15 reviews liked by ada_inc
Final Fantasy X-2
2003
This review contains spoilers
(⊙⊙)？KILLED GOD?? (⊙⊙)？
(┬┬﹏┬┬) IMAGINARY BOYFRIEND?? (┬┬﹏┬┬)
fuck it....YURI ROAD TRIP! :DDD §(￣▽￣)§
(┬┬﹏┬┬) IMAGINARY BOYFRIEND?? (┬┬﹏┬┬)
fuck it....YURI ROAD TRIP! :DDD §(￣▽￣)§
undertale for boring people,
also knowing that this game (of which i already had a preexisting belief that both the gameplay was mediocre and the narrative was inconsistent) is based on Neil Druckman reacting to the news report of the death of two IDF soldiers in Ramallah (this was after a two week period in which 100 Palestinians were killed by the IDF including two dozen children) and him thinking of the ways he would torture the Palestinians responsible for the killing of the two soldiers before he came to his senses and said "actually both sides are kind of wrong, we should all learn the power of forgiveness" and this weird centrist "we both have good and bad people" when Neil is very much centered in and speaking kindly about one side in particular, makes the entire game from a fundamental baseline standpoint, extremely cynical.
The main message about the cycle of violence is itself extremely harmful when applied to anything outside of works of fiction, the WLF and the Seraphites are obviously meant to be our stand in for Israel and Palestine. In fact all of Seattle is very carefully crafted to evoke the imagery of Israel, more specifically the West Bank wall. Across the game the WLF and Seraphites (also known by the nicknames the Wolves and Scars respectively) are shown to be in an almost constant cycle of violence that is meant to parallel the very same "cycle" Abby and Ellie are going through throughout the main game using the "cycle of violence" that Neil believes Israel and Palestine to be a part of as inspiration. The main issue with "cycles of violence" as a concept is that they don't really exist outside of thought experiments, this worldview both wants us to examine both sides with nuance while also asking we don't condemn any specific side in question. Furthermore, the ability to just "walk away from the cycle" as the game is insinuating we should do instead of perpetuating it as Ellie and Abby, is not something that everyone has the option to do.
To apply this to the same conflict Neil was inspired by, in Gaza, a vast majority of the population do not have the ability to just "walk away" as they are surrounded by blockades enforced by Israel (the other major side of this conflict that has the backing of almost the entire international community on their side) im sure there are ways to leave the nation but those all involve having to brave the streets while dealing with constant bombing from Israel (again the other major side of this conflict) and for most who have families it would be extremely difficult to leave without leaving them behind. So what exactly is Neil saying with his stance here? I would have to assume he must be speaking from the side of Israel, so what gives? What does "walking away" entail from this standpoint? Does it mean completely removing yourself from the side you stand for? Is it seeking to break this cycle by helping those on the other side? In practice, I think it entails simply refusing to engage in the conflict anymore. But this IS the issue, walking away is a privilege, it isnt a choice, those in Gaza dont get the option to just ignore the conflict and take the centrist "were all human" argument.
Lastly, the game is EXTREMELY cynical as previously mentioned, even from the very foundations of which this games themes and narratives lie on. When we look at these two excerpts from the Washington Post article in which Druckman speaks on his inspirations:
"Oh, man, if I could just push a button and kill all these people that committed this horrible act, I would make them feel the same pain that they inflicted on these people.’"
“I landed on this emotional idea of, can we, over the course of the game, make you feel this intense hate that is universal in the same way that unconditional love is universal? This hate that people feel has the same kind of universality. You hate someone so much that you want them to suffer in the way they’ve made someone you love suffer.”
