Zotol
1994
Demon's Crest, being the third game in the Gargoyles Quest series, which are platformers with RPG progression, decides to open up the formula and let you tackle levels in your own order, Mega Man style. The difference being, in the Gargoyle's Quest games, they had linear structure. So, what's the issue here?
This game was not designed around the upgrades it gives you. Even from the very start the game gives you the ability to infinitely hover which allows you to bypass a lot of the level design. This, and other abilities give many sections no challenge. The only instances of this game I remember being a fun challenge was when I did not have a lot of health at the beginning and was forced to learn boss patterns. The bosses are well designed and fun but you can just tank through a lot of them later on. The soundtrack is also pretty boring and repetitive. It's a shame because Gargoyle's Quest 1 and 2 each are designed well and have you utilize your abilities equally throughout the games, instead of this games lack of thought out upgrade distribution.
This game's worth trying if you like permanent character upgrades. Not an awful game, but it still has glaring issues.
This game was not designed around the upgrades it gives you. Even from the very start the game gives you the ability to infinitely hover which allows you to bypass a lot of the level design. This, and other abilities give many sections no challenge. The only instances of this game I remember being a fun challenge was when I did not have a lot of health at the beginning and was forced to learn boss patterns. The bosses are well designed and fun but you can just tank through a lot of them later on. The soundtrack is also pretty boring and repetitive. It's a shame because Gargoyle's Quest 1 and 2 each are designed well and have you utilize your abilities equally throughout the games, instead of this games lack of thought out upgrade distribution.
This game's worth trying if you like permanent character upgrades. Not an awful game, but it still has glaring issues.
2000
Vagrant Story was a huge breath of fresh air and one of the best games I've ever played. The combat is on-field and you can stop time to go into your menu and pick your action. The combat also rewards equipment preparation and allows you to change equipment during battles in order to adapt and counter the enemies you are facing. This game offers so much utility in combat and continues to get better as you gain more abilities and magic. The soundtrack is beautiful, and the story along with the characters are very interesting. The character designs themselves look very inspired.
This game opts out of using a tutorial and throws you in with absolutely no explanation of any of its complex mechanics. Most of it is explained in the in-game manual, which I thought I would point out. I prefer this method of explanation instead of the game treating you like a baby whenever a new mechanic is introduced. If I ever had questions, I could cite the manual whenever I needed.
I can't recommend this game enough. Anyone should try this if they're looking for a non-traditional JRPG, or just a good game in general.
This game opts out of using a tutorial and throws you in with absolutely no explanation of any of its complex mechanics. Most of it is explained in the in-game manual, which I thought I would point out. I prefer this method of explanation instead of the game treating you like a baby whenever a new mechanic is introduced. If I ever had questions, I could cite the manual whenever I needed.
I can't recommend this game enough. Anyone should try this if they're looking for a non-traditional JRPG, or just a good game in general.
1993
Disregarding the fact that this sequel dropped it's city sim mechanic from the first game, it is a visually stunning platformer with great enemy and level variety. Although, I do find that the boss design varies in quality. Some are a fun challenge with good patterns that rely on the games mechanics, some are piss-easy, and some have incoherent patterns that I did not feel were fair to fight. Unfortunately I also find the soundtrack to be repetitive and boring. It's unfortunate because Yuzo Koshiro composed the music again coming back from the first game and I don't find it to be nearly as good.
I was enticed to play this for obvious reasons but the reality of the matter is that this is an insanely generic and boring platformer with no level variety whatsoever. Every level plays the exact same with the only difference being that the world changes from a pimple theme to a shit theme or something. You could tell me these levels were randomly generated and I would believe it.
The most infuriating thing about this game for me is how much of the screen your sprite takes up. This, paired with the slow booger tossing mechanic which is your main form of attack, makes it so you will constantly run into enemies you can't see unless you're just slowing inching forward, which is what I did for the entire game.
The most infuriating thing about this game for me is how much of the screen your sprite takes up. This, paired with the slow booger tossing mechanic which is your main form of attack, makes it so you will constantly run into enemies you can't see unless you're just slowing inching forward, which is what I did for the entire game.
I like Silent Hill 2's story and especially it's incredible atmosphere. Although, I had trouble getting attached to the characters due to the voice acting. I was laughing a bit too much at some of the scenes when they're supposed to be serious. It's not out of place for the time it was released in though.
The gameplay is very stagnant. There is not a lot of combat variety as you will be fighting the same 2 zombies over and over again with the same strategy every time. Item distribution feels very unbalanced as well. I had way too much ammo and health pickups by the end of the game while I had used them carelessly whenever I needed. I was disappointed by this because I enjoy when survival horror games have emphasis on resource management and having to make decisions to preserve your inventory without wasting it all. I was playing on normal mode, but it felt like it was on very easy mode or something. I did enjoy the games puzzles for what they were though, along with the excellent soundtrack.
As far as this remaster though? Really good. I'm glad Silent Hill 2 is now properly playable on something that isn't the PS2. I remember it having some glitchy shadows at a part near the end, but other than that, it ran great and looked great.
The gameplay is very stagnant. There is not a lot of combat variety as you will be fighting the same 2 zombies over and over again with the same strategy every time. Item distribution feels very unbalanced as well. I had way too much ammo and health pickups by the end of the game while I had used them carelessly whenever I needed. I was disappointed by this because I enjoy when survival horror games have emphasis on resource management and having to make decisions to preserve your inventory without wasting it all. I was playing on normal mode, but it felt like it was on very easy mode or something. I did enjoy the games puzzles for what they were though, along with the excellent soundtrack.
