Zemania
30 Reviews liked by Zemania
KAMIGE :
i personally separate my life to pre-oppai academy big bouncy booby babes and post-oppai academy big bouncy booby babes periods, as reading it has completely changed how i view the world. it taught me to appreciate life much more (or rather in a different way) than i used to and also be more honest with myself. it may have a similar effect on you, or it may do nothing if it’s not your kind of thing, but one thing is clear — you’ve got to read it even if it’s the last thing you do. my life has been an ongoing quest to discover life-changing works of fiction, and despite having gone through thousands of books, movies, games and the like, i have yet to find anything to even rival oppai academy big bouncy booby babes. i’m honestly getting goosebumps just remembering it.
i personally separate my life to pre-oppai academy big bouncy booby babes and post-oppai academy big bouncy booby babes periods, as reading it has completely changed how i view the world. it taught me to appreciate life much more (or rather in a different way) than i used to and also be more honest with myself. it may have a similar effect on you, or it may do nothing if it’s not your kind of thing, but one thing is clear — you’ve got to read it even if it’s the last thing you do. my life has been an ongoing quest to discover life-changing works of fiction, and despite having gone through thousands of books, movies, games and the like, i have yet to find anything to even rival oppai academy big bouncy booby babes. i’m honestly getting goosebumps just remembering it.
Shin Megami Tensei V
2021
I finished Shin Megami Tensei V on Hard. I fused and got as many demons as possible in a first run. I aligned with “chaos”.
I always enjoy the ideology-based narrative in SMT, the hilarious humor when talking to demons, the harsh and satirical criticism on mankind and hierarchies, the most interesting symbolism, the world building and lore, the challenging combat and yes, the exploration.
The cutscenes are amazing, better than ever in the MegaTen series. It does have some qualities even a most modern JRPG like Persona 5 Royal did not have. In general, this game looks great, but suffers from performance issues a bit.
My biggest complaint is how same-y the four major areas are. The same assets everywhere: the same buildings, the same ruins, the same cars, the same sand, the same trees and the same streets. Almost no sights or points of interest. They just use different filter effects for each area.
Ginza is a commercial district, but you won’t recognize it as such, not even a little bit. Even after the apocalypse and destruction, you should be able to see that it once was a shopping district. But it looks like any other area in this game. It’s so normal that video games look varied in different areas that I’m actually baffled, disappointed and even a bit angry that a game taking place in Tokyo lacks variation. Honestly, that’s an imposition!
I also think that this game gets a lot easier after the Hydra boss battle. The Essence system, some Miracles and Magatsuhi are too broken. You are literally able to create an almost invincible Nahobino and almost invincible demons early on.
And while this game has two dungeons, I wish they would’ve given us some more for subquests and story. It’s a shame that we can’t enter the Tokyo Tower for example, one of the very very few known sights of Tokyo being in this game.
Sigh… I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, me saying this, but I even like SMT IV: Apocalypse more than SMT V.
I always enjoy the ideology-based narrative in SMT, the hilarious humor when talking to demons, the harsh and satirical criticism on mankind and hierarchies, the most interesting symbolism, the world building and lore, the challenging combat and yes, the exploration.
The cutscenes are amazing, better than ever in the MegaTen series. It does have some qualities even a most modern JRPG like Persona 5 Royal did not have. In general, this game looks great, but suffers from performance issues a bit.
My biggest complaint is how same-y the four major areas are. The same assets everywhere: the same buildings, the same ruins, the same cars, the same sand, the same trees and the same streets. Almost no sights or points of interest. They just use different filter effects for each area.
Ginza is a commercial district, but you won’t recognize it as such, not even a little bit. Even after the apocalypse and destruction, you should be able to see that it once was a shopping district. But it looks like any other area in this game. It’s so normal that video games look varied in different areas that I’m actually baffled, disappointed and even a bit angry that a game taking place in Tokyo lacks variation. Honestly, that’s an imposition!
I also think that this game gets a lot easier after the Hydra boss battle. The Essence system, some Miracles and Magatsuhi are too broken. You are literally able to create an almost invincible Nahobino and almost invincible demons early on.
And while this game has two dungeons, I wish they would’ve given us some more for subquests and story. It’s a shame that we can’t enter the Tokyo Tower for example, one of the very very few known sights of Tokyo being in this game.
Sigh… I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, me saying this, but I even like SMT IV: Apocalypse more than SMT V.
Future connected is an alright expansion but extremely unnecessary, while i appreciate what it does for Melia and Shulk, the combat doesn't feel right without characters like Reyn, Dunban and Fiora and replacing chain attacks with Nopon strikes was also a dumb decision, the world design however is amazing, it is nice to see the world after the events of the original game and see how everything was affected
This review contains spoilers
Well, here we are, I decided to rewrite my review for this game as i was no longer satisfied with my original review, so you can either think of this as a "Definitive Edition" if you will.
Anyway, Xenoblade Chronicles is the best video game I've ever played and personally my favorite of all time, there aren't any games where i can say where the story, the characters, the world, the gameplay and the music come together as great as this game, and i can't praise it enough, I am gonna cover Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition as a whole so expect future connected after the main segment.
Starting off with the story, It's extremely well written with every aspect of it coming together by the end, the game starting as a simple story about Shulk and Reyn trying to get revenge for their fallen ally slowly turns into a battle of philosophies between Homs and Gods, as more and more characters follow Shulk on his Journey they have to fight their old fallen allies and loved ones as they slowly uncover the truth about the world they inhabit, even if I do think everything after Egil is quite a bit shaky, The story It's trying to tell is fascinating and nothing less than incredible.
Moving onto the characters, as with most games, the characters are what make the game as great as it is for me, each one of the party members are unique and serve a specific role in both the party and the story, all of them having an arc of their own (Except maybe Riki??) that come to an amazing conclusion by the end of the game.
Shulk is a great protagonist and the twists surrounding him are also great, his ability to see visions is used well to foreshadow future events of the game.
Reyn is extremely lovable, his inherent charisma is outstanding as he constantly yells out one-liners while in the heat of battle also makes him even more likeable, even though Reyn pretty much starts off as the Best friend trope, it's his transition to something more and the end of his arc that easily make him one of the better characters in most games I've played.
Sharla is a great character but i dislike how the game uses her as fan service all the time and does not give any option for proper clothing, her character is extremely badass and her relationship with Reyn is also one of the highlights of the game, especially the scenes of her with Reyn on the Bionis arm after the group is separated for a short while.
