Zaregoto
5 reviews liked by Zaregoto
I don't think I will ever find a more satisfying gameplay experience, owing to discovering fromsoft games as the first few serious games I played. I quite like the story even though it's nothing exceptional, it ties in well with the game's structure and mechanics. Easily my favourite game for now.
"I see you smiling there so peacefully
And cheerfully talking at me
These happy days must carry on
So once again, let's go back to the start
This goodbye is not the end
I know until we meet again
Our feelings will remain the same
Together as one, ’til we find ourselves again."
This game just grips you from the start and never let's go at all, there is never a part that drags you and you have to force yourself to keep playing, the pacing is amazing, and the traversal is amazing and very atmospheric as always from Xenoblade games. The music was one of my favorites of all time from every track, just absolute beautiful with the way they use the flute motif. The exploration with the environments and the combat is absolutely perfect with no flaws at all in my opinion. Takahashi masterclass from being able to plan this game and execute it to end this trilogy perfectly. This core cast is one of my favorites and I love how character focused it is throughout the whole game. I love Noah and Mio so much, they have my whole heart and their whole story. The stretch of second half Chapter 5 to Beginning of Chapter 6 is one of the best I've experienced and especially the second half of the game as a whole is one of the best in media.
Still letting it sink in as I'm writing this, this is a very personal and emotional story that deals with a lot mature themes such as how we deal with time and how we ever march towards the end of our fleeting lives slowly, how we make use of this time, dealing with tragedy and how we respond to it after it happens and to not lose ourselves when we are in state of pain. To not be afraid of change and to keep moving forward, don't let the past drag you behind and if you keep failing you just keep on going no matter what, making mistakes is part of being human but staying in one place is not the ideal because we have to keep going forward. Overcoming our own past and the courage to face the future. A very personal story of life. Returning to the title screen after finishing this game was just beautiful. This title screen music of Xenoblade 3 is what represents this story. How life goes on and we go through all ranges of emotions through the events we go through in our life as a journey. How we grow as a person and self discovery, how we grow and overcome events in our life that trouble us and how they shape, and how we enjoy our memories with friends and family with a mix of sad times and happy times. How we have to keep going in life no matter what happens. Those final scenes in the finale chapter really got to me, as this sinks in more and more I get more emotionally and personally attached to this game and those specific moments. Where We Belong is one of the greatest songs ever made especially for one of the final scenes in the game ever.
As a person that has gone through a lot of personal events in my life, I find this story very personal and even as I'm writing this, this game is still sinking in after I have finished it. I'm really glad I was able to get into this franchise.
"Just who decided that this was how it should be?"
“You see? This is our path to the future!"
“This the truth of our world. Memories melt in the morning light, and then a new day begins"
“Roads stretch out before us. So many paths. Which do you choose? That's up to you. Sometimes you might run astray. You’ll stop, maybe cry in frustration. But you know, that's alright. For the roads… they go on without end. So look up, face forward, toward your chosen horizon… And just… walk on.”
Thank You Tetsuya Takahashi for this trilogy.
And cheerfully talking at me
These happy days must carry on
So once again, let's go back to the start
This goodbye is not the end
I know until we meet again
Our feelings will remain the same
Together as one, ’til we find ourselves again."
This game just grips you from the start and never let's go at all, there is never a part that drags you and you have to force yourself to keep playing, the pacing is amazing, and the traversal is amazing and very atmospheric as always from Xenoblade games. The music was one of my favorites of all time from every track, just absolute beautiful with the way they use the flute motif. The exploration with the environments and the combat is absolutely perfect with no flaws at all in my opinion. Takahashi masterclass from being able to plan this game and execute it to end this trilogy perfectly. This core cast is one of my favorites and I love how character focused it is throughout the whole game. I love Noah and Mio so much, they have my whole heart and their whole story. The stretch of second half Chapter 5 to Beginning of Chapter 6 is one of the best I've experienced and especially the second half of the game as a whole is one of the best in media.