As far as this remaster though? Really good. I'm glad Silent Hill 2 is now properly playable on something that isn't the PS2. I remember it having some glitchy shadows at a part near the end, but other than that, it ran great and looked great.
(This review is my old take on Nocturne. It’s a very negative view of the game but I actually like Nocturne now. I completed the HD port and this is my more recent review for it.)
I want to like this game but I can't. This is one of the worst designed JRPGs I have ever played.
First let's start with this game's so-called "Difficulty". The only difficult thing I had to do in this game was use an insta kill shield before going back to auto battling. 90 percent of the boss fights in this game are an absolute joke. This is mostly due to evasion buffs being one of the most broken things in the game.
One of this games stand out mechanics is its "Press Turn System" which essentially allows you to transfer a turn to the next party member. Here's the catch though. If you get a crit you get another turn, but, if you miss your attack you lose 2 turns out of the 4 it gives you per player phase. This also applies to enemies which includes boss fights. This system is extremely abusable due to evasion buffs and debuffs. I was literally just using evasion up over and over again for every boss fight and then the bosses would miss their attack and not get a chance to do anything so I could continue auto battling with no repercussions. The good thing is sometimes they will have moves to remove debuffs on themselves or remove your buffs. I've barely seen these moves used though and most of the time the bosses were at the end of the game. Even still, the bosses are super unbalanced and extremely easy to beat. Oh, but there's also the bosses which have gimmicks like being immune to physical damage. So you can sit there for 10 minutes trying to use magic moves (which are very weak in this game) in a stall match waiting for enough turns to use the weak spells as the boss does 2 damage to you and wastes their turns because of the evasion buffs you have.
Now, my biggest problem with this game is the dungeon design. They decided to resort to picking a random path in dungeons for progression. It's super cool when the final dungeon in the game's gimmick is picking a path. If you pick the wrong one you get sent back to the beginning, which is really fun because of the random encounter rate! I swear any time this game has puzzles it's just hoping you went in the right door or area and hope you don't have to start over (which you will).
If you want to fight the fiends then I hope you remembered you probably should go back to the starting area halfway through the game for no apparent reason with no NPC in areas but the place mentioned having any hints or info on the subject. Every time I had to fight a fiend I was literally just going down the checklist of every area in the game including all of the little rooms scattered about in the towns.
The Demon Fusion system is really cool in concept but I wish it made some semblance of sense. It's not touched on beyond the fusion room guy telling you very basic info. It is basically just throwing shit at a wall and hoping it sticks. Hope you can fuse whatever you need from luck alone. I can't help but think that there are ways to make this system more understandable for a blind player, like possibly a graph displaying possible fusions and filling in with the fusions you've already created.
The story is not very good too, which sucks because the concept is actually very interesting. The world is wiped and there is a battle of reasons to determine how the new world will be run. The problem is that the characters have very unrealistic motivations (save for Futomimi) and are barely given any time for me to care about them, or maybe understand where they are coming from.
This is just the surface of this game's issues, there are plenty more but, I would be here all day. But, besides that I will say that I do like the art and world design in this game. It gives off a very unique feel I've never experienced before in a video game. That alone, was the only thing I can take away from this experience that I appreciated, along with some of the songs in the soundtrack.
I want to like this game but I can't. This is one of the worst designed JRPGs I have ever played.
First let's start with this game's so-called "Difficulty". The only difficult thing I had to do in this game was use an insta kill shield before going back to auto battling. 90 percent of the boss fights in this game are an absolute joke. This is mostly due to evasion buffs being one of the most broken things in the game.
One of this games stand out mechanics is its "Press Turn System" which essentially allows you to transfer a turn to the next party member. Here's the catch though. If you get a crit you get another turn, but, if you miss your attack you lose 2 turns out of the 4 it gives you per player phase. This also applies to enemies which includes boss fights. This system is extremely abusable due to evasion buffs and debuffs. I was literally just using evasion up over and over again for every boss fight and then the bosses would miss their attack and not get a chance to do anything so I could continue auto battling with no repercussions. The good thing is sometimes they will have moves to remove debuffs on themselves or remove your buffs. I've barely seen these moves used though and most of the time the bosses were at the end of the game. Even still, the bosses are super unbalanced and extremely easy to beat. Oh, but there's also the bosses which have gimmicks like being immune to physical damage. So you can sit there for 10 minutes trying to use magic moves (which are very weak in this game) in a stall match waiting for enough turns to use the weak spells as the boss does 2 damage to you and wastes their turns because of the evasion buffs you have.
Now, my biggest problem with this game is the dungeon design. They decided to resort to picking a random path in dungeons for progression. It's super cool when the final dungeon in the game's gimmick is picking a path. If you pick the wrong one you get sent back to the beginning, which is really fun because of the random encounter rate! I swear any time this game has puzzles it's just hoping you went in the right door or area and hope you don't have to start over (which you will).
If you want to fight the fiends then I hope you remembered you probably should go back to the starting area halfway through the game for no apparent reason with no NPC in areas but the place mentioned having any hints or info on the subject. Every time I had to fight a fiend I was literally just going down the checklist of every area in the game including all of the little rooms scattered about in the towns.
The Demon Fusion system is really cool in concept but I wish it made some semblance of sense. It's not touched on beyond the fusion room guy telling you very basic info. It is basically just throwing shit at a wall and hoping it sticks. Hope you can fuse whatever you need from luck alone. I can't help but think that there are ways to make this system more understandable for a blind player, like possibly a graph displaying possible fusions and filling in with the fusions you've already created.