Dunban is a great character, the original wielder of the Monado whose true potential is held back because of his War injuries, I really like Dunban's character, he gives off a major team commander vibe with how others treat him and how he generally acts towards them, His arc tackles the topic of his war injuries and realizing that he's still strong and important and what truly matters is one's inner strength to fight and push on.
Next up we have Riki, well... while Riki doesn't have much of an Arc he is still a fun and great character to be around, while initially he might come off as annoying, as more time passes by and he bonds with the other party members, he becomes something more, despite the differences between Homs and Nopon, at the end of the day they are all living beings who care for one another, the moment that Riki has with Dunban on the Mechonis arm also reinforces this fact, Riki's Nopon dialect is also extremely endearing, even if Riki doesn't have much of a character arc, he still has a major role in the group and provides a nice contrast.
Next up is Melia... I don't have much to say about Melia, She's a half Homs and half High Entia, while she has a much larger role in Future Connected (which i will cover later), she doesn't do much of note in the original game, her main arc in this game is overcoming her feelings for Shulk.
Now time for the final party member, Fiora, She's quite an interesting party member being half Mechon and half Homs, her dynamic with Shulk, Reyn and Duban is great and the scene Shulk has with her on the Mechonis Arm is also incredible.
And that should do it for all the major characters, there are of course more characters like Alvis, Gadolt, Mumkhar and Dickson that are also well written, but this should do it for the character.
Now, It's time for the world, where can I even begin... I don't think I've seen a word as ambitious and at such a large scale as the world in Xenoblade, the overworld themes for every area on Bionis and Mechonis capture the mood and atomsphere extremely well, not to mention they're also beautifully composed tracks, my favorite of the locations has to be Kneecap Hill, the moment where you leave the caves and witness how truly insignificant you are compared to the giant titans that you are actually living on is such a goooood moment, the Bionis leg in general has to be my favorite section of the game, as the games finally becomes something much larger as you finally understand the massive scale of the game.
So the gameplay, Honestly? I can't say that it's anything that special, however this does not mean it's not fun or good, the combat is extremely deep with tons of different party combinations you can use for any situation, there is a simple pattern to most fights, Break --> Topple --> Daze (Repeat for a longer effect), while it's simple, it requires a lot of teamwork and utilization of the Chain attacks and a good party combination to continue doing this effectively and pretty much destroy any chance the creature has of fighting back, and listen buddy, It's fun, it's so much god damn fun, there are also other factors in the combat as well, like your Weapons, Gems and Armor and Skill Trees, Bonds and Leveling up Arts, which gives the combat more depth and more enjoyable and awards optimization of all these mechanics and can make your party kick ass, the fact you have to approach different kinds of enemies differently, sneaking up on mini bosses and getting a headstart on the combat is such a satisfying feeling, the ridiculous amount of Side quests is intimidating however there are a few side quests that are special and grant the party new Arts and Skills with some great boss fights in them, the exploration in this game is also great, the worlds are made with tons of love and details and just walking around in them and seeing creatures walk around is fantastic and i wish more games would feel like this.
And finally, The Music, this game has one of the best soundtracks of all time, every battle theme, every overworld theme, every cutscene theme it all sounds incredible and just fits so naturally, every theme in this game improving every aspect of the game, tracks like You Will Know Our Names, Engage the Enemy, Mechanical Rhytm are some of the best battle themes in the history of JRPGS and I Love It.
And this does it for the base game of Xenoblade Chronicles, it's now time to move onto Future Connected.
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Future Connected is... Unnecessary.
While I do like some aspects of this game, I don't think it does enough to justify exisiting.
The story, The game follows Melia and Shulk as they search for Alcamoth after the world reset as two of Riki's children, Nene and Kino have snuck into the ship in order to become a Heropon like their father, as they try to make their way into Alcamoth. While the premise is interesting, i don't quite enjoy the story here as much as i enjoyed the original and i don't think it does anything of note aside from Melia's character development.
The characters, the main cast in Futute connected is Shulk, Melia, Nene, Kino and Tyrea, And I'll say it now, I do not like Kino and Nene, they repeat the same 2 lines over and over and over and over and over again and it's annoying as hell, Shulk doesn't do much in this game, he's just there to be there, and as I've been saying throughout this whole review, the spotlight is cast upon Melia and Tyrea in this game and i think it's been done extremely well, Melia finally accepting herself as the queen of the High Entia and Tyrea accepting Melia as her empress and her sister is an honestly amazing moment and one of the highlights of the entire franchise.
Now, The Gameplay, It's mostly the same with a few differences, the skill tree system has been removed and instead of chain attacks you now have Nopon strikes (I do not like this mechanic), You need to collect tons of Nopon workers to be able to pull off these attacks, and it sucks, once you have more than 5 Nopon following you and aiding you in battle the game will lag heavily, not to mention the final boss makes the game run at 5fps, that's all I have to say about the combat.
The world is very interesting in Future connected, after the World Reset in the original, The Bionis shoulder is an all around great location that really puts Monolith's world design into show, and that's about it.
And that's it for Future connected, it's a small and unnecessary sequel however it does the job and gave Melia some needed character development.
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I'd like to thank you for sticking around for so long and reading this whole mess of a review, I really love this game and thought that my original review didn't do it enough justice and now that I've collected my thoughts on it and played a bit more of Xenoblade 2 (Before dropping it again), I thought it was best to redo it. I'll leave my original review below this one however i don't personally recommend it!