Still letting it sink in as I'm writing this, this is a very personal and emotional story that deals with a lot mature themes such as how we deal with time and how we ever march towards the end of our fleeting lives slowly, how we make use of this time, dealing with tragedy and how we respond to it after it happens and to not lose ourselves when we are in state of pain. To not be afraid of change and to keep moving forward, don't let the past drag you behind and if you keep failing you just keep on going no matter what, making mistakes is part of being human but staying in one place is not the ideal because we have to keep going forward. Overcoming our own past and the courage to face the future. A very personal story of life. Returning to the title screen after finishing this game was just beautiful. This title screen music of Xenoblade 3 is what represents this story. How life goes on and we go through all ranges of emotions through the events we go through in our life as a journey. How we grow as a person and self discovery, how we grow and overcome events in our life that trouble us and how they shape, and how we enjoy our memories with friends and family with a mix of sad times and happy times. How we have to keep going in life no matter what happens. Those final scenes in the finale chapter really got to me, as this sinks in more and more I get more emotionally and personally attached to this game and those specific moments. Where We Belong is one of the greatest songs ever made especially for one of the final scenes in the game ever.
As a person that has gone through a lot of personal events in my life, I find this story very personal and even as I'm writing this, this game is still sinking in after I have finished it. I'm really glad I was able to get into this franchise.
"Just who decided that this was how it should be?"
“You see? This is our path to the future!"
“This the truth of our world. Memories melt in the morning light, and then a new day begins"
“Roads stretch out before us. So many paths. Which do you choose? That's up to you. Sometimes you might run astray. You’ll stop, maybe cry in frustration. But you know, that's alright. For the roads… they go on without end. So look up, face forward, toward your chosen horizon… And just… walk on.”
Thank You Tetsuya Takahashi for this trilogy.
Armored Core VI is my first entry to the Armored Core series and would probably be the strongest entry to me because of the mildly inaccessible nature of the previous games.
But realistically I played it because I was incredibly disappointed with Elden Ring.
What I got was a different FromSoft game than the one I am familiar with.
With an stronger and clearer emphasis on narrative rather than lore chunks. A narrative that's a simple skeleton and fleshed out by underlying themes of greed, religion, exploitation, capitalism, fate and freedom of will. Exposition might be heavier handed than the souls games but to its benefit doesn't sound vague enough. I have never been a fan of narratives that get that it's standing from "lore" rather than the actual events that happen in game, something that FromSoft likes doing. There ARE text logs, but never have they felt so non-essential to make a sense of the usual aberrations, to my pleasant surprise. But the story doesn't end there, pun intended. One playthrough isn't enough. You aren't even close to eating the full pie. The full picture unfolds in your successive playthroughs with some of the most haunting and ethereal endings, which in my opinion, makes it the best new game+ implementation in a FromSoft game bar none. It goes beyond increased difficulty or small bits of new stuff.
It's almost meta that the overall plot of humanity returning to a previously dead planet for the previously exhausted Coral, just like how FromSoft and new and old players alike are returning to a once dormant franchise such as Armored Core.
It's a far more generous than punishing gameplay, it's a game with a philosophy of choice first and DEMANDS you to experiment (with varying but mostly complete success). The gameplay is mission based rather than sprawling open or closed metroidvania worlds, which is actually one of its biggest strengths. It is concise, to the point and unpretentious. It's an action game first and foremost and doesn't need to be anything else.
An antithesis and yet an acknowledgement to one of their previous titles, Sekiro, this game features ACS Strain. A system similar to posture; where it differs however is how this system forces the player on their action. This is not a one hit kill mechanic, it's mechanic that gives the enemy a moment of weakness, for players to exploit it and rain damage upon it. As such, players who solely rely on heavy weapons must not overuse them to fill up the ACS strain or its a waste. Similarly, a player who chips an enemy's health is a weak ac. It demands experimentation but also observation; a key trait in almost every FromSoft game.
But experimentation doesn't stop with the gameplay, rather it starts with you first. Your Armored Core is as expressive as you make it look. The paintjob customisation is so robust, it's almost unrivalled in ANY game that I have EVER seen. It's versatile but also manageable. The complexity isn't just thrown at you, they're presented in layers, pun intended again. Not satisfied with simple colour picks? Choose an rgb value. Not satisfied with simple color patches? Pick a pattern. Patterns aren't it for you? Apply a decal. Oh even the decals aren't doing it for you? Make you OWN decal or download someone else's with a code. Hell you download someone else's whole SETUPS with a code. It's my favourite aspect of this game and it's not close.