The story is not very good too, which sucks because the concept is actually very interesting. The world is wiped and there is a battle of reasons to determine how the new world will be run. The problem is that the characters have very unrealistic motivations (save for Futomimi) and are barely given any time for me to care about them, or maybe understand where they are coming from.
This is just the surface of this game's issues, there are plenty more but, I would be here all day. But, besides that I will say that I do like the art and world design in this game. It gives off a very unique feel I've never experienced before in a video game. That alone, was the only thing I can take away from this experience that I appreciated, along with some of the songs in the soundtrack.
Nocturne was a game that I originally hated. It has design artifacts that come across as dated and out of place in its era. But that’s exactly why I like it now and remember it fondly.
Nocturne embraces the dungeon design of its predecessors. I think it’s important for something like Nocturne to exist in the time period it was released in, since you had games like Final Fantasy 10 leaning more towards the simpler side with its linear hallways and simpler dungeon design. Yeah, it’s probably stockholm syndrome from older RPGs, but it’s fun getting lost in big mazes and getting items at dead ends, and it's cool to see Nocturne maintain this design in a 3D space.
The combat is really fun. There’s a big emphasis on buffing and debuffing in this game, and there’s a ton of different demons to fuse and teams to use which keep the whole game feeling fresh. There’s also this “Press Turn System” in the game in which you will get another turn for attacking an enemy’s weakness or getting a crit. You also lose another turn for missing your attack. This also applies to enemies, and it makes evasion buffs and debuffs the most broken thing in the game by far. I do think there should have been some balancing done to that. You can also skip a turn and give it to another party member, which is very handy if one of your demons is useless in the fight you’re in. There’s a ton of scenarios where this is fun and promotes a lot of different strategies.
I originally complained about how some of the fiend locations are random as hell and they give you no hints as to where to find them and it still holds true. It’s necessary to fight them all for the secret true ending or whatever, which is why it was annoying, but I find it more annoying that a true ending exists in the first place. I kind of wish it just had you pick which ending you want, without any of that “canon” stuff getting in the way. Looking at it from that aspect, the odd fiend locations don’t really bother me anymore.
The story does suck though. Conceptually, it’s pretty cool, but it suffers from pretty unrealistic character motivations which are important for a plot like this. I don’t want to go into detail because I don’t want to spoil in my reviews, but if you’ve played it you might understand what I mean. I know there’s that “nobody plays SMT for the story” argument or whatever, and yeah, I enjoy the other aspects a lot more.
Oh yeah, this game is a remaster too. Does it do well on that front? Well, no, not really. I’m more so glad that this is officially playable on modern hardware now, and so I didn’t have to mess with a PS2 emulator. The lighting messes up a lot of the environments and the soundtrack is still left compressed like it was on the PS2 version! Luckily, there is a mod to uncompress it which my friend insisted I used and I eventually caved and used it even though I don’t like using mods on games. It was definitely nice to hear the music in higher quality, and I honestly recommend everyone use it too, it sounds pretty bad without it.
I was always looking at Nocturne as some elitist, hardest RPG ever made type of deal, and I think my unenjoyment stemmed from the game not offering the challenge I was expecting. The truth is, no, Nocturne is not one of the hardest RPGs ever, or whatever, but it’s a real fun game that has a lot going for it.
Nocturne embraces the dungeon design of its predecessors. I think it’s important for something like Nocturne to exist in the time period it was released in, since you had games like Final Fantasy 10 leaning more towards the simpler side with its linear hallways and simpler dungeon design. Yeah, it’s probably stockholm syndrome from older RPGs, but it’s fun getting lost in big mazes and getting items at dead ends, and it's cool to see Nocturne maintain this design in a 3D space.
The combat is really fun. There’s a big emphasis on buffing and debuffing in this game, and there’s a ton of different demons to fuse and teams to use which keep the whole game feeling fresh. There’s also this “Press Turn System” in the game in which you will get another turn for attacking an enemy’s weakness or getting a crit. You also lose another turn for missing your attack. This also applies to enemies, and it makes evasion buffs and debuffs the most broken thing in the game by far. I do think there should have been some balancing done to that. You can also skip a turn and give it to another party member, which is very handy if one of your demons is useless in the fight you’re in. There’s a ton of scenarios where this is fun and promotes a lot of different strategies.
I originally complained about how some of the fiend locations are random as hell and they give you no hints as to where to find them and it still holds true. It’s necessary to fight them all for the secret true ending or whatever, which is why it was annoying, but I find it more annoying that a true ending exists in the first place. I kind of wish it just had you pick which ending you want, without any of that “canon” stuff getting in the way. Looking at it from that aspect, the odd fiend locations don’t really bother me anymore.
The story does suck though. Conceptually, it’s pretty cool, but it suffers from pretty unrealistic character motivations which are important for a plot like this. I don’t want to go into detail because I don’t want to spoil in my reviews, but if you’ve played it you might understand what I mean. I know there’s that “nobody plays SMT for the story” argument or whatever, and yeah, I enjoy the other aspects a lot more.
Oh yeah, this game is a remaster too. Does it do well on that front? Well, no, not really. I’m more so glad that this is officially playable on modern hardware now, and so I didn’t have to mess with a PS2 emulator. The lighting messes up a lot of the environments and the soundtrack is still left compressed like it was on the PS2 version! Luckily, there is a mod to uncompress it which my friend insisted I used and I eventually caved and used it even though I don’t like using mods on games. It was definitely nice to hear the music in higher quality, and I honestly recommend everyone use it too, it sounds pretty bad without it.