------------------------------------------------
OLD REVIEW:
Nothing can be perfect, and if nothing can be perfect then xenoblade chronicles is as good as it can get
The story is filled with twists and turns and it makes sure you never know what's coming next, the way the events are foreshadowed are also brilliant, I believe the visions are used to their full extent and make story events have way more stakes as they can't always change the future, visions are also a neat gameplay gimmick that work extremely well for boss fights but might get a little tedious in normal encounters, however I believe that the execution of this mechanic was done extremely well, while on the topic of gameplay I have to say, the combat of xenoblade might not be the deepest combat system out there but what's there is incredible, having to focus on agro, positioning, buffs and debuffs is extremely well done and if utilized correctly the player can easily overcome any challenge, each character has their own role in the party and have situations where they'll easily do way better than others, for most of the game my party was Shulk, Reyn and Dunban however there were some situations where I had to switch up my playstyle and party members
Another aspect of the game I enjoy are the party members and their dynamic with each other, while there isn't that much interaction between characters in the main story, the party members truly shine in combat or at Heart to Heart points of the game, while they have requirements, I believe that the pay off for them is great as it gives the characters more development and makes some more likable
The music of this game is some of the best I've seen, the overworld themes, the combat themes, just everything in this game is masterfully made and I adore it
In summary: Xenoblade Chronicles is one of the best games I've ever played, the story, combat, characters and music are all aspects I adore and love and I believe they all support each other perfectly, while it has some issues, I can easily overlook them due to how great the rest of the game really is
Anyway, Xenoblade Chronicles is the best video game I've ever played and personally my favorite of all time, there aren't any games where i can say where the story, the characters, the world, the gameplay and the music come together as great as this game, and i can't praise it enough, I am gonna cover Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition as a whole so expect future connected after the main segment.
Starting off with the story, It's extremely well written with every aspect of it coming together by the end, the game starting as a simple story about Shulk and Reyn trying to get revenge for their fallen ally slowly turns into a battle of philosophies between Homs and Gods, as more and more characters follow Shulk on his Journey they have to fight their old fallen allies and loved ones as they slowly uncover the truth about the world they inhabit, even if I do think everything after Egil is quite a bit shaky, The story It's trying to tell is fascinating and nothing less than incredible.
Moving onto the characters, as with most games, the characters are what make the game as great as it is for me, each one of the party members are unique and serve a specific role in both the party and the story, all of them having an arc of their own (Except maybe Riki??) that come to an amazing conclusion by the end of the game.
Shulk is a great protagonist and the twists surrounding him are also great, his ability to see visions is used well to foreshadow future events of the game.
Reyn is extremely lovable, his inherent charisma is outstanding as he constantly yells out one-liners while in the heat of battle also makes him even more likeable, even though Reyn pretty much starts off as the Best friend trope, it's his transition to something more and the end of his arc that easily make him one of the better characters in most games I've played.
Sharla is a great character but i dislike how the game uses her as fan service all the time and does not give any option for proper clothing, her character is extremely badass and her relationship with Reyn is also one of the highlights of the game, especially the scenes of her with Reyn on the Bionis arm after the group is separated for a short while.
Dunban is a great character, the original wielder of the Monado whose true potential is held back because of his War injuries, I really like Dunban's character, he gives off a major team commander vibe with how others treat him and how he generally acts towards them, His arc tackles the topic of his war injuries and realizing that he's still strong and important and what truly matters is one's inner strength to fight and push on.
Next up we have Riki, well... while Riki doesn't have much of an Arc he is still a fun and great character to be around, while initially he might come off as annoying, as more time passes by and he bonds with the other party members, he becomes something more, despite the differences between Homs and Nopon, at the end of the day they are all living beings who care for one another, the moment that Riki has with Dunban on the Mechonis arm also reinforces this fact, Riki's Nopon dialect is also extremely endearing, even if Riki doesn't have much of a character arc, he still has a major role in the group and provides a nice contrast.
Next up is Melia... I don't have much to say about Melia, She's a half Homs and half High Entia, while she has a much larger role in Future Connected (which i will cover later), she doesn't do much of note in the original game, her main arc in this game is overcoming her feelings for Shulk.
Now time for the final party member, Fiora, She's quite an interesting party member being half Mechon and half Homs, her dynamic with Shulk, Reyn and Duban is great and the scene Shulk has with her on the Mechonis Arm is also incredible.
And that should do it for all the major characters, there are of course more characters like Alvis, Gadolt, Mumkhar and Dickson that are also well written, but this should do it for the character.
Now, It's time for the world, where can I even begin... I don't think I've seen a word as ambitious and at such a large scale as the world in Xenoblade, the overworld themes for every area on Bionis and Mechonis capture the mood and atomsphere extremely well, not to mention they're also beautifully composed tracks, my favorite of the locations has to be Kneecap Hill, the moment where you leave the caves and witness how truly insignificant you are compared to the giant titans that you are actually living on is such a goooood moment, the Bionis leg in general has to be my favorite section of the game, as the games finally becomes something much larger as you finally understand the massive scale of the game.
So the gameplay, Honestly? I can't say that it's anything that special, however this does not mean it's not fun or good, the combat is extremely deep with tons of different party combinations you can use for any situation, there is a simple pattern to most fights, Break --> Topple --> Daze (Repeat for a longer effect), while it's simple, it requires a lot of teamwork and utilization of the Chain attacks and a good party combination to continue doing this effectively and pretty much destroy any chance the creature has of fighting back, and listen buddy, It's fun, it's so much god damn fun, there are also other factors in the combat as well, like your Weapons, Gems and Armor and Skill Trees, Bonds and Leveling up Arts, which gives the combat more depth and more enjoyable and awards optimization of all these mechanics and can make your party kick ass, the fact you have to approach different kinds of enemies differently, sneaking up on mini bosses and getting a headstart on the combat is such a satisfying feeling, the ridiculous amount of Side quests is intimidating however there are a few side quests that are special and grant the party new Arts and Skills with some great boss fights in them, the exploration in this game is also great, the worlds are made with tons of love and details and just walking around in them and seeing creatures walk around is fantastic and i wish more games would feel like this.
And finally, The Music, this game has one of the best soundtracks of all time, every battle theme, every overworld theme, every cutscene theme it all sounds incredible and just fits so naturally, every theme in this game improving every aspect of the game, tracks like You Will Know Our Names, Engage the Enemy, Mechanical Rhytm are some of the best battle themes in the history of JRPGS and I Love It.
And this does it for the base game of Xenoblade Chronicles, it's now time to move onto Future Connected.
------------------------------------------------
Future Connected is... Unnecessary.
While I do like some aspects of this game, I don't think it does enough to justify exisiting.
The story, The game follows Melia and Shulk as they search for Alcamoth after the world reset as two of Riki's children, Nene and Kino have snuck into the ship in order to become a Heropon like their father, as they try to make their way into Alcamoth. While the premise is interesting, i don't quite enjoy the story here as much as i enjoyed the original and i don't think it does anything of note aside from Melia's character development.
