinery sometimes it makes you question if it really is a generator working or a giant monster lurking in the dark. The gameplay starts off rough (at least for me), as im not used to tank controls but once u get the hang of it (around the school area) the game really opens up as you explore from place to place, the walk animation that at the beginning seemed off starts to feel like second nature. The level design and progression is really interesting, going for a maze like structure while u look for keys and puzzles while trying to avoid enemies, its simple but really enjoyable not what i was expecting from what i hear from the game. The story is fine, the voice acting is the usual for 1999 which is not so good, but mostly enjoyable for what it is. The narrative is good enough to keep you going and giving excuses to explore the new spaces you go to, and at the end gets really intriguing as it starts throwing questions at you and if what you are seeing is real or not, who is alessa, what is lisa here and why is she the only one here.

Overall it was really an amazing surprise, i was not expecting it to be so good, cause this game usually gets overshadowed by Silent Hill 2, but i gotta say i really had a lot of fun playing it (even though i initially got the bad ending)

O jogo tem duas grandes "facetas" a parte de managing de vila e a de combate. Pensei que fosse acabar por jogar a parte de combate com algumas interrupções de managing mas acabou por ser o contrário, o sistema de culto do jogo deixou me viciado como já não ficava a muitos anos não conseguia parar de jogar queria sempre fazer mais uma coisa. E surpreendentemente o combate não é nada demais funciona para o que é mas nada de especial, focado só em rolar e spammar attacks (+ heavy e magias para trocar o ritmo). O jogo é vendido como roguelite mas acho que é um erro porque praticamente tirando as runs serem random e repetitivas o jogo pouco parece um roguelite, sem grande punição pela morte. A estrutura do jogo é simples mas interessante com 4 bosses e 4 zonas principais que podem ser repetidas as vezes que for necessario com um mega boss no fim. O goldenpath é linear dai não parecer muito um roguelite, e a narrativa é contada através dos bosses e dos npcs encontrados. A art direction é um dos highlights do jogo deu bem mais enfase em tudo do jogo, quase vale 1 ponto extra só por isto.
Overall foi uma surpresa o jogo ser tão aditivo e "curto" entre 12 a 15 horas a fazer a Main historia, com mais algumas coisas para desbloquear depois do final.

Começou mesmo bem, apesar de não entender nada o que estava a acontecer, a narrativa teve 0 handholding o que foi bastante interessante dar piece up as coisas um por um. No entanto conforme o jogo progrediu (e por ter pausado 1 mês) o jogo ficou um bocado maçante a ter de ir para trás e para a frente mas a main story tem uns momentos bangers como o do corredor. No final a historia parece que tropeçou em si própria e virou uma confusão de entender mas é mesmo assim do estilo do jogo tbh. Overall a presentation e o audio deste jogo carregaram bastante os outros elementos não o melhor de sempre mas diferente for sure.