I was always looking at Nocturne as some elitist, hardest RPG ever made type of deal, and I think my unenjoyment stemmed from the game not offering the challenge I was expecting. The truth is, no, Nocturne is not one of the hardest RPGs ever, or whatever, but it’s a real fun game that has a lot going for it.
1993
I've played a bunch of SNES games and this was always that one title that I never got around to. I'd always hear great things about Secret of Mana, and how it's one of the greatest games on the system. Being a fan of Square for a large portion of my life, playing this one was a no-brainer. I am shocked at the quality of this game, to say the least. I know I shouldn't be judging media off public reception so heavily, but man, this was disappointing.
This is the worst translation I have experienced in any video game. After finishing earlier today I have more questions than answers about the story. Conversations feel extremely robotic and not enough context is given about the world and the mysteries surrounding it. The story isn't anything crazy either but I feel like I would have at least cared for it a little bit if it was told properly.
The gameplay is atrocious. Almost everything about it is horrible and is what makes this game so bad. The game sports a charge system where you will have to wait a few seconds to do full damage, which you need to do if you want to do significant damage. This isn't an issue, but the rest makes it one. I genuinely cannot tell what the hell is wrong with the hit detection in this game. The hit boxes are horrible, and there is what I believe to be a chance of missing your attack, but, there is no indicator telling you that it missed. When enemies are toppled and you attack them, sometimes the attack will register a few seconds after you hit them, so it feels really weird. The AI is also dog shit at following you. My party members were constantly getting stuck on pieces of the environment and I had to constantly backtrack to get them to follow me properly. The games FPS constantly lowers too. The game can't seem to hold a proper framerate when there's any enemies on screen. Everything about the gameplay just feels gross to play. It's a simple game in nature, but everything just feels like it's working against you. All the boss fights are also really abusable because you can just spam the Sprite's magic in quick succession.
I'm shocked this game was also released in the state it's in. This game is really buggy. The biggest bug that I have encountered was party members getting stuck in walls. You can't progress on screen if your characters are not always in the vicinity of each other, so, it just left me soft locked in most cases. It even happened to me in the final dungeon once which really pissed me off. Other than that, it's usually just visual bugs.
The best thing about this game is the soundtrack, which quickly became one of my favorites on the system. It's so good that it made me think I was enjoying the game a few times.
This is one of those games where props have to be given for molding the genre, but, it really does not hold up in the slightest.
This is the worst translation I have experienced in any video game. After finishing earlier today I have more questions than answers about the story. Conversations feel extremely robotic and not enough context is given about the world and the mysteries surrounding it. The story isn't anything crazy either but I feel like I would have at least cared for it a little bit if it was told properly.
The gameplay is atrocious. Almost everything about it is horrible and is what makes this game so bad. The game sports a charge system where you will have to wait a few seconds to do full damage, which you need to do if you want to do significant damage. This isn't an issue, but the rest makes it one. I genuinely cannot tell what the hell is wrong with the hit detection in this game. The hit boxes are horrible, and there is what I believe to be a chance of missing your attack, but, there is no indicator telling you that it missed. When enemies are toppled and you attack them, sometimes the attack will register a few seconds after you hit them, so it feels really weird. The AI is also dog shit at following you. My party members were constantly getting stuck on pieces of the environment and I had to constantly backtrack to get them to follow me properly. The games FPS constantly lowers too. The game can't seem to hold a proper framerate when there's any enemies on screen. Everything about the gameplay just feels gross to play. It's a simple game in nature, but everything just feels like it's working against you. All the boss fights are also really abusable because you can just spam the Sprite's magic in quick succession.
I'm shocked this game was also released in the state it's in. This game is really buggy. The biggest bug that I have encountered was party members getting stuck in walls. You can't progress on screen if your characters are not always in the vicinity of each other, so, it just left me soft locked in most cases. It even happened to me in the final dungeon once which really pissed me off. Other than that, it's usually just visual bugs.
The best thing about this game is the soundtrack, which quickly became one of my favorites on the system. It's so good that it made me think I was enjoying the game a few times.
This is one of those games where props have to be given for molding the genre, but, it really does not hold up in the slightest.
2012
This system clearly was not designed for a game like this, but they still tried to make it work, and it just doesn't.
The game has on-rail shooter levels and on ground levels. The on-rail shooter levels are fine since you just need to move and shoot, but the on ground levels are where this game falls flat. There's various different control methods but the one I found the most comfortable (it's not) was the stylus circle pad hybrid where you control the camera with the stylus, move with the stick, and attack with the L button. The game expects too much from the player with how limited these control schemes are. I would play a single stage a day and get hand cramps immediately, until I just decided to rush through the rest in one day because I was sick of playing it.
The best thing about this game though is its equivalent of tiktok subway surfers family guy clips on the bottom screen when Palutena and Pit are conversing with various other characters chiming in while you are playing the game. If not for this I would not have finished the game. The voicework is good and the dialogue is usually pretty funny. A lot of the humor is just them making references to old Nintendo games. It should be cringe in theory but it's charming, I'd say.
I would actually like to see this game ported with a proper control scheme to the Switch. I'd probably have a lot more fun with it if I was able to properly appreciate its game design.