The characters, the main cast in Futute connected is Shulk, Melia, Nene, Kino and Tyrea, And I'll say it now, I do not like Kino and Nene, they repeat the same 2 lines over and over and over and over and over again and it's annoying as hell, Shulk doesn't do much in this game, he's just there to be there, and as I've been saying throughout this whole review, the spotlight is cast upon Melia and Tyrea in this game and i think it's been done extremely well, Melia finally accepting herself as the queen of the High Entia and Tyrea accepting Melia as her empress and her sister is an honestly amazing moment and one of the highlights of the entire franchise.
Now, The Gameplay, It's mostly the same with a few differences, the skill tree system has been removed and instead of chain attacks you now have Nopon strikes (I do not like this mechanic), You need to collect tons of Nopon workers to be able to pull off these attacks, and it sucks, once you have more than 5 Nopon following you and aiding you in battle the game will lag heavily, not to mention the final boss makes the game run at 5fps, that's all I have to say about the combat.
The world is very interesting in Future connected, after the World Reset in the original, The Bionis shoulder is an all around great location that really puts Monolith's world design into show, and that's about it.
And that's it for Future connected, it's a small and unnecessary sequel however it does the job and gave Melia some needed character development.
------------------------------------------------
I'd like to thank you for sticking around for so long and reading this whole mess of a review, I really love this game and thought that my original review didn't do it enough justice and now that I've collected my thoughts on it and played a bit more of Xenoblade 2 (Before dropping it again), I thought it was best to redo it. I'll leave my original review below this one however i don't personally recommend it!
------------------------------------------------
OLD REVIEW:
Nothing can be perfect, and if nothing can be perfect then xenoblade chronicles is as good as it can get
The story is filled with twists and turns and it makes sure you never know what's coming next, the way the events are foreshadowed are also brilliant, I believe the visions are used to their full extent and make story events have way more stakes as they can't always change the future, visions are also a neat gameplay gimmick that work extremely well for boss fights but might get a little tedious in normal encounters, however I believe that the execution of this mechanic was done extremely well, while on the topic of gameplay I have to say, the combat of xenoblade might not be the deepest combat system out there but what's there is incredible, having to focus on agro, positioning, buffs and debuffs is extremely well done and if utilized correctly the player can easily overcome any challenge, each character has their own role in the party and have situations where they'll easily do way better than others, for most of the game my party was Shulk, Reyn and Dunban however there were some situations where I had to switch up my playstyle and party members
Another aspect of the game I enjoy are the party members and their dynamic with each other, while there isn't that much interaction between characters in the main story, the party members truly shine in combat or at Heart to Heart points of the game, while they have requirements, I believe that the pay off for them is great as it gives the characters more development and makes some more likable
The music of this game is some of the best I've seen, the overworld themes, the combat themes, just everything in this game is masterfully made and I adore it
In summary: Xenoblade Chronicles is one of the best games I've ever played, the story, combat, characters and music are all aspects I adore and love and I believe they all support each other perfectly, while it has some issues, I can easily overlook them due to how great the rest of the game really is
While it sounds crazy enough to write a review about a game thats not even OUT LMAO. I why I can 100% confirm that this game will be my favourite game ever when it releases.
Fate/extra record is from a series I'm genuinely not that familiar with. beside playing fate/extella on the nintedo swtich 2 years ago. Having played a few hours of Fate/Extra on the PSP and having watched like 7 episodes of Fate/extra last encore and then dropping it out of boredom. You would genuinely be insane from a series where your intertest was never fully captured nor grasped to have the latest entry be your FAVOURITE GAME EVER?! Well here I will try to concretely enough explain my "My insanity" or for some of you guys "Stupidity" I'm assuming.
I found out about fate/extra record pretty late actually the game was revealed in a stream in 2020. I accidentally stumbled upon the game in march pure on whim. I was watching videos about JRPGs and I saw the games Trailer in my recommendations. I didn't even wanna click on the trailer nor did I want it to play YouTube Autoplayed it for me when I went to the toilet lol... but when I came back I was like "fuck it why not" and pressed replay and my mind was blown away... to most it's a standard trailer nothing outstanding or experimental enough for someone to lose their shit over it but man... I WAS IN. From the SFX of Nero her heel the silent build up and the narrator to the strong fantasy athmosphere but with a striking distinct visual style. It reminded so much of every favourite Fantasy series I love and it happens so rarely that I ever have such a strong sense of nostolgia from past of something in the present that I have no strong knowledge. But from the previously mentioned things and flashy gameplay and strong and striking character designs. I just knew it was the one. The Fantasy genre is a VERY important genre to me because it helped me allot as a person throughout my life and I honestly watched allot of fantasy media but super rarely has this same feeling been matched before. I literally searched up every information about the game since and don't think I've ever been as hype for something as this game. The latest Info dump just made me even more confident in my feelings. I rewatched each trailer over 10x and watched the gameplay showcases over 10x. Did as much research as I can on the people working on it. Theorize heavy about future characters , environments and potential story beats. I genuinely have 100% trust in this game and don't think I can get dissapointed really.
So it really a case of pure feelings of nostolgia , charm and trust that makes me so sure. I know this seems goofy asf to write this but I know myself the best so I know best what my true feelings on the game will be.
( P.S I've done this before and know how my expectations work so I really cannot be dissapointed. also I will do a follow up in the future on this when I play it.
Fate/extra record is from a series I'm genuinely not that familiar with. beside playing fate/extella on the nintedo swtich 2 years ago. Having played a few hours of Fate/Extra on the PSP and having watched like 7 episodes of Fate/extra last encore and then dropping it out of boredom. You would genuinely be insane from a series where your intertest was never fully captured nor grasped to have the latest entry be your FAVOURITE GAME EVER?! Well here I will try to concretely enough explain my "My insanity" or for some of you guys "Stupidity" I'm assuming.
I found out about fate/extra record pretty late actually the game was revealed in a stream in 2020. I accidentally stumbled upon the game in march pure on whim. I was watching videos about JRPGs and I saw the games Trailer in my recommendations. I didn't even wanna click on the trailer nor did I want it to play YouTube Autoplayed it for me when I went to the toilet lol... but when I came back I was like "fuck it why not" and pressed replay and my mind was blown away... to most it's a standard trailer nothing outstanding or experimental enough for someone to lose their shit over it but man... I WAS IN. From the SFX of Nero her heel the silent build up and the narrator to the strong fantasy athmosphere but with a striking distinct visual style. It reminded so much of every favourite Fantasy series I love and it happens so rarely that I ever have such a strong sense of nostolgia from past of something in the present that I have no strong knowledge. But from the previously mentioned things and flashy gameplay and strong and striking character designs. I just knew it was the one. The Fantasy genre is a VERY important genre to me because it helped me allot as a person throughout my life and I honestly watched allot of fantasy media but super rarely has this same feeling been matched before. I literally searched up every information about the game since and don't think I've ever been as hype for something as this game. The latest Info dump just made me even more confident in my feelings. I rewatched each trailer over 10x and watched the gameplay showcases over 10x. Did as much research as I can on the people working on it. Theorize heavy about future characters , environments and potential story beats. I genuinely have 100% trust in this game and don't think I can get dissapointed really.