And I feel like that right there is the main issue, Druckman believes his own worldview to be universal, he doesnt question why exactly he feels this way beyond remarking that "afterward (he) felt gross and guilty" and assumed this experience to be a universal one. When looking at the inciting moment, that being Joels death, this was meant to push us into the same feeling of hate he felt that day. However, for me and many others my immediate response wasnt one of hate, but rather one of confusion and sadness. This is where a major point of the ludonarrative dissonance comes in: We all understand why Ellie is going on her quest for revenge but over time it just becomes far too cruel to put up with, all of her cruelty is inevitable and I genuinely believe this is because Druckman believed nobody would question it. From one bloodbath to the next, she goes torturing and maiming all she can without even a thought given to the victims or if the quest is even worth it at that point.
This is inarguably the most cynical piece of gaming media I think I have ever played, as it doesnt just assume the worst of its cast. But it also assumes the worst of every human being on Earth, instead of Neil trying to deconstruct why he felt such a sadistic fantasy about these people whom he would never meet who executed two people he doesnt know, he instead looks to an answer that absolves him of any introspection by believing that anyone would feel the same way "Universal Hate" is a very cynical answer to this problem and its just nonsensical when applied to the game. I feel like if this game wasn't leaked ahead of time and Joels death was more of a surprise I feel more people would feel this game to be mediocre "TLOU2 is a bad game" became a position people only had before release due to being upset about Joels death, and in this sense that unintentionally became a shield for the game guard itself with.
All that being said though, the graphics are pretty nice so 10/10 game of the year.
also knowing that this game (of which i already had a preexisting belief that both the gameplay was mediocre and the narrative was inconsistent) is based on Neil Druckman reacting to the news report of the death of two IDF soldiers in Ramallah (this was after a two week period in which 100 Palestinians were killed by the IDF including two dozen children) and him thinking of the ways he would torture the Palestinians responsible for the killing of the two soldiers before he came to his senses and said "actually both sides are kind of wrong, we should all learn the power of forgiveness" and this weird centrist "we both have good and bad people" when Neil is very much centered in and speaking kindly about one side in particular, makes the entire game from a fundamental baseline standpoint, extremely cynical.
The main message about the cycle of violence is itself extremely harmful when applied to anything outside of works of fiction, the WLF and the Seraphites are obviously meant to be our stand in for Israel and Palestine. In fact all of Seattle is very carefully crafted to evoke the imagery of Israel, more specifically the West Bank wall. Across the game the WLF and Seraphites (also known by the nicknames the Wolves and Scars respectively) are shown to be in an almost constant cycle of violence that is meant to parallel the very same "cycle" Abby and Ellie are going through throughout the main game using the "cycle of violence" that Neil believes Israel and Palestine to be a part of as inspiration. The main issue with "cycles of violence" as a concept is that they don't really exist outside of thought experiments, this worldview both wants us to examine both sides with nuance while also asking we don't condemn any specific side in question. Furthermore, the ability to just "walk away from the cycle" as the game is insinuating we should do instead of perpetuating it as Ellie and Abby, is not something that everyone has the option to do.
To apply this to the same conflict Neil was inspired by, in Gaza, a vast majority of the population do not have the ability to just "walk away" as they are surrounded by blockades enforced by Israel (the other major side of this conflict that has the backing of almost the entire international community on their side) im sure there are ways to leave the nation but those all involve having to brave the streets while dealing with constant bombing from Israel (again the other major side of this conflict) and for most who have families it would be extremely difficult to leave without leaving them behind. So what exactly is Neil saying with his stance here? I would have to assume he must be speaking from the side of Israel, so what gives? What does "walking away" entail from this standpoint? Does it mean completely removing yourself from the side you stand for? Is it seeking to break this cycle by helping those on the other side? In practice, I think it entails simply refusing to engage in the conflict anymore. But this IS the issue, walking away is a privilege, it isnt a choice, those in Gaza dont get the option to just ignore the conflict and take the centrist "were all human" argument.
Lastly, the game is EXTREMELY cynical as previously mentioned, even from the very foundations of which this games themes and narratives lie on. When we look at these two excerpts from the Washington Post article in which Druckman speaks on his inspirations:
"Oh, man, if I could just push a button and kill all these people that committed this horrible act, I would make them feel the same pain that they inflicted on these people.’"