The game has on-rail shooter levels and on ground levels. The on-rail shooter levels are fine since you just need to move and shoot, but the on ground levels are where this game falls flat. There's various different control methods but the one I found the most comfortable (it's not) was the stylus circle pad hybrid where you control the camera with the stylus, move with the stick, and attack with the L button. The game expects too much from the player with how limited these control schemes are. I would play a single stage a day and get hand cramps immediately, until I just decided to rush through the rest in one day because I was sick of playing it.
The best thing about this game though is its equivalent of tiktok subway surfers family guy clips on the bottom screen when Palutena and Pit are conversing with various other characters chiming in while you are playing the game. If not for this I would not have finished the game. The voicework is good and the dialogue is usually pretty funny. A lot of the humor is just them making references to old Nintendo games. It should be cringe in theory but it's charming, I'd say.
I would actually like to see this game ported with a proper control scheme to the Switch. I'd probably have a lot more fun with it if I was able to properly appreciate its game design.
Lufia II was one of the later games released on the SNES. Despite the release date, it's graphically unimpressive and looks worse than a lot of SNES RPGs released the same year. It doesn't try to be a Chrono Trigger or an FF6, and it doesn't need to be.
The highlight of this game, especially for me, is its dungeons and puzzles. They're basically just better Zelda dungeons, to be honest. You're given tools throughout the game, and the game design will make great use of them throughout the whole journey. There are also a ton of branching pathways with treasure chests, which, for the most part, have very useful items for your party. I can't stress enough how incredible the head-scratchers are in this game, though. I've yet to find an RPG that even holds a torch to this game in that regard.
This game has an interesting equipment system. Not only do I have to decide which equipment has the best stat allocations for the characters, but there is an IP system in which some equipment pieces will have a special move that you can pick from when your IP meter is charged from taking damage in battle. There are many variables for equipment to take into account in the form of rings and rocks, which all raise different stats and have their own special move most of the time. This game also has shops to learn magic instead of getting spells from leveling up. I like this because I have to choose which character most needs certain spells to not waste all my money. In addition to party members, there is a new type of member called capsule monsters. There are 7 to collect in the game, and you can evolve all of them by feeding them equipment, items, or whatever they desire in the form of a menu telling you what to feed them. This was fun, as they could all help out a bit in their respective manners.
My only complaint about Lufia II is that the characters and story are really boring. The pacing is bad later on in the story, as it starts to get really repetitive and the characters are not interesting at all. They don't get any development for the most part, instead substituting for bad humor in the cutscenes. The gameplay more than makes up for it though!
My favorite SNES game, without a doubt. It's a shame that this series kind of gets neglected now, only getting a mid remake on the DS in 2010. The series as a whole isn't very good, to be honest, with this being the only one worth playing, and it is very much worth playing.
The highlight of this game, especially for me, is its dungeons and puzzles. They're basically just better Zelda dungeons, to be honest. You're given tools throughout the game, and the game design will make great use of them throughout the whole journey. There are also a ton of branching pathways with treasure chests, which, for the most part, have very useful items for your party. I can't stress enough how incredible the head-scratchers are in this game, though. I've yet to find an RPG that even holds a torch to this game in that regard.
This game has an interesting equipment system. Not only do I have to decide which equipment has the best stat allocations for the characters, but there is an IP system in which some equipment pieces will have a special move that you can pick from when your IP meter is charged from taking damage in battle. There are many variables for equipment to take into account in the form of rings and rocks, which all raise different stats and have their own special move most of the time. This game also has shops to learn magic instead of getting spells from leveling up. I like this because I have to choose which character most needs certain spells to not waste all my money. In addition to party members, there is a new type of member called capsule monsters. There are 7 to collect in the game, and you can evolve all of them by feeding them equipment, items, or whatever they desire in the form of a menu telling you what to feed them. This was fun, as they could all help out a bit in their respective manners.
My only complaint about Lufia II is that the characters and story are really boring. The pacing is bad later on in the story, as it starts to get really repetitive and the characters are not interesting at all. They don't get any development for the most part, instead substituting for bad humor in the cutscenes. The gameplay more than makes up for it though!
My favorite SNES game, without a doubt. It's a shame that this series kind of gets neglected now, only getting a mid remake on the DS in 2010. The series as a whole isn't very good, to be honest, with this being the only one worth playing, and it is very much worth playing.
1995
Comix Zone is a half hour long game that purposefully sets up traps that you can't see coming/react to in time so that you have to keep replaying until you get it right. Conceptually, it's great, with the comic book inspired graphics. Definitely one of the best looking Genesis titles.
This game is known for its difficulty, but it honestly isn't very hard. Once you grind out the game enough and find the best paths to take, there is no challenge left. If I ever replay it, I will struggle minimally since I know all that traps that lie ahead. It was definitely designed this way because of how short the game is, and probably to counter the rental market at the time.
This game is known for its difficulty, but it honestly isn't very hard. Once you grind out the game enough and find the best paths to take, there is no challenge left. If I ever replay it, I will struggle minimally since I know all that traps that lie ahead. It was definitely designed this way because of how short the game is, and probably to counter the rental market at the time.
1990
Mario World is remembered a tad too fondly. It's a landmark in game history for paving the way for what was to come. but it doesn't hold up at all. It's definitely something I'm surprised to no longer enjoy after growing up with it.
I get this is a preference thing, but Mario controls horribly in my opinion. To me, every level genuinely feels like an ice level. I think this is due to you not really being able to stop Mario by pressing back on the d-pad. This applies in the air too, when you're trying to position yourself to stomp on enemies heads in, you know, a precision platformer. When in the air he'll fly the other way too quickly when I'm just trying to get him to stop moving forward. It was something I still have not been able to get used to.