So it really a case of pure feelings of nostolgia , charm and trust that makes me so sure. I know this seems goofy asf to write this but I know myself the best so I know best what my true feelings on the game will be.
( P.S I've done this before and know how my expectations work so I really cannot be dissapointed. also I will do a follow up in the future on this when I play it.
Fate/Extra
2010
"There are no grades given for goals and wishes. No matter how small they may seem to others, as long as I keep moving forward they will eventually come to fruition.
As it is the desire for that wish to become reality that will keep you going until the end."
This is gonna be the single most biased review in all of history so buckle up.
Type Moon's magnum opus, the first and best game of Kazuya Niino's PSP trilogy.
I love Fate/EXTRA to death, it is the most masterfully crafted and methodically put together piece of media I've ever had the pleasure to experience.
This is the story of Hakuno Kishinami searching for themselves amidst a dire scenario where they have to face mankind at its purest state to fully understand the meaning of being human, the thing that drives us to go out there and want to make a difference, stand by our values and enjoy life even at its harshest moments.
Every foe they face carries a theme and none of them are wasted. It builds this incredibly flawless character study of humanity itself through people who embody the aspects that define us as people.
Shinji's friendship and greed, Dan's pride and code of honor, Alice's vulnerability and need for support, Gatou's religious clinging, Ronnie's downfall to the carnal desire, Julius' search for love, Rani's understanding of humanity and Rin's rebellion against stagnation (Cleverly both defining aspects of Hakuno, who they get to interact with the most), Leo's strive towards perfection and Twice's nihilistic and bitter but ultimately thoughtful view on the process of human evolution.
It wastes no beats and packs so much density in such a perfectly tied narrative.
The recontextualization of the Holy Grail War into a death game that dissects humanity is a sight to behold.
The servant trinity is an absolute highlight. Nero, Nameless and Tamamo are fantastic. They provide an amazing replay value to the game since each one has their own distinct chemistry with Hakuno and they're all so fucking cool man I love them so much.
There's an infinity of nuance and depth to explore after multiple playthroughs and way too many shower thought sessions.
Hakuno Kishinami is my favorite character of all time. Don't see that ever changing either. There's something truly special with Hakuno that gets me in a way no other character ever could and I honestly cannot point out what it is specifically. Is it their beautiful story of self recognition? Is it their awe inspiring unbreakable resolve and strive towards betterment of the body and mind? Is it their bittersweet and often times heart wrenching purity that leads them to still find a worth to this life they were given even amidst this hellish scenario? I honestly can't tell and I could waste 90% of this review just gushing about every single character defining line they hit you with like a hammer when you least expect, however I do want to keep this spoiler free so I don't want to delve into the specifics and revelations about their character. They're just the best man, I love my Hakuno Kishinami so much.
Even without spoilers I will say tho the ending is the most beautiful and heartfelt conclusion possible to this story accompanied by an ending quote that instantly became my favorite bit of writing ever.
I don't think exploring the writing any further is needed since there's just WAY too much to talk about so yeah it's the coolest fucking shit ever written. #ThankYouNiino
Outside of the writing, it's a game that aged like wine visually. The look of Niino's games are always artistically driven to the bone and EXTRA is no different. The dungeons are extremely striking and creative, Tsukihimihara is such a cool place to live in, Wada's art is awesome, the enemies look so wacky and fun...
I DON'T EVEN NEED TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE OST BRUH THAT SHIT IS NUCLEAR BANGER ITS BEEN KNOWN SHINJI HOSOE TE AMO JAZZ FOR THE SOUUUULLL
The gameplay is infamously the divisive factor but I personally am a fan. I respect the hustle Niino has for never going for the traditional no matter what with the combat in his games (I will get to Black Rock Shooter's bizarre third person turn based jrpg combat) and the RPS combat has layers beyond its initial RNG factor. Boss fights in particular are immensely fun with this system, at the cost of a repetitive but decent usage against average mobs.
In summary, it's a game that drips heart through every single one of its pores, has so much to say while at the same time being so simple and sincere at its core. A masterpiece in every sense of the word. A game I will forever hold dear and cherish, truly a lifechanging experience that has been shaking up how I perceive myself and life as a whole immensely during these early stages of adulthood.
Also Hakuno is so fucking hot please have sex with me I am begging you
As it is the desire for that wish to become reality that will keep you going until the end."
This is gonna be the single most biased review in all of history so buckle up.
Type Moon's magnum opus, the first and best game of Kazuya Niino's PSP trilogy.
I love Fate/EXTRA to death, it is the most masterfully crafted and methodically put together piece of media I've ever had the pleasure to experience.
This is the story of Hakuno Kishinami searching for themselves amidst a dire scenario where they have to face mankind at its purest state to fully understand the meaning of being human, the thing that drives us to go out there and want to make a difference, stand by our values and enjoy life even at its harshest moments.
Every foe they face carries a theme and none of them are wasted. It builds this incredibly flawless character study of humanity itself through people who embody the aspects that define us as people.
Shinji's friendship and greed, Dan's pride and code of honor, Alice's vulnerability and need for support, Gatou's religious clinging, Ronnie's downfall to the carnal desire, Julius' search for love, Rani's understanding of humanity and Rin's rebellion against stagnation (Cleverly both defining aspects of Hakuno, who they get to interact with the most), Leo's strive towards perfection and Twice's nihilistic and bitter but ultimately thoughtful view on the process of human evolution.
It wastes no beats and packs so much density in such a perfectly tied narrative.
The recontextualization of the Holy Grail War into a death game that dissects humanity is a sight to behold.
The servant trinity is an absolute highlight. Nero, Nameless and Tamamo are fantastic. They provide an amazing replay value to the game since each one has their own distinct chemistry with Hakuno and they're all so fucking cool man I love them so much.