“I landed on this emotional idea of, can we, over the course of the game, make you feel this intense hate that is universal in the same way that unconditional love is universal? This hate that people feel has the same kind of universality. You hate someone so much that you want them to suffer in the way they’ve made someone you love suffer.”
And I feel like that right there is the main issue, Druckman believes his own worldview to be universal, he doesnt question why exactly he feels this way beyond remarking that "afterward (he) felt gross and guilty" and assumed this experience to be a universal one. When looking at the inciting moment, that being Joels death, this was meant to push us into the same feeling of hate he felt that day. However, for me and many others my immediate response wasnt one of hate, but rather one of confusion and sadness. This is where a major point of the ludonarrative dissonance comes in: We all understand why Ellie is going on her quest for revenge but over time it just becomes far too cruel to put up with, all of her cruelty is inevitable and I genuinely believe this is because Druckman believed nobody would question it. From one bloodbath to the next, she goes torturing and maiming all she can without even a thought given to the victims or if the quest is even worth it at that point.
This is inarguably the most cynical piece of gaming media I think I have ever played, as it doesnt just assume the worst of its cast. But it also assumes the worst of every human being on Earth, instead of Neil trying to deconstruct why he felt such a sadistic fantasy about these people whom he would never meet who executed two people he doesnt know, he instead looks to an answer that absolves him of any introspection by believing that anyone would feel the same way "Universal Hate" is a very cynical answer to this problem and its just nonsensical when applied to the game. I feel like if this game wasn't leaked ahead of time and Joels death was more of a surprise I feel more people would feel this game to be mediocre "TLOU2 is a bad game" became a position people only had before release due to being upset about Joels death, and in this sense that unintentionally became a shield for the game guard itself with.
All that being said though, the graphics are pretty nice so 10/10 game of the year.
juri is just really fun ok i am not a weirdo person
Beyond: Two Souls
2013
This review contains spoilers
bullet list of things in no particular order cause i fucking hate this game. how the fuck do you fumble both elliot page ad willem dafoe?
TRIGGER WARNING (SA)
- The potential of this games main mechanic are poorly though out, confusingly depicted, and are completely wasted in terms of narrative potential. Jodies abilities seem to be able to do ANYTHING or NOTHING, whenever the plot demands it. Aiden is such a nonsensical entity in the sense that everything about him is inconsistent: Both he and Jodie have powers that seem to arise in a specific instance and then never again, Aiden seems to selectively help Jodie despite their fates being intertwined, I initially thought that Aiden was meant to be an allegory for the player and that was the reason for the lack of communication but throughout the game he communicates non-verbally effectively. Why is he so inconsistent about everything? This is a major part of this games narrative and it has no boundaries or rules, Aiden can solve everything thrown at him except for major plot beats because he lacks any meaningful agency or limits and this makes all the stakes of this game shallow.
