ZangBang
Bio
Info that will (hopefully) aid people in understanding my little freaky reviews and ratings:
> I do believe that "objectivity" doesn't exist. But I also believe that judging a game while removing one's own tastes from the evaluation is partially possible and fun as a critical exercise; thats what I try to do with the reviews on here (hence why 4/5 of my favorite games don't even reach the 4 star rating).
> This probably sounds insufferably pretentious and arbitrary, but I feel like videogames (from what I've played) are generally quite far from achieving their true potential as a medium (hence why I currently have zero 5 star ratings).
> I rate games based on their quality when compared to the modern landscape, even if they released 30 years ago, ignoring their impact on the industry or historical importance. It might seem unfair to some. But this is my account = my rulez.
> Since I'm a little OCPD freak, every review is roughly the same size. As much as that annoys me when I wish I had more words.
Info that will (hopefully) aid people in understanding my little freaky reviews and ratings:
> I do believe that "objectivity" doesn't exist. But I also believe that judging a game while removing one's own tastes from the evaluation is partially possible and fun as a critical exercise; thats what I try to do with the reviews on here (hence why 4/5 of my favorite games don't even reach the 4 star rating).
> This probably sounds insufferably pretentious and arbitrary, but I feel like videogames (from what I've played) are generally quite far from achieving their true potential as a medium (hence why I currently have zero 5 star ratings).
> I rate games based on their quality when compared to the modern landscape, even if they released 30 years ago, ignoring their impact on the industry or historical importance. It might seem unfair to some. But this is my account = my rulez.
> Since I'm a little OCPD freak, every review is roughly the same size. As much as that annoys me when I wish I had more words.
Badges
1 Years of Service
Being part of the Backloggd community for 1 year
Donor
Liked 50+ reviews / lists
Pinged
Mentioned by another user
Early Access
Submitted feedback for a beta feature
Gone Gold
Received 5+ likes on a review while featured on the front page
Noticed
Gained 3+ followers
Liked
Gained 10+ total review likes
N00b
Played 100+ games
Favorite Games
127
Total Games Played
000
Played in 2024
072
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Recently Reviewed See More
Even moreso than Remake, Rebirth is a passionate retelling that takes full advantage of its modern cinematic approach to breathe new life into the original story but not without a few awkward infantilizations and, especially in the final act, needlessly contrived twists that exist solely for insipid fanservice and complexity's sake. Exploration is too streamlined to be enjoyable in itself, but an exhilaratingly dense combat system, along with a staggering amount of minigames, activities and challenges to experience, makes it one of the most incredibly diversified, layered JRPGs.
It clearly understands the original skillfully expanding on the essence of FF7's world and its characters, but sometimes fails to commit to the darker aspects of it and its final narrative twists can be egregiously clumsy and questionable in execution. An atmospheric wonder to experience, Midgar is not too fun to explore due to a simplistic level design and sluggish environmental interactions, however combat largely makes up for it: challenging enemies make the most out of an addictive battle system that blends real-time management and action in a dynamic way with ample room for strategic creativity.
Expansive traversal mechanics allow for areas of rich, layered verticality and sweeping vistas that become exciting playgrounds for exploration and stealth, although the former is occasionally made needlessly tedious by frustrating enemy placements and the latter slightly trivialized by weak enemy AI. Combat's deflection-focused, tight rhythmic flow doesn't leave too much room for strategic freedom but in its methodical design offers some of the most exhilarating, dynamically challenging, absolute best bosses in the history of the videogames. When the camera actually works properly, that is.