There's an infinity of nuance and depth to explore after multiple playthroughs and way too many shower thought sessions.
Hakuno Kishinami is my favorite character of all time. Don't see that ever changing either. There's something truly special with Hakuno that gets me in a way no other character ever could and I honestly cannot point out what it is specifically. Is it their beautiful story of self recognition? Is it their awe inspiring unbreakable resolve and strive towards betterment of the body and mind? Is it their bittersweet and often times heart wrenching purity that leads them to still find a worth to this life they were given even amidst this hellish scenario? I honestly can't tell and I could waste 90% of this review just gushing about every single character defining line they hit you with like a hammer when you least expect, however I do want to keep this spoiler free so I don't want to delve into the specifics and revelations about their character. They're just the best man, I love my Hakuno Kishinami so much.
Even without spoilers I will say tho the ending is the most beautiful and heartfelt conclusion possible to this story accompanied by an ending quote that instantly became my favorite bit of writing ever.
I don't think exploring the writing any further is needed since there's just WAY too much to talk about so yeah it's the coolest fucking shit ever written. #ThankYouNiino
Outside of the writing, it's a game that aged like wine visually. The look of Niino's games are always artistically driven to the bone and EXTRA is no different. The dungeons are extremely striking and creative, Tsukihimihara is such a cool place to live in, Wada's art is awesome, the enemies look so wacky and fun...
I DON'T EVEN NEED TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE OST BRUH THAT SHIT IS NUCLEAR BANGER ITS BEEN KNOWN SHINJI HOSOE TE AMO JAZZ FOR THE SOUUUULLL
The gameplay is infamously the divisive factor but I personally am a fan. I respect the hustle Niino has for never going for the traditional no matter what with the combat in his games (I will get to Black Rock Shooter's bizarre third person turn based jrpg combat) and the RPS combat has layers beyond its initial RNG factor. Boss fights in particular are immensely fun with this system, at the cost of a repetitive but decent usage against average mobs.
In summary, it's a game that drips heart through every single one of its pores, has so much to say while at the same time being so simple and sincere at its core. A masterpiece in every sense of the word. A game I will forever hold dear and cherish, truly a lifechanging experience that has been shaking up how I perceive myself and life as a whole immensely during these early stages of adulthood.
Also Hakuno is so fucking hot please have sex with me I am begging you
Wolf Girl With You
2016
The dev was down bad and so am I
Fate/Hollow Ataraxia
2014
One of my favorite VNs! It adds so much to the cast of F/SN by the daytime events, fleshing out (nearly) every character even more through fun and sweet events, but the nighttime is where this game really shines. Bazett and Avenger's story is my favorite thing in the series, and Bazett is one of my favorite characters ever. Really interesting dynamic between these two, and slowly piecing together how the events of Hollow Ataraxia are happening with them was incredible. If you liked F/SN, you'll definitely love this! It's an incredibly cathartic ending to truly wrap up the Fate/Stay Night universe, so i can't recommend it enough.
This review contains spoilers
The step up in quality and focus from chapter 2 to 3 is mindblowing. I don't know what the reasoning was behind it aside from chapter 3 (presumably) being more important in the overarching story, but the music, CG’s and even plot as a whole were impressively better.
It being introduced as a Satoko chapter was the most anticipated I had been due to her lack of development outside of the club. And while the chapter delivered that tenfold, this wasn't Satoko's chapter. This was a veil that eventually revealed itself as a chapter about Keiichi and his psyche. The 3 part act where he decides to kill Satoko's uncle, goes through with it, and then gets rid of the evidence is the peak of the VN so far. While the VN is sometimes lacking in the music department, it really knows how to set a scene. The rain, lack of music and the dumb shovel sound effects all worked to enhance the scene of burying the body. And then after the VN shows its teeth, has Keiichi commit the act and has the reader believe it could be over. Until whatever the fuck happens and he isn't dead. the following chapters were almost just as good as the murder plot. Culminating in literally every 1200 members of the town dying. This chapter (and chapter 2) i feel will only get infinitely better with context from later chapters. While the demon stuff with Mion dampened the ending of Chapter 2 slightly, I feel like Chapter 3 already learnt from that, and went balls to the wall throughout.
I'll admit the supernatural stuff being all but fully admitted is disappointing, but that for the story to work, it couldn't solely be people killing other people. Though I'll also admit the curse and it's uses were much better in chapter 3.
Chapter 3 also did something new in showing a body, chapter 1,2 and 99% of 3 led its scenes of brutality and gore with black screens and explanations. And it worked. Until the end of chapter 3 where you see Rika's body being eaten by crows (albeit still no gore, just some blood running from her eyes). This chapter showing a corpse is a culmination of how I have no fucking clue what is going on anymore. the remaining FIVE chapters could pull anything out and I anticipate that essentially anything can happen.
Another surprise was the abundance of CG's in chapter 3. There was double what chapter 1 and 2 had combined. I'm sure this applies to everyone, but CG's just work so well in describing how a scene truly is. I'll never forget the best ones from chapter 1&2, and 3's highlights will also last in my brain for a while.
It being introduced as a Satoko chapter was the most anticipated I had been due to her lack of development outside of the club. And while the chapter delivered that tenfold, this wasn't Satoko's chapter. This was a veil that eventually revealed itself as a chapter about Keiichi and his psyche. The 3 part act where he decides to kill Satoko's uncle, goes through with it, and then gets rid of the evidence is the peak of the VN so far. While the VN is sometimes lacking in the music department, it really knows how to set a scene. The rain, lack of music and the dumb shovel sound effects all worked to enhance the scene of burying the body. And then after the VN shows its teeth, has Keiichi commit the act and has the reader believe it could be over. Until whatever the fuck happens and he isn't dead. the following chapters were almost just as good as the murder plot. Culminating in literally every 1200 members of the town dying. This chapter (and chapter 2) i feel will only get infinitely better with context from later chapters. While the demon stuff with Mion dampened the ending of Chapter 2 slightly, I feel like Chapter 3 already learnt from that, and went balls to the wall throughout.
I'll admit the supernatural stuff being all but fully admitted is disappointing, but that for the story to work, it couldn't solely be people killing other people. Though I'll also admit the curse and it's uses were much better in chapter 3.