The boss fights are as equally fantastic as they are diverse. From a literal fortress, to intense ac battles, to a bullet hell goofy ahh Balteus, to the fan-named Mechlania to the "I won't miss"(iykyk). All of these give the sense of scale that for some amount of time, I subsconsciously believed my ac was as large as a regular human.
The visuals which received a bit of scrutiny at the beginning are actually nothing to scoff at. From the gigantic but sterile and ruinous grids to icy frigid fields below a bright burning sky to the whole ruins of an underground city that's is as alien but also as ancient and manmade.
The soundtrack is a banger. "The Man Who Burned the Coral" and "Contact with You" are my highlights.
However, my one criticism of this game is that some of the missions in the earlier chapters were so booring that I genuinely almost slept. It's filler with the utmost intent, and my only wish at the time was that they didn't sacrifice quality for variety.
Overall an incredible and fresh feeling game of a type that just isn't made anymore. Extremely happy that it is selling well. And since it's extremely unlikely that I will be playing Baldur's Gate 3 this year, this will be my GOTY.
9.5/10
But realistically I played it because I was incredibly disappointed with Elden Ring.
What I got was a different FromSoft game than the one I am familiar with.
With an stronger and clearer emphasis on narrative rather than lore chunks. A narrative that's a simple skeleton and fleshed out by underlying themes of greed, religion, exploitation, capitalism, fate and freedom of will. Exposition might be heavier handed than the souls games but to its benefit doesn't sound vague enough. I have never been a fan of narratives that get that it's standing from "lore" rather than the actual events that happen in game, something that FromSoft likes doing. There ARE text logs, but never have they felt so non-essential to make a sense of the usual aberrations, to my pleasant surprise. But the story doesn't end there, pun intended. One playthrough isn't enough. You aren't even close to eating the full pie. The full picture unfolds in your successive playthroughs with some of the most haunting and ethereal endings, which in my opinion, makes it the best new game+ implementation in a FromSoft game bar none. It goes beyond increased difficulty or small bits of new stuff.
It's almost meta that the overall plot of humanity returning to a previously dead planet for the previously exhausted Coral, just like how FromSoft and new and old players alike are returning to a once dormant franchise such as Armored Core.
It's a far more generous than punishing gameplay, it's a game with a philosophy of choice first and DEMANDS you to experiment (with varying but mostly complete success). The gameplay is mission based rather than sprawling open or closed metroidvania worlds, which is actually one of its biggest strengths. It is concise, to the point and unpretentious. It's an action game first and foremost and doesn't need to be anything else.
An antithesis and yet an acknowledgement to one of their previous titles, Sekiro, this game features ACS Strain. A system similar to posture; where it differs however is how this system forces the player on their action. This is not a one hit kill mechanic, it's mechanic that gives the enemy a moment of weakness, for players to exploit it and rain damage upon it. As such, players who solely rely on heavy weapons must not overuse them to fill up the ACS strain or its a waste. Similarly, a player who chips an enemy's health is a weak ac. It demands experimentation but also observation; a key trait in almost every FromSoft game.
But experimentation doesn't stop with the gameplay, rather it starts with you first. Your Armored Core is as expressive as you make it look. The paintjob customisation is so robust, it's almost unrivalled in ANY game that I have EVER seen. It's versatile but also manageable. The complexity isn't just thrown at you, they're presented in layers, pun intended again. Not satisfied with simple colour picks? Choose an rgb value. Not satisfied with simple color patches? Pick a pattern. Patterns aren't it for you? Apply a decal. Oh even the decals aren't doing it for you? Make you OWN decal or download someone else's with a code. Hell you download someone else's whole SETUPS with a code. It's my favourite aspect of this game and it's not close.
The boss fights are as equally fantastic as they are diverse. From a literal fortress, to intense ac battles, to a bullet hell goofy ahh Balteus, to the fan-named Mechlania to the "I won't miss"(iykyk). All of these give the sense of scale that for some amount of time, I subsconsciously believed my ac was as large as a regular human.
