Is this a game for gooners? Yes, but there's surprisingly way more depth than you would expect, considering all the vocal neck beards complaining about "censorship" and crying for refunds. At its core, Stellar Blade is a pretty fun action game with smooth combat, cool bosses, and a great soundtrack. The biggest shame here is that the story and characters never fully gripped me. I was intrigued by the world and what happened, but ultimately, I didn't love any of the answers. At the end of the day, it just felt like a watered-down Nier story. I firmly believe that if this game had a better story it would be put on a similar (if not the same) level as Nier Automata. Luckily for us, it looks like Kim Hyung Tae and Yoko Taro are bonding over each other's games and their love for android waifus. Hopefully, Yoko can share some of his storytelling wisdom with the team at Shift Up and give Eve's tale a little more depth in the future.

In conclusion, I feel there is a ton of untapped potential for the Stellar Blade sequel. With some minor tweaks in voice acting and a better script, we could have something very special on our hands.

Who would have thought a dated jrpg from 1997 would now be one of my favorite games of all time? It took a while to work up the will to play, but the time felt right after beating Rebirth. I knew it was going to be great, but the old PS1 style mixed with people being possibly blinded by nostalgia made me a bit skeptical. Nope, it’s just that fucking good.

For 30 hours I was completely absorbed in the world and its characters. For such an old game that isn’t a pixel jrpg, it’s amazing how its art style somehow holds up in a weird way. It takes some getting used to, but within the first hour all those chibi egg beater hands became charming as hell. The whole experience of FF7 feels like a time capsule of good vibes coupled with a story that surprisingly mirrors some issues that we are currently facing today in society.

I could go on about all the things I loved about my time with FF7, but honestly I think it’s still a must play to this day. Don't sit on the fence like me. If you love the remakes so far, do yourself a favor and play the original. If anything I’m way more excited to see the conclusion than I was before.

I remember always reading how this is one of the best Final Fantasy stories and it’s a must play for fans of the franchise. While I do mostly agree, time has not necessarily been kind to it.

On one hand it has all the classic charm of a FF game, but on the other it’s painfully dated. While I liked the story and its character writing, the stiff ps2 graphics and lackluster voice acting made it difficult for me to truly get invested. This game was obviously the right step forward in the franchise by introducing voice acting and cinematic moments, but I wonder if it would have aged better with classic text boxes. Regardless, without it we wouldn’t have the great voice acting and epic moments in modern FF games like we do today. In a way, it paved a better future for the games moving forward.

Regarding combat, I think this did take a minor step back. One thing I love about older FF games is the classic ATB mechanics. In my opinion it makes the turn based combat more lively and interesting - keeping you on your feet at all times. Here we just have the classic take your time and attack method. Still fun, but I did miss it. If you are a fan of newer JRPGs then I doubt this will be an issue at all.

Overall Final Fantasy X is a great game that I think is still worth playing. You may want to bang your head against the wall figuring out the sphere system and overcoming some of the painful boss fights, but the story still has a ton of heart at its core. Just sit back, listen to Uematsu’s beautiful score, and push through to the end because it is very much worth it.

Words can't even describe how blown away I am from this game. While I thought Remake was a great game, I didn't necessarily love it. Midgar was cool but felt a bit cramped and lacked the whimsical fantasy aspects I grew to love from the franchise. Also, aside from the great cast of quirky characters, I felt as if the story was a bit lacking. All this being said, it's safe to say that all my previous qualms with the first game disappeared.

Right off the bat, we are taken from the narrow passages of Midgar to the insanely addicting aspects of the open world. At first, the story seems to be crawling at a snail's pace, but eventually, it picks up and stays on a high until the end. This time around, we also have a few new characters added to the roster. Each of them seamlessly joins the charming group. The interactions between characters this time are top-notch, and they really feel like a family by the end.

Combat, of course, is great and a step above the previous title, partially due to the amount of mixing and matching you can do with the parties. I fought hundreds of mobs, and it never got old. Something about the action elements mixed with classical RPG mechanics is a match made in heaven.

Overall, Rebirth is an excellent title. It's felt like it for the past few years, but now I can comfortably say Final Fantasy is back baby.

Also, Queens Blood slaps.

At first I was going to make this review a shit post about big sweaty men beating each other up, but the ending of this game hit me like a truck.

Over the course of eight games, we have been immersed in the life of Kiryu Kazuma and the endless tales of the Tojo clan. During my time with the franchise, I never really connected with Kiryu. I respected and grew to love his character, but I could never relate. The ending of this game changed that. I saw a side of Kiryu that was raw and utterly human. Underneath this powerful, stoic prowess lay a man who is deeply broken to his core. A man who would do anything for the ones he loves, no matter the cost.

Even though this game, for the most part, felt like a lackluster filler arc, the emotional highs left me speechless. For the first time in a while, I can't wait to see where Ryū Ga Gotoku Studios takes the story next.