Chapter 3 also did something new in showing a body, chapter 1,2 and 99% of 3 led its scenes of brutality and gore with black screens and explanations. And it worked. Until the end of chapter 3 where you see Rika's body being eaten by crows (albeit still no gore, just some blood running from her eyes). This chapter showing a corpse is a culmination of how I have no fucking clue what is going on anymore. the remaining FIVE chapters could pull anything out and I anticipate that essentially anything can happen.
Another surprise was the abundance of CG's in chapter 3. There was double what chapter 1 and 2 had combined. I'm sure this applies to everyone, but CG's just work so well in describing how a scene truly is. I'll never forget the best ones from chapter 1&2, and 3's highlights will also last in my brain for a while.
You (vocal version)
Yakuza Kiwami
2016
as the minority who actually enjoyed this game more over 0, this game is actually amazing, the story is my favorite in the series after 6, despite reusing 0's engine it still has it's own feel to it
Chrono Trigger
1995
My cat loaded a save state 6 hours back so time travel ain't all that
What if a summer breeze lasted forever
This is a game that thinks more automatically equals better, and while I love its episodic structure on paper--and some of the little stories this game tells are really good--it has absolutely no respect for pacing, or for the player's time. There's barely even a hint of an overarching plot until almost the 50 hour mark, and by then I was already at the point where I was ready for it to be over. Even in this form, which supposedly trims about 30 hours from the Playstation original, this is an obscenely bloated game. I don't mind big or long games, but so much of Dragon Quest VII is devoted to running back and forth across x town looking for the next plot trigger. It's big and long in a way that comes across as thoughtless. (For comparison, my playthrough of Dragon Quest XI this summer clocked in at 120 hours, and it felt about half as long as the 75 hours I spent in Dragon Quest VII). It's still a game that I would describe as good, but it really, really should've been great.
And while I love the job system, the way it makes certain key party members unavailable for lengthy chunks of the game so that they're always behind where they should be in their job level is legitimately infuriating. I had to grind about 300 battles at the end of the game just so one of my party members could be at a decently ranked advanced job level for the final boss.
And while I love the job system, the way it makes certain key party members unavailable for lengthy chunks of the game so that they're always behind where they should be in their job level is legitimately infuriating. I had to grind about 300 battles at the end of the game just so one of my party members could be at a decently ranked advanced job level for the final boss.
Donkey Kong
1981
Even people who enjoy playing old games can be guilty of looking at them patronizingly, like they’re just cave paintings that formed the basis of the renaissance art which deserves the real analysis. However, as a programmer and a games analyst, I wanted to highlight the amount of work that went into designing these seemingly primitive games, and what better way is there to do so than looking at decompiled source code. Specifically, this will be the code at the heart of Donkey Kong’s difficulty: the movement of the barrels.
If you haven’t played Donkey Kong before, you might be wondering what makes barrels rolling down slopes so difficult. They all go at the same speed, they’re the same size, and there isn’t a restrictive timer that forces you into hasty mistakes. However, sometimes they go straight down the ladders between each of the slopes, and this is what makes the game so tricky. Ladders are incredibly useful, letting you quickly reach the next level and reliably dodge barrels underneath you, but the slow climbing speed and potential for getting hit by a falling barrel leads to a lot of quick decision making at each ladder. At first, it may seem like the falling is entirely random, but here’s the exact logic of how it works:
(Decompiled and commented by Don Hodges. If you've never seen Assembly code before, yes, it really is this nightmarish)
2178 3A4863 LD A,(#6348) ; get status of the oil can fire
217B A7 AND A ; is the fire lit ?
217C CAB221 JP Z,#21B2 ; no, always take ladders before oil is lit
217F 3A0562 LD A,(#6205) ; else load A with Mario's Y position + 5
2182 D604 SUB #04 ; subtract 4
2184 BA CP D ; is the barrel already below or same level as Mario ?
2185 D8 RET C ; yes, return without taking ladder
2186 3A8063 LD A,(#6380) ; else load A with difficulty from 1 to 5.
2189 1F RRA ; divide by 2, result can be 0, 1, or 2
218A 3C INC A ; increment. result is now 1, 2, or 3
218B 47 LD B,A ; store into B
218C 3A1860 LD A,(#6018) ; load A with random timer
218F 4F LD C,A ; store into C for later use
2190 E603 AND #03 ; mask bits. result now random number between 0 and 3
2192 B8 CP B ; is it greater than modified difficulty?
2193 D0 RET NC ; yes, return without taking ladder
2194 211060 LD HL,#6010 ; else load HL with player input.
2197 3A0362 LD A,(#6203) ; load A with Mario's X position
219A BB CP E ; compare with barrel's X position
219B CAB221 JP Z,#21B2 ; if equal, then go down ladder
219E D2A921 JP NC,#21A9 ; if barrel is to right of Mario, check for moving to left
21A1 CB46 BIT 0,(HL) ; else is Mario trying to move right ?
21A3 CAAE21 JP Z,#21AE ; no, skip ahead
21A6 C3B221 JP #21B2 ; yes, make barrel take ladder
21A9 CB4E BIT 1,(HL) ; is Mario trying to move left ?
21AB C2B221 JP NZ,#21B2 ; yes, make barrel take ladder
21AE 79 LD A,C ; else load A with random timer computed above
21AF E618 AND #18 ; mask with #18. 25% chance of being zero
21B1 C0 RET NZ ; if not zero, return without taking ladder
21B2 DD3407 INC (IX+#07) ; else increase barrel animation
21B5 DDCB02C6 SET 0,(IX+#02) ; set barrel to take the ladder
21B9 C9 RET ; return
The line that may stand out is the “load A with difficulty 1 to 5” command, when the game never explicitly states a difficulty level. This is a value hidden from the player that simply increments every thirty-three seconds, or when the player reaches a new level number that’s higher than the difficulty value. To oversimplify the minutiae of the exact math, this is used for comparison with a random number between zero and three to decide if the barrel goes down the ladder. For the player, this means that on the lowest difficulty (the first thirty-three seconds of level one), barrels go down the ladder 25% of the time, but this increases by 25% either when thirty-three more seconds pass or the player goes to the next level before such an increase, until it reaches a maximum of 75%. However, there are two cases where barrels will always choose to use the ladder, either when Mario is directly underneath the barrel, or when Mario is actively moving towards a barrel that's going the same way.