The graphics are very bland. I get it's an early title on the system, but the backgrounds and color usage are so monotone. Every level looks the exact same, and it's honestly tiring to look at the same exact set pieces throughout the entire game. Why not add something other than a purple coral squiggle in the background of the water stages? Even SMB3 makes better use of colors and aesthetics than Mario World, by all accounts.
The lack of power-ups in this game is kind of annoying. We went from having 4 in SMB3 to a meager 2 in this game. There's Yoshi, which kind of counts, but you can't bring him into the castle stages. But we only have the fire flower and cape. The cape is really good and kind of makes the flower undesirable due to how much worse it is. The Cape also has a flying mechanic where, if you build up enough speed, you can jump into the air and fly with proper timing. You can use this to skip a chunk of levels, which seems odd. I get rewarding players for mastering the game, but skipping the whole level?
The level design is also all over the place. Stage layouts are extremely repetitive and get old quickly. The level layouts seem like they were randomly constructed with no real progression. It's confusing and at times, deceiving. I vividly remember the optional fortress leading to Star Road, which you can access from a secret exit in the Forest of Secrets, having these crushers come down from the ceiling. There are crevices in the floor, and you'd think to stay in them and duck to avoid the crushers, but instead you'll get crushed in the screens auto-scroll or have a spinning blade creep above you when trying to jump out. Also, Fortress 7 has the snake block trail with no checkpoint and a strict time limit as you wait for a Kamak to hopefully break open the blocks for you. The special stages are complete messes too. They're not actually hard because they just prey on artificial trial and error. Tubular is a great example because you need to repeatedly get P Balloon powerups to last until the end of the stage but you won't know which question blocks hold the item until you trial and error your way through. These are cherry-picked examples, but the entire game lacks craft for its level design, sometimes less evil than the times I mentioned.
The one redeemable quality I find about this game is the secret exits. This was a really cool idea that rewards exploration and is made better with the World Map that lets you trek back to any levels you completed. I liked the option of stopping your main quest to look for secrets or continue on.
I get this is a preference thing, but Mario controls horribly in my opinion. To me, every level genuinely feels like an ice level. I think this is due to you not really being able to stop Mario by pressing back on the d-pad. This applies in the air too, when you're trying to position yourself to stomp on enemies heads in, you know, a precision platformer. When in the air he'll fly the other way too quickly when I'm just trying to get him to stop moving forward. It was something I still have not been able to get used to.
The graphics are very bland. I get it's an early title on the system, but the backgrounds and color usage are so monotone. Every level looks the exact same, and it's honestly tiring to look at the same exact set pieces throughout the entire game. Why not add something other than a purple coral squiggle in the background of the water stages? Even SMB3 makes better use of colors and aesthetics than Mario World, by all accounts.
The lack of power-ups in this game is kind of annoying. We went from having 4 in SMB3 to a meager 2 in this game. There's Yoshi, which kind of counts, but you can't bring him into the castle stages. But we only have the fire flower and cape. The cape is really good and kind of makes the flower undesirable due to how much worse it is. The Cape also has a flying mechanic where, if you build up enough speed, you can jump into the air and fly with proper timing. You can use this to skip a chunk of levels, which seems odd. I get rewarding players for mastering the game, but skipping the whole level?
The level design is also all over the place. Stage layouts are extremely repetitive and get old quickly. The level layouts seem like they were randomly constructed with no real progression. It's confusing and at times, deceiving. I vividly remember the optional fortress leading to Star Road, which you can access from a secret exit in the Forest of Secrets, having these crushers come down from the ceiling. There are crevices in the floor, and you'd think to stay in them and duck to avoid the crushers, but instead you'll get crushed in the screens auto-scroll or have a spinning blade creep above you when trying to jump out. Also, Fortress 7 has the snake block trail with no checkpoint and a strict time limit as you wait for a Kamak to hopefully break open the blocks for you. The special stages are complete messes too. They're not actually hard because they just prey on artificial trial and error. Tubular is a great example because you need to repeatedly get P Balloon powerups to last until the end of the stage but you won't know which question blocks hold the item until you trial and error your way through. These are cherry-picked examples, but the entire game lacks craft for its level design, sometimes less evil than the times I mentioned.
The one redeemable quality I find about this game is the secret exits. This was a really cool idea that rewards exploration and is made better with the World Map that lets you trek back to any levels you completed. I liked the option of stopping your main quest to look for secrets or continue on.
1993
Mega Man X was the most badass shit to me as a kid. An anime art style, a more mature story, and an excessive usage of electric guitars in the soundtrack. They seriously could have toned it down a notch, but I ate that shit up still... This has always been one of my lesser played entries in the series. I've had some issues in the past, and even now upon replaying.
I have to complain about the dash boots on Chill Penguin stage just like everyone else on planet earth and get it out of the way. It's the same energy as "mm2 is not the best mega man game because of wily 4 boss", but it's always been a damper on replays for killing creativity on routing. Since it's such an integral part of X's moveset, I always get it first. Think not being able to run in Mario World, it's that slow.