The visuals which received a bit of scrutiny at the beginning are actually nothing to scoff at. From the gigantic but sterile and ruinous grids to icy frigid fields below a bright burning sky to the whole ruins of an underground city that's is as alien but also as ancient and manmade.
The soundtrack is a banger. "The Man Who Burned the Coral" and "Contact with You" are my highlights.
However, my one criticism of this game is that some of the missions in the earlier chapters were so booring that I genuinely almost slept. It's filler with the utmost intent, and my only wish at the time was that they didn't sacrifice quality for variety.
Overall an incredible and fresh feeling game of a type that just isn't made anymore. Extremely happy that it is selling well. And since it's extremely unlikely that I will be playing Baldur's Gate 3 this year, this will be my GOTY.
9.5/10
Silent Hill 2
2001
Pretty much everything that can be said about this game has already been by someone else but yeah this game is really a one of a kind experience. I can't think of many games or pieces of media in general that have replicated the feel Silent Hill has in this game, so ethereal and dreamlike yet steeped in such a depressive melancholy. This game would really not be the same without the sound design and OST frankly. I find some fans can have a tendency to overanalyse every little piece of SH2's plot but ironically I find that the beauty of James' story lies in the simplicity of its core narrative. A tale of a man slowly uncovering the traumas he has repressed to protect himself from disturbing truths he refuses to confront. The sheer focus on this core throughline is what allows many of SH2's various little touches from its environmental storytelling to its monster designs to possess a cohesiveness to it that strengthens the game as a whole.
Game more than deserves its spot in gaming history as one of the greatest games of all time
Game more than deserves its spot in gaming history as one of the greatest games of all time
I don't really talk about video games since I don't think I'm knowledgeable or experienced enough on the medium, but I had to make an exception in this case because it's a work I'm very attached to. My growing up from the age of 8-18 involved revisiting Vice City numerous times. But upon replaying GTA: Vice City for the first time since I became an adult, it was a pleasant surprise at how well this game still holds up today, very polished and innovative in terms of world design, narrative and realism which makes the extensive research apparent.
Definitely one of the most culturally and historically significant video games for USA, Vice City is a brilliantly verite portrayal of 1980s Miami, the intensity of the crack epidemic, tension between the Haitians and Cubans (exaggerated and questionable but not baseless) and Mafia control.
Tommy Vercetti at the centre of all the conflict and drug trade is utilised to perfection. A very simple character journey, but a lot of complexities are imparted in him through subtle indications and mannerisms complemented with bravado by Liotta's emphatic voice acting performance. One of my favourite gaming characters, though nostalgia does play a part I'm sure.
Undoubtedly the most fun I've had with a game which cemented GTA as my favourite gaming franchise, at least concept wise. Vice City's depiction of Miami is one of the most dynamic gaming worlds ever.
Another notable aspect is the diversity of music integrated and meticulous detail put into the radio shows. Never a dull moment in it and one can spend long times just listening to different channels.
Not much coming from me, but GTA: Vice City is one of the greatest games ever made, the best GTA game, and one of the most notable and influential works in the crime genre. Revolutionary for its time.
Definitely one of the most culturally and historically significant video games for USA, Vice City is a brilliantly verite portrayal of 1980s Miami, the intensity of the crack epidemic, tension between the Haitians and Cubans (exaggerated and questionable but not baseless) and Mafia control.
Tommy Vercetti at the centre of all the conflict and drug trade is utilised to perfection. A very simple character journey, but a lot of complexities are imparted in him through subtle indications and mannerisms complemented with bravado by Liotta's emphatic voice acting performance. One of my favourite gaming characters, though nostalgia does play a part I'm sure.
Undoubtedly the most fun I've had with a game which cemented GTA as my favourite gaming franchise, at least concept wise. Vice City's depiction of Miami is one of the most dynamic gaming worlds ever.
Another notable aspect is the diversity of music integrated and meticulous detail put into the radio shows. Never a dull moment in it and one can spend long times just listening to different channels.
Not much coming from me, but GTA: Vice City is one of the greatest games ever made, the best GTA game, and one of the most notable and influential works in the crime genre. Revolutionary for its time.