So, the question now is why Nintendo bothered to put so much detail into something people could easily dismiss as token-taking randomness. The reason is a concept that anyone who does a lot of cooking understands well: that just because something can’t be consciously detected, doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant to the experience. The best example might be how barrels moving in the same direction you’re walking towards will always go down the ladder. That might not be a rule you’re directly conscious of, but it ensures that thoughtlessly walking towards a ladder will always result in punishment. Similarly, barrels always dropping on top of you if you’re on the ladder itself forces you to be mindful of where you stand, and not use them as a safe zone. Players begin to understand these mechanics implicitly, and this mix of reliability and randomness creates difficulty in a way that makes the game more tense even without a change in the player’s control. Consider the alternative methods of raising the difficulty: boosting the speed of the barrels would make them harder to react to, but easier to jump over, and slower barrels would have the opposite effect, making the difficulty adjustment more of a lateral shift than a direct increase. Throwing more obstacles could lead to cases where barrels clump up and become impossible to jump over, and randomly mixing up fast and slow barrels could cause the same issue.
Despite how this barrel logic is just a small part of the game, considering its implications reveals just how thoughtfully it was designed. Randomness is an easy way to make games harder, but when coupled with the deterministic rules which enforce proper play, players will never fail directly due to the randomness itself. Few games handle randomness and difficulty as cleanly as this, even forty years after the fact. It’s a reminder to take even the oldest, most seemingly primitive games seriously, and that there’s always something left to be learned, especially from the ultimate classics.
If you haven’t played Donkey Kong before, you might be wondering what makes barrels rolling down slopes so difficult. They all go at the same speed, they’re the same size, and there isn’t a restrictive timer that forces you into hasty mistakes. However, sometimes they go straight down the ladders between each of the slopes, and this is what makes the game so tricky. Ladders are incredibly useful, letting you quickly reach the next level and reliably dodge barrels underneath you, but the slow climbing speed and potential for getting hit by a falling barrel leads to a lot of quick decision making at each ladder. At first, it may seem like the falling is entirely random, but here’s the exact logic of how it works:
(Decompiled and commented by Don Hodges. If you've never seen Assembly code before, yes, it really is this nightmarish)
2178 3A4863 LD A,(#6348) ; get status of the oil can fire
217B A7 AND A ; is the fire lit ?
217C CAB221 JP Z,#21B2 ; no, always take ladders before oil is lit
217F 3A0562 LD A,(#6205) ; else load A with Mario's Y position + 5
2182 D604 SUB #04 ; subtract 4
2184 BA CP D ; is the barrel already below or same level as Mario ?
2185 D8 RET C ; yes, return without taking ladder
2186 3A8063 LD A,(#6380) ; else load A with difficulty from 1 to 5.
2189 1F RRA ; divide by 2, result can be 0, 1, or 2
218A 3C INC A ; increment. result is now 1, 2, or 3
218B 47 LD B,A ; store into B
218C 3A1860 LD A,(#6018) ; load A with random timer
218F 4F LD C,A ; store into C for later use
2190 E603 AND #03 ; mask bits. result now random number between 0 and 3
2192 B8 CP B ; is it greater than modified difficulty?
2193 D0 RET NC ; yes, return without taking ladder
2194 211060 LD HL,#6010 ; else load HL with player input.
2197 3A0362 LD A,(#6203) ; load A with Mario's X position
219A BB CP E ; compare with barrel's X position
219B CAB221 JP Z,#21B2 ; if equal, then go down ladder
219E D2A921 JP NC,#21A9 ; if barrel is to right of Mario, check for moving to left
21A1 CB46 BIT 0,(HL) ; else is Mario trying to move right ?
21A3 CAAE21 JP Z,#21AE ; no, skip ahead
21A6 C3B221 JP #21B2 ; yes, make barrel take ladder
21A9 CB4E BIT 1,(HL) ; is Mario trying to move left ?
21AB C2B221 JP NZ,#21B2 ; yes, make barrel take ladder
21AE 79 LD A,C ; else load A with random timer computed above
21AF E618 AND #18 ; mask with #18. 25% chance of being zero
21B1 C0 RET NZ ; if not zero, return without taking ladder
21B2 DD3407 INC (IX+#07) ; else increase barrel animation
21B5 DDCB02C6 SET 0,(IX+#02) ; set barrel to take the ladder
21B9 C9 RET ; return
The line that may stand out is the “load A with difficulty 1 to 5” command, when the game never explicitly states a difficulty level. This is a value hidden from the player that simply increments every thirty-three seconds, or when the player reaches a new level number that’s higher than the difficulty value. To oversimplify the minutiae of the exact math, this is used for comparison with a random number between zero and three to decide if the barrel goes down the ladder. For the player, this means that on the lowest difficulty (the first thirty-three seconds of level one), barrels go down the ladder 25% of the time, but this increases by 25% either when thirty-three more seconds pass or the player goes to the next level before such an increase, until it reaches a maximum of 75%. However, there are two cases where barrels will always choose to use the ladder, either when Mario is directly underneath the barrel, or when Mario is actively moving towards a barrel that's going the same way.
So, the question now is why Nintendo bothered to put so much detail into something people could easily dismiss as token-taking randomness. The reason is a concept that anyone who does a lot of cooking understands well: that just because something can’t be consciously detected, doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant to the experience. The best example might be how barrels moving in the same direction you’re walking towards will always go down the ladder. That might not be a rule you’re directly conscious of, but it ensures that thoughtlessly walking towards a ladder will always result in punishment. Similarly, barrels always dropping on top of you if you’re on the ladder itself forces you to be mindful of where you stand, and not use them as a safe zone. Players begin to understand these mechanics implicitly, and this mix of reliability and randomness creates difficulty in a way that makes the game more tense even without a change in the player’s control. Consider the alternative methods of raising the difficulty: boosting the speed of the barrels would make them harder to react to, but easier to jump over, and slower barrels would have the opposite effect, making the difficulty adjustment more of a lateral shift than a direct increase. Throwing more obstacles could lead to cases where barrels clump up and become impossible to jump over, and randomly mixing up fast and slow barrels could cause the same issue.
Despite how this barrel logic is just a small part of the game, considering its implications reveals just how thoughtfully it was designed. Randomness is an easy way to make games harder, but when coupled with the deterministic rules which enforce proper play, players will never fail directly due to the randomness itself. Few games handle randomness and difficulty as cleanly as this, even forty years after the fact. It’s a reminder to take even the oldest, most seemingly primitive games seriously, and that there’s always something left to be learned, especially from the ultimate classics.