- The threat of sexual violence is a reoccurring aspect of this and many other David Cage games, i think this is due to his idea that the constant fear of assault at any moment is in his mind "a womens issue" and it will somehow appeal to the wider fanbase he wishes gaming in general would have and establish some form of personality for women he doesnt know how to write. That's at best though, at worst hes just a fucking pervert, because these scenes are generally uncomfortable and serve virtually no purpose other than to superficially shock the viewer. It was the same way in Heavy Rain, and its the same way here, save for one later cutscene being slightly different this scene is never touched upon nor does it have any thematic meaning as far as I can tell. I think David Cage is just fascinated with the concept of violence against women in general, and that a core part of our lives revolve around dealing with this threat constantly, the fact that this chapter is also titled "Like Other Girls" also leaves a fucking HORRID taste in my mouth (also while its not in the final game in the scene in question the player initially had the option to let the assault continue should they, out of some sado-voyeuristic urge or morbid curiosity, simply not do anything, this was found in the audio files of the game and while its not in the final product keep in mind that the initial scene was made with this choice in mind)
-In fact while were on topic the entire game has this really strange tone with Jodies depiction once shes a teenager onwards. I don.t know, a lot of it is just inhumanely cruel, or melodramatic. For example, during The Party chapter a 13 year old Jodie can choose to slow dance with and kiss a 17 year old boy named Matt and display her powers for the rest of the teens attending. Regardless on if either happen or not she is labeled a "slut" and a "witch" by everyone for making the mistake of giving a shitty gift to a girl she has literally never met up until this point. Considering I made neither choice on my first playthrough I was genuinely shocked they were reacting to Jodie with such vitriol, to the point it took me out of the game. Remember the assault chapter? While there is a way out of it before it actually occurs you seem somewhat forced into it your first playthrough, I personally had no clue avoiding it entirely was even an option until the post-chapter "HERES WHAT OTHERS DID" breakdown. Also this chapter plays out when Jodie is fifteen because Cages mind works in mysterious ways. When Jodie is 17 she is cruelly ripped away from her sense of family by a man named Ryan, who is nothing but mean to her and is thirty. The only reason I mention that is because Ryan later becomes a forced love interest regardless of what the player wishes. This world is unnecessarily cruel in Jodies formative years, I should learn about the character at this time but theres just an overwhelming absence of humanity. I learn nothing about Jodie save for the cruelty she must experience, all I know is she has supernatural powers and wants to be normal, that's pretty much it.
Im honestly just exhausted to even continue listing points uhhh:
-suicide is okay if you want to see your loved ones again
-Ryan (who is both jodies boss and met her when she was
17) lies to and manipulates her constantly and regardless of the character and players actions Jodie still likes him for some reason.
- the navajo chapters are pointless and have no narrative purpose, the chapter in Somalia is needlessly contrived and just stupid i think cage just wanted a war scene in the game (ryan who is solely to blame for all events in this chapter is completely absolved of any wrongdoing by the endgame anyway)
-how do you weaponize the infraworld? can it like give people their own Two Souls like Jodie? who knows because the game certainly wont tell you
-HOW THE FUCK DO YOU BLUNDER THE SKILLSET OF BOTH ELLIOT PAGE AND WILLEM DAFOE??
god im exhausted, its a shitty fucking game made by a perverted manchild who can just string movie scenes he saw once and thought they were cool together with his own touch of pre-production sexual harassment and weird ass romances along the way
TRIGGER WARNING (SA)
- The potential of this games main mechanic are poorly though out, confusingly depicted, and are completely wasted in terms of narrative potential. Jodies abilities seem to be able to do ANYTHING or NOTHING, whenever the plot demands it. Aiden is such a nonsensical entity in the sense that everything about him is inconsistent: Both he and Jodie have powers that seem to arise in a specific instance and then never again, Aiden seems to selectively help Jodie despite their fates being intertwined, I initially thought that Aiden was meant to be an allegory for the player and that was the reason for the lack of communication but throughout the game he communicates non-verbally effectively. Why is he so inconsistent about everything? This is a major part of this games narrative and it has no boundaries or rules, Aiden can solve everything thrown at him except for major plot beats because he lacks any meaningful agency or limits and this makes all the stakes of this game shallow.