I think this is some of the most boring level design in the franchise. I feel like Capcom was trying to ease classic series fans into this new fast-paced series, but the level design took a hit in favor of being extremely basic and not ever really taking advantage of X's new abilities. The stages are littered with enemies that take way too many hits to kill and wind up leaving me barely doing any platforming and just spamming the buster shot. The bosses are alright though. They're pushovers with their weakness but they're pretty fun to fight with the standard buster shot and have good patterns that make use of the new dash move. Random, but fuck that stupid platforming segment in sigma stage 1 with the static background which makes it difficult to see the depth of the moving platforms.
This game is also too damn easy. Upgrades make X very powerful and to the point where you'll basically never have to worry about your health when playing levels. The amount of damage you take is so minimal and it's easier to just use the invincibility frames to dash past any enemies in the game instead of fighting them. To be fair though, I probably should try playing this without upgrades for more of a challenge.
What this games level design does right though was the addition of permanent upgrades for X. Ah, RPG elements, my favorite. Hidden about in the stages are armor, health upgrades, stuff like that. These were super fun to find when I had played this as a kid, and they are for the most part hidden well and require knowledge of the games mechanics. It's less fun now since I know where every upgrade is. I miss the childlike wonder of discovering the upgrades in all the games.
I always viewed the success and critical acclaim of Mega Man X as a movie-like experience. I believe people enjoy this game as a one-time playthrough where it will give you a quick and digestible story, and never challenge you enough throughout the game so that first-time players will be able to get through without trying too hard.
I have to complain about the dash boots on Chill Penguin stage just like everyone else on planet earth and get it out of the way. It's the same energy as "mm2 is not the best mega man game because of wily 4 boss", but it's always been a damper on replays for killing creativity on routing. Since it's such an integral part of X's moveset, I always get it first. Think not being able to run in Mario World, it's that slow.
I think this is some of the most boring level design in the franchise. I feel like Capcom was trying to ease classic series fans into this new fast-paced series, but the level design took a hit in favor of being extremely basic and not ever really taking advantage of X's new abilities. The stages are littered with enemies that take way too many hits to kill and wind up leaving me barely doing any platforming and just spamming the buster shot. The bosses are alright though. They're pushovers with their weakness but they're pretty fun to fight with the standard buster shot and have good patterns that make use of the new dash move. Random, but fuck that stupid platforming segment in sigma stage 1 with the static background which makes it difficult to see the depth of the moving platforms.
This game is also too damn easy. Upgrades make X very powerful and to the point where you'll basically never have to worry about your health when playing levels. The amount of damage you take is so minimal and it's easier to just use the invincibility frames to dash past any enemies in the game instead of fighting them. To be fair though, I probably should try playing this without upgrades for more of a challenge.
What this games level design does right though was the addition of permanent upgrades for X. Ah, RPG elements, my favorite. Hidden about in the stages are armor, health upgrades, stuff like that. These were super fun to find when I had played this as a kid, and they are for the most part hidden well and require knowledge of the games mechanics. It's less fun now since I know where every upgrade is. I miss the childlike wonder of discovering the upgrades in all the games.
I always viewed the success and critical acclaim of Mega Man X as a movie-like experience. I believe people enjoy this game as a one-time playthrough where it will give you a quick and digestible story, and never challenge you enough throughout the game so that first-time players will be able to get through without trying too hard.
1995
Playing through the Quintet Trilogy (and Actraiser) had me kind of burnt out by the time I reached Terranigma. I was thinking I would've had to sit through another dated Action RPG, but to my surprise, it was one of the best games I've ever played.
Environments that would normally be boring in other games look gorgeous here. Whether it's a desert area, a forest area, or whatever else, there's always so much detail in the world. A big reason the game's graphics are so appealing to me is that the color usage is great. There's a lot of darker colors used, which creates very moody environments, as opposed to something like Secret of Mana, which can look very saturated and one-note. This game also has incredible world-building. It was always interesting to see the sub-plots of the areas you go to and the stories that play out. There's even a side quest where you can help build a rural town and watch it grow. A bunch of the game is like this too, which is why Terranigma is so great.
The gameplay is pretty fun, too. It's standard Action RPG stuff; there's your melee attack, magic, and a block. There are a few combos you can do, like a flurry attack and a running dive attack, which spice up the combat a bit and make weak enemies pretty quick to blaze through. My only grievance is that the game is very easy. There's a very good combo that proves useful the whole game and makes fights really simple. It's also very easy to grind levels, which may be a good thing depending on the person.
I like to view Terranigma as some sort of Chrono Trigger-esque achievement of the Action RPG genre. It feels like the culmination of all Quintet had learned contributing to the genre and offers one of the most refined experiences you'll be able to get from said genre. HD-2D PLEASE!
Environments that would normally be boring in other games look gorgeous here. Whether it's a desert area, a forest area, or whatever else, there's always so much detail in the world. A big reason the game's graphics are so appealing to me is that the color usage is great. There's a lot of darker colors used, which creates very moody environments, as opposed to something like Secret of Mana, which can look very saturated and one-note. This game also has incredible world-building. It was always interesting to see the sub-plots of the areas you go to and the stories that play out. There's even a side quest where you can help build a rural town and watch it grow. A bunch of the game is like this too, which is why Terranigma is so great.
The gameplay is pretty fun, too. It's standard Action RPG stuff; there's your melee attack, magic, and a block. There are a few combos you can do, like a flurry attack and a running dive attack, which spice up the combat a bit and make weak enemies pretty quick to blaze through. My only grievance is that the game is very easy. There's a very good combo that proves useful the whole game and makes fights really simple. It's also very easy to grind levels, which may be a good thing depending on the person.
