ZINOGR3
2024
Another game in the "Lethal Company-like" genre. Haven't played enough of this game to give it a solid rating yet but if you play it with a group of people who know how to be funny you will have the time of your life. I like that you're encouraged to face monsters head on for the views and the feature where you get to see the clips you recorded at the end of it all is very funny. Maybe if I paid for it I would have more negative things to say about it... since it follows Lethal Company's formula very closely it feels like a game that might get repetitive pretty quick (and it's pretty buggy but what new modern game isn't really + it's made by a small team and got 6 million downloads in a day... I'm sure their servers are on fire right now. Give them a break!), but for now it's a lotta fun!
2023
So, I'm unfortunately a self proclaimed Avoider of the Puzzle Video Game Genre. I've tried to play a couple... The Witness, Myst, Baba is You... gave up on every single one of them. But when I saw Chants of Senaar featured in a random "must play indie games" list, I was so intrigued by the premise of exploring an unknown world, learning about the people, and deciphering their language that I put all my hesitation aside and decided to give it a shot. And I'm so glad that I did!
This game is gorgeous. Every screen is frame-worthy and very memorable. Translating the languages is challenging enough to get the gears in your brain turning but not so difficult to the point that it hurts. Love that you can take notes in-game. The puzzles are good! Felt like a genius everytime I figured something out. When I did have to look up something, it was usually because I walked past a key item or room rather than the puzzles themselves.
Some things could be improved on or completely removed though... The backtracking is fine, but holy hell the amount you have to do just to get the true ending felt like a drag. If it wasn't for that and the god awful stealth segments (seriously, what is with the stealth segments? I'm glad other people in the reviews agree it's the worst part of the game), this game would easily be 5 stars. The game has it's flaws, but I still loved it a lot. Definitely want to try out more puzzle games now!
This game is gorgeous. Every screen is frame-worthy and very memorable. Translating the languages is challenging enough to get the gears in your brain turning but not so difficult to the point that it hurts. Love that you can take notes in-game. The puzzles are good! Felt like a genius everytime I figured something out. When I did have to look up something, it was usually because I walked past a key item or room rather than the puzzles themselves.
Some things could be improved on or completely removed though... The backtracking is fine, but holy hell the amount you have to do just to get the true ending felt like a drag. If it wasn't for that and the god awful stealth segments (seriously, what is with the stealth segments? I'm glad other people in the reviews agree it's the worst part of the game), this game would easily be 5 stars. The game has it's flaws, but I still loved it a lot. Definitely want to try out more puzzle games now!
Replayed. Still remains my favorite game in the PS1 trilogy. RE2 may be the objectively better one but I just have a soft spot for Jill and also think Nemesis is a lot cooler. I swear to god if they don’t bring Jill back again in a future game I’m stealing something out of Capcom’s house.
Also, don’t tell Nintendo but if you happen to have a modded N3DS this game is extremely fun to play on one. Needs a tiny bit of tinkering but it runs really well and playing an RE game on a handheld is ridiculously fun.
Also, don’t tell Nintendo but if you happen to have a modded N3DS this game is extremely fun to play on one. Needs a tiny bit of tinkering but it runs really well and playing an RE game on a handheld is ridiculously fun.
2000
I've actually been wanting to play this game ever since I completed Planet Laika, an amazing game (please check it out it changed my life) that also happens to include humans with doglike faces so similar to this one that I was surprised to find out it wasn't developed by the same company. Unfortunately, just like Planet Laika, Dog of Bay is one of those obscure Japanese games that never recieved an English translation. So it sat in my wishlist for a good amount of time until the fated day of August 14th. The day where Hilltop Works announced a translation seemingly out of nowhere for this game. I was extremely surprised and very hyped. Was my hype worth it? Well...
I guess I'll mention the good stuff first. The character designs, models, and movements are great. A lot of people find them "weird" but as afurry fan of anthroporphic animals, I liked them a lot. While doing some light research I actually found out there are some pretty big names doing the voice acting and singing (they got Frieza and the dude who sings the Dragon Ball theme songs on this thing???) which explains all the amazing performances. There are some really good tunes in here! The story is contained to the 5 very short cutscenes inbetween each level. There isn't really much of it, which is unfortunate because the game sets up this really intriguing world and the small bits we do get are nicely done.
Onto the very bad. As other people have mentioned, the interface is just abysmal. For a rhythm game, that isn't very ideal. Unlike the games of the same genre that came before it like Parappa the Rapper or Space Channel 5 that use clear button inputs or easy to follow beats, it decides to go with an extremely cluttered interface of... gems and waves that make it very hard to tell what inputs are going to come up next. The game doesn't do a good job of explaining things either. I had a better time focusing on the waves on the side of the screen (which the game tells you nothing about) than the gems. I guess once you get used to it it really isn't that bad until the final level where the button inputs start getting a little crazy. While I managed to get 80 or higher on all the levels even as someone who kinda sucks at rhythm games and using a controller with button lag, I imagine this flaw would make most people give up on the game.
Overall, this game is alright. I'm glad a translation of it even exists. I think it's worth checking out since it can easily be completed in under an hour. If there was just a bit more story in it and a more polished UI this would definitely get a 4/5 from me.
I guess I'll mention the good stuff first. The character designs, models, and movements are great. A lot of people find them "weird" but as a
Onto the very bad. As other people have mentioned, the interface is just abysmal. For a rhythm game, that isn't very ideal. Unlike the games of the same genre that came before it like Parappa the Rapper or Space Channel 5 that use clear button inputs or easy to follow beats, it decides to go with an extremely cluttered interface of... gems and waves that make it very hard to tell what inputs are going to come up next. The game doesn't do a good job of explaining things either. I had a better time focusing on the waves on the side of the screen (which the game tells you nothing about) than the gems. I guess once you get used to it it really isn't that bad until the final level where the button inputs start getting a little crazy. While I managed to get 80 or higher on all the levels even as someone who kinda sucks at rhythm games and using a controller with button lag, I imagine this flaw would make most people give up on the game.