- The threat of sexual violence is a reoccurring aspect of this and many other David Cage games, i think this is due to his idea that the constant fear of assault at any moment is in his mind "a womens issue" and it will somehow appeal to the wider fanbase he wishes gaming in general would have and establish some form of personality for women he doesnt know how to write. That's at best though, at worst hes just a fucking pervert, because these scenes are generally uncomfortable and serve virtually no purpose other than to superficially shock the viewer. It was the same way in Heavy Rain, and its the same way here, save for one later cutscene being slightly different this scene is never touched upon nor does it have any thematic meaning as far as I can tell. I think David Cage is just fascinated with the concept of violence against women in general, and that a core part of our lives revolve around dealing with this threat constantly, the fact that this chapter is also titled "Like Other Girls" also leaves a fucking HORRID taste in my mouth (also while its not in the final game in the scene in question the player initially had the option to let the assault continue should they, out of some sado-voyeuristic urge or morbid curiosity, simply not do anything, this was found in the audio files of the game and while its not in the final product keep in mind that the initial scene was made with this choice in mind)
-In fact while were on topic the entire game has this really strange tone with Jodies depiction once shes a teenager onwards. I don.t know, a lot of it is just inhumanely cruel, or melodramatic. For example, during The Party chapter a 13 year old Jodie can choose to slow dance with and kiss a 17 year old boy named Matt and display her powers for the rest of the teens attending. Regardless on if either happen or not she is labeled a "slut" and a "witch" by everyone for making the mistake of giving a shitty gift to a girl she has literally never met up until this point. Considering I made neither choice on my first playthrough I was genuinely shocked they were reacting to Jodie with such vitriol, to the point it took me out of the game. Remember the assault chapter? While there is a way out of it before it actually occurs you seem somewhat forced into it your first playthrough, I personally had no clue avoiding it entirely was even an option until the post-chapter "HERES WHAT OTHERS DID" breakdown. Also this chapter plays out when Jodie is fifteen because Cages mind works in mysterious ways. When Jodie is 17 she is cruelly ripped away from her sense of family by a man named Ryan, who is nothing but mean to her and is thirty. The only reason I mention that is because Ryan later becomes a forced love interest regardless of what the player wishes. This world is unnecessarily cruel in Jodies formative years, I should learn about the character at this time but theres just an overwhelming absence of humanity. I learn nothing about Jodie save for the cruelty she must experience, all I know is she has supernatural powers and wants to be normal, that's pretty much it.
Im honestly just exhausted to even continue listing points uhhh:
-suicide is okay if you want to see your loved ones again
-Ryan (who is both jodies boss and met her when she was
17) lies to and manipulates her constantly and regardless of the character and players actions Jodie still likes him for some reason.
- the navajo chapters are pointless and have no narrative purpose, the chapter in Somalia is needlessly contrived and just stupid i think cage just wanted a war scene in the game (ryan who is solely to blame for all events in this chapter is completely absolved of any wrongdoing by the endgame anyway)
-how do you weaponize the infraworld? can it like give people their own Two Souls like Jodie? who knows because the game certainly wont tell you
-HOW THE FUCK DO YOU BLUNDER THE SKILLSET OF BOTH ELLIOT PAGE AND WILLEM DAFOE??
god im exhausted, its a shitty fucking game made by a perverted manchild who can just string movie scenes he saw once and thought they were cool together with his own touch of pre-production sexual harassment and weird ass romances along the way
Street Fighter
1987
Capcom Classics Collection Revisits #9
When Capcom Classics Collection hit the scene on PS2 a lot of us saw the three versions of Street Fighter II on there, and asked "why isn't Street Fighter 1 here?" None of us played it, but we were always curious about this piece of history to this world famous video game franchise that just suddenly started at "II". It's gotta be great right?
How naive.
Fighting Street's entire feel is shit, the characters don't move around in any smooth capacity, and just shimmy all over the place like crabs. Hits have zero impact with garbage sound effects vaguely sounding like someone dropping their rubber ducky in the bathtub. Next to no hitstun means constant button mashing, and hoping that Gen doesn't divekick you four times in a row for your whole lifebar, unless you know the special moves, which you probably do since you weren't born yesterday. Best of luck getting a hadoken or shoryuken out consistently, because it's really strict and is based on button release rather than button press. They were originally intended as hidden secret moves of sorts, which explains why one dp or tatsu can potentially kill a man in one hit.
Capcom decided to try voices with this one, but unfortunately the one guy they got to do the voices just couldn't stop munching on toffee that morning apparently.