I like to view Terranigma as some sort of Chrono Trigger-esque achievement of the Action RPG genre. It feels like the culmination of all Quintet had learned contributing to the genre and offers one of the most refined experiences you'll be able to get from said genre. HD-2D PLEASE!
1998
I haven't played many SRPGs... When I was a kid I managed to do the worst possible run of FE7 anyone has ever seen. I got stuck on chapter 18 or something and was forever saddened that I had wasted hours dedicated to an unsalvageable run. Ever since then I've shuttered at the idea of playing SRPGs with railroading progression. History has changed though, as I have finally done what I have been scared to do my entire life and finished a playthrough of an SPRG.
The story is nothing special, but it's executed very well. It's an RPG war plot where you have to build a team to go fight the evil empire. Nothing crazy there of course, although the characters were definitely the driving force for me to care about it. They're tropey, but it's satisfying to see their developments play out. They feel like they're all great friends too; kind of gave me some Lunar vibes as far as that goes. Working Designs did good with the localization this time too. I think they added more life into a would-be dull story. Their signature "humor" is present here while they still know how to have their serious moments in the story too. They got a few laughs out of me this time around, but it was equally paired with some cringey moments as well. I have Working Designs Stockholm syndrome though, so I'm biased. There's also different story routes you can take with exclusive characters, maps, and so on. I eventually want to go back for a replay to see the other content since it seems interesting.
The gameplay is different from the SRPGs I've played. You characters pilot "All Terrain Armored Combatants" also known as "Mechs!" Upon entering battles it loads in a new environment as you watch the 3D mech battles play out. They look cool, however I usually like turning this stuff off as I have difficulty remembering my strategies when I have to pause and watch what are essentially cutscenes in-between my movements. One of the most notable things to me at least is that there's very limited ways to heal your team, so you'll have to minimize taking damage in any way you can. I know that's like a "no shit" for video games, but.. yeah. The way you do this is by flanking the enemy from behind so they're not able to counter-attack you and so you do more damage. You're also able to pick a direction upon moving so you can hopefully prevent getting flanked yourself. I was happy to find out upon playing that this game does not have perma-death. If a unit dies they'll just be out of the game until the next chapter. There's no way to bring them back in the current battle, but at least I didn't have to reset constantly when I got RNG fucked a few times. When leveling up you're also able to distribute a few stats to your character. This is a cool layer of customizability since you can dump a bunch of points into a stat that a character is currently struggling with. There's also special moves characters can learn when they reach enough points in certain stats. I wish that was touched on better since I had no idea when I was playing, so just keep that in mind I guess... or don't. There's a bunch of nuances to the combat but I'll let y'all figure out the rest for yourselves. It's fun stuff.
When I was forced to manage EXP better, it did make the experience very engaging. I basically completed the game in a day since I was having so much fun with it. I don't think this game is very beginner friendly though. I was definitely getting my ass beat at the end and thought I wouldn't even be able to finish it. Luckily, from some God-given miracle, I was able to pull through. Vanguard Bandits is definitely worth giving a go despite the challenge. I might just be ass at video games, but even so... put on your thinking cap when you're playing this one.
The story is nothing special, but it's executed very well. It's an RPG war plot where you have to build a team to go fight the evil empire. Nothing crazy there of course, although the characters were definitely the driving force for me to care about it. They're tropey, but it's satisfying to see their developments play out. They feel like they're all great friends too; kind of gave me some Lunar vibes as far as that goes. Working Designs did good with the localization this time too. I think they added more life into a would-be dull story. Their signature "humor" is present here while they still know how to have their serious moments in the story too. They got a few laughs out of me this time around, but it was equally paired with some cringey moments as well. I have Working Designs Stockholm syndrome though, so I'm biased. There's also different story routes you can take with exclusive characters, maps, and so on. I eventually want to go back for a replay to see the other content since it seems interesting.
The gameplay is different from the SRPGs I've played. You characters pilot "All Terrain Armored Combatants" also known as "Mechs!" Upon entering battles it loads in a new environment as you watch the 3D mech battles play out. They look cool, however I usually like turning this stuff off as I have difficulty remembering my strategies when I have to pause and watch what are essentially cutscenes in-between my movements. One of the most notable things to me at least is that there's very limited ways to heal your team, so you'll have to minimize taking damage in any way you can. I know that's like a "no shit" for video games, but.. yeah. The way you do this is by flanking the enemy from behind so they're not able to counter-attack you and so you do more damage. You're also able to pick a direction upon moving so you can hopefully prevent getting flanked yourself. I was happy to find out upon playing that this game does not have perma-death. If a unit dies they'll just be out of the game until the next chapter. There's no way to bring them back in the current battle, but at least I didn't have to reset constantly when I got RNG fucked a few times. When leveling up you're also able to distribute a few stats to your character. This is a cool layer of customizability since you can dump a bunch of points into a stat that a character is currently struggling with. There's also special moves characters can learn when they reach enough points in certain stats. I wish that was touched on better since I had no idea when I was playing, so just keep that in mind I guess... or don't. There's a bunch of nuances to the combat but I'll let y'all figure out the rest for yourselves. It's fun stuff.
When I was forced to manage EXP better, it did make the experience very engaging. I basically completed the game in a day since I was having so much fun with it. I don't think this game is very beginner friendly though. I was definitely getting my ass beat at the end and thought I wouldn't even be able to finish it. Luckily, from some God-given miracle, I was able to pull through. Vanguard Bandits is definitely worth giving a go despite the challenge. I might just be ass at video games, but even so... put on your thinking cap when you're playing this one.