Overall, this game is alright. I'm glad a translation of it even exists. I think it's worth checking out since it can easily be completed in under an hour. If there was just a bit more story in it and a more polished UI this would definitely get a 4/5 from me.
2011
Very Important Disclaimer: the NA version of this game has a very big game-breaking bug. When you try and enter the 11th or 12th tower a second time, the game will usually crash. There are a couple of work arounds for this but it does get tedious. Just putting this for anyone out there who plans on playing this so they don't suffer the same fate as me and a friend who discovered this right before finishing the 10th tower. lol
Besides that, this game has become my most favorite Wii game of all time. It takes a lot of aspects from different games, mostly being compared to Shadow of the Colossus, Zelda, maybe even a little bit of Nier with elements of a dating simulator thrown into the mix too. Somehow it still holds up really well as it's own thing. For some people the gameplay loop can get pretty repetitive towards the end and the tower interiors repeating a decent amount doesn't help it either, but I never really had a problem with it since towers are fairly short and easy to navigate.
The game does a really good job in making you care for the relationship between Elena and Aeron. It's hard not to when the game revolves around them and you get to spend a lot of time with Elena, feeding her monster meat so she doesn't turn into an eldritch beast, giving her gifts, or just making conversation. Won't lie, it got to me! I couldn't even bring myself to let the timer get past the third bar even if I was almost done with the level. The timer can be daunting at first but since you unlock shortcuts pretty quick in each tower getting back to Elena becomes a lot more manageable. None of the boss fights are really difficult but the solid chain whip gameplay makes them really satisfying to fight. I think the game would've benefitted a lot more from better hardware and maybe something else besides generic elemental themes for it's level design, but it's still a beautiful game that I wish wasn't tethered to the Wii so more people would have the chance to play it.
Besides that, this game has become my most favorite Wii game of all time. It takes a lot of aspects from different games, mostly being compared to Shadow of the Colossus, Zelda, maybe even a little bit of Nier with elements of a dating simulator thrown into the mix too. Somehow it still holds up really well as it's own thing. For some people the gameplay loop can get pretty repetitive towards the end and the tower interiors repeating a decent amount doesn't help it either, but I never really had a problem with it since towers are fairly short and easy to navigate.
The game does a really good job in making you care for the relationship between Elena and Aeron. It's hard not to when the game revolves around them and you get to spend a lot of time with Elena, feeding her monster meat so she doesn't turn into an eldritch beast, giving her gifts, or just making conversation. Won't lie, it got to me! I couldn't even bring myself to let the timer get past the third bar even if I was almost done with the level. The timer can be daunting at first but since you unlock shortcuts pretty quick in each tower getting back to Elena becomes a lot more manageable. None of the boss fights are really difficult but the solid chain whip gameplay makes them really satisfying to fight. I think the game would've benefitted a lot more from better hardware and maybe something else besides generic elemental themes for it's level design, but it's still a beautiful game that I wish wasn't tethered to the Wii so more people would have the chance to play it.
Put off this game for a really long time because that time limit and darker tone intimidated me for years but I finally decided to try it out and I’m glad that I did!
It’s as great as people say it is. An absolute blast to play on handheld and even better if you’re able to use the Project Restoration patch. Can’t comment on the gameplay changes but from what I’ve seen they’re definitely… questionable so I guess my rating would probably lose a star if it wasn’t for the patch. Only other minor complaint I have is that I wish this port kept the same less saturated color palette as the original. I do get why things are brighter though since it’s just visually better on a tiny handheld screen.
While my time with this game was pretty good I ended up getting really burnt out at the Zora section sooo I’m unfortunately shelving this for now, but I’ll definitely pick this up again and see it to the credits one day :)
It’s as great as people say it is. An absolute blast to play on handheld and even better if you’re able to use the Project Restoration patch. Can’t comment on the gameplay changes but from what I’ve seen they’re definitely… questionable so I guess my rating would probably lose a star if it wasn’t for the patch. Only other minor complaint I have is that I wish this port kept the same less saturated color palette as the original. I do get why things are brighter though since it’s just visually better on a tiny handheld screen.
While my time with this game was pretty good I ended up getting really burnt out at the Zora section sooo I’m unfortunately shelving this for now, but I’ll definitely pick this up again and see it to the credits one day :)
2017
Solid and charming game that also happens to have a slightly irritating camera and a couple of stressful levels. Most of the stress came from me playing with a controller that happened to have stick drift though so the second part is probably on me.
Incredible atmosphere and sound design. Backtracking is a lot less stressful in this one since environments are well designed and the game basically tells you where to go most of the time.
The pace that the characters move at is miserably slow though and I had to use a mod that doubled the running speed to make it tolerable. Ghost encounters also started to become more annoying than scary the more I progressed since the combat is trivialized by the lock-on mechanic. The game is creepy all the way through but can sort of rely on jumpscares too much at times. Still really enjoyed this entry despite it's flaws, looking foward to the remaster!
The pace that the characters move at is miserably slow though and I had to use a mod that doubled the running speed to make it tolerable. Ghost encounters also started to become more annoying than scary the more I progressed since the combat is trivialized by the lock-on mechanic. The game is creepy all the way through but can sort of rely on jumpscares too much at times. Still really enjoyed this entry despite it's flaws, looking foward to the remaster!
adore this game