YourCousinRoman
Replay. As good as ever.
Doesn't work quite as well as it should, mechanically or narratively. Lots of clumsiness in the platforming, some puzzles are a bit obtuse. Only unlocking the texts from other characters when you hit Mr Donut was a clear mistake.
2023
I think Strikers set the bar for Persona spin-offs, and Tactica falls a little short. It's good, but there's more that could be done here. If they iterate on the design (P6T maybe?) I think they could be onto a winner. It also runs longer than it should - we didn't need a separate kingdom for the final boss, it should've followed immediately on from the emotional climax of the story. Also needs to have a number of playable characters immediately available (not locked behind DLC) so you can rotate complete squads. I don't think everyone did from what I've seen, but with shared EXP it's good for variety. No one felt useless. If you enjoy puzzles the "clear in one turn" challenges are good ones, you could make a whole game of those (probably). I enjoyed my time with it.
2012
Replay, trying out the PS5 version because the dualsense could theoretically make the game even better. It was a benefit but not in the way it would be if the game was made with it in mind at the start. Still, Hotline Miami remains fantastic.
The first killer was obvious, the second strained credulity a bit. Felt like padding. Some real dipshit writing in places. They really don't leverage the setting effectively for backgrounds, it's solely a contrivance for the story, and I think if they'd thought about it and used it (for transition screens, even!) it'd be worth another point.
I wasn't as annoyed by Ranko as some, but Astrid really carried it.
I wasn't as annoyed by Ranko as some, but Astrid really carried it.
2022
Attempted to resume a half-complete playthrough and it refused to meet me halfway by being at least mid. I don't know how you drop the ball this bad. Ringo can't carry a game on her own, not with this hollow a supporting cast, not through these cheap dungeons and the worst attempt to iterate on Press Turn of any Atlus game. The Sabbath mechanic truly ruins it: even trash enemies have just that bit too much health so that you have to build stacks to clear encounters efficiently. But since the advantage from hitting weaknesses isn't shared by enemies, they can't be a real threat - they don't get their own Sabbath or bonus turns, so they can't be as threatening as encounters in other games. Only the risky mobs are genuinely dangerous, and that's by dint of a level hike and some health/damage sliders being moved. Bosses are also bad.
Dropped the game with the Mothmen ambush, it just got too stupid. And whoever thought the vent sections were a good idea needs demoted immediately - I couldn't believe how aggressively they were wasting my time.
The whole game is such a disappointment. OG Soul Hackers is the only reason I didn't wholesale write off 5th gen Atlus, and this wasn't a worthy follow up in any way.
Dropped the game with the Mothmen ambush, it just got too stupid. And whoever thought the vent sections were a good idea needs demoted immediately - I couldn't believe how aggressively they were wasting my time.
The whole game is such a disappointment. OG Soul Hackers is the only reason I didn't wholesale write off 5th gen Atlus, and this wasn't a worthy follow up in any way.
2022
Love the aesthetic, I think they've basically nailed it. It's a fun - if very short - little visual novel.
The solitaire mini game kinda sucks, though.
The solitaire mini game kinda sucks, though.
2021
Felt I needed a playthrough before starting Strangers in Paradise. Pixel remaster is good stuff - excellent art and music, some smart quality of life changes. But it is of its time, and that meets some elements are as bare bones as can be imagined. I ended up overlevelled hunting Warmech to complete the bestiary.
There aren't enough songs. That's what sticks out once you clear the story and move onto Free Dance. Some of the choreography is weird but I'm not a dancing guy and your eyes are drawn away from it by the UI.
Story is bad, you can see why the later dancing games dropped the idea like a stone.
Story is bad, you can see why the later dancing games dropped the idea like a stone.
The original release was probably my most played 3DS game due to Raid mode. It still mostly holds up, though the awkward dodge and tedious final boss remain unchanged in the port. I'll probably do a few more raid runs for old time's sake. And you don't actually need graphics in a game to be significantly better than here, you know?
I really liked the new characters they brought in and have subsequently done nothing with. Another casualty of RE6 being received so poorly, I suppose.
I really liked the new characters they brought in and have subsequently done nothing with. Another casualty of RE6 being received so poorly, I suppose.
2020
A bit on the easy side, but a fun time regardless. It really needs a sequel to hammer out some elements, like making the weapon power-ups relevant. More racing games need visual novel sequences tbh, even if they're sometimes a bit shallow it's good to have a reason to care about the race.
Having gyarus adds half a star, too.
Having gyarus adds half a star, too.
2018
Perfectly fine little adventure game. Played on Vita because that felt like the best place for it. It has reinforced my dislike of the multiple ending approach of horror media and doesn't feel as coherent as I think it could.
2021
Interesting wee game, bought it on sale. It could do with more level variety and more time spent with your comrades, but on the whole it was fine.
Reminded me a lot of Papers, Please in certain places. It was nice that this game was actually good rather than miserable, though.
Reminded me a lot of Papers, Please in certain places. It was nice that this game was actually good rather than miserable, though.
2020
Basically felt like a western indie dev trying to make Suda51's Danganronpa. I haven't read anything about the development but I expect if I do they will be cited as heavy influences because they're inescapable.
There are parts to like and parts not to like - the island is just slightly too big and a price was attached to fast travel to discourage it, so you feel like your time is being deliberately wasted as you cycle through interviews with the other characters. Music is diegetic so while there are great tracks, you're only ever catching parts of them as you move from place to place. The regular city parts have an excellent sense of place, contrasting heavily with the Syndicate's dedicated areas which are full of the same three purple statues. There's a weird artificiality to them that seems intentional but also not, because while of course immortal Cthulhu worshippers would build unusual statues, they would not be like this.
I liked Shinji, I liked Sam, I liked Doom Jazz. Lydia needs to learn septum piercings are always a deal breaker, Crimson is furry bait and should be burned, Henry needed more voice lines, everyone else sucked.
There are parts to like and parts not to like - the island is just slightly too big and a price was attached to fast travel to discourage it, so you feel like your time is being deliberately wasted as you cycle through interviews with the other characters. Music is diegetic so while there are great tracks, you're only ever catching parts of them as you move from place to place. The regular city parts have an excellent sense of place, contrasting heavily with the Syndicate's dedicated areas which are full of the same three purple statues. There's a weird artificiality to them that seems intentional but also not, because while of course immortal Cthulhu worshippers would build unusual statues, they would not be like this.
I liked Shinji, I liked Sam, I liked Doom Jazz. Lydia needs to learn septum piercings are always a deal breaker, Crimson is furry bait and should be burned, Henry needed more voice lines, everyone else sucked.
2022
Dropped the second it became apparent it was a God of War 2018 clone. Hopefully there aren't more of these.