"WHAT STWENGTH BUTDONTFOWGETDEWAFBFBFBF ALL OVAH DA WOWLD"
Probably the same one they got to play Dr. Light in MM8.
The characters for the most part are horrifically stock and stereotypical. How many people can you find who are clamoring for the return of fucking Joe the homeless guy from SF1? How about the amazing English representation in the form of the mohawked punk and the stuffy aristocrat? What about bushy eyebrows man from Japan or THE NINJA GUY? Unfortunately, I've actually seen people online who want Retsu back without any memes attached. Dorks.
It took me a while, but I beat this piece of shit after spamming DP against Sagat and managed to oneshot him two rounds in a row, lucky me. Goddamned great music here by the way, sounds like an infant Sega Genesis with whooping cough. It's kind of sad that my only reasoning for not giving this a lower score is because of reasons like "I've played worse", or that it's at least hilarious for how much of a low point it is for the series. If I played the version with the stupid pressure-sensitive buttons I'd probably rate it lower after breaking my wrist and splitting my knuckles on the cabinet controls.
I think my favorite trivia is that Capcom still tries to pull the wool over our eyes by declaring that Mike (SF1) and Balrog are different characters, because they're still afraid of Mike Tyson swimming across the pacific and beating the shit out of them for parodying him like everyone else during the late 80s/90s.
When Capcom Classics Collection hit the scene on PS2 a lot of us saw the three versions of Street Fighter II on there, and asked "why isn't Street Fighter 1 here?" None of us played it, but we were always curious about this piece of history to this world famous video game franchise that just suddenly started at "II". It's gotta be great right?
How naive.
Fighting Street's entire feel is shit, the characters don't move around in any smooth capacity, and just shimmy all over the place like crabs. Hits have zero impact with garbage sound effects vaguely sounding like someone dropping their rubber ducky in the bathtub. Next to no hitstun means constant button mashing, and hoping that Gen doesn't divekick you four times in a row for your whole lifebar, unless you know the special moves, which you probably do since you weren't born yesterday. Best of luck getting a hadoken or shoryuken out consistently, because it's really strict and is based on button release rather than button press. They were originally intended as hidden secret moves of sorts, which explains why one dp or tatsu can potentially kill a man in one hit.
Capcom decided to try voices with this one, but unfortunately the one guy they got to do the voices just couldn't stop munching on toffee that morning apparently.
"WHAT STWENGTH BUTDONTFOWGETDEWAFBFBFBF ALL OVAH DA WOWLD"
Probably the same one they got to play Dr. Light in MM8.
The characters for the most part are horrifically stock and stereotypical. How many people can you find who are clamoring for the return of fucking Joe the homeless guy from SF1? How about the amazing English representation in the form of the mohawked punk and the stuffy aristocrat? What about bushy eyebrows man from Japan or THE NINJA GUY? Unfortunately, I've actually seen people online who want Retsu back without any memes attached. Dorks.
It took me a while, but I beat this piece of shit after spamming DP against Sagat and managed to oneshot him two rounds in a row, lucky me. Goddamned great music here by the way, sounds like an infant Sega Genesis with whooping cough. It's kind of sad that my only reasoning for not giving this a lower score is because of reasons like "I've played worse", or that it's at least hilarious for how much of a low point it is for the series. If I played the version with the stupid pressure-sensitive buttons I'd probably rate it lower after breaking my wrist and splitting my knuckles on the cabinet controls.
I think my favorite trivia is that Capcom still tries to pull the wool over our eyes by declaring that Mike (SF1) and Balrog are different characters, because they're still afraid of Mike Tyson swimming across the pacific and beating the shit out of them for parodying him like everyone else during the late 80s/90s.
Judging it from a remake standpoint quickly, it flows way better than the original from what I remember. There's a bunch of feature that save a lot of time but there's a few odd things here and there. Like not being able to turn the camera while running, running is something that the player ends up doing a lot.
Skyward's gameplay is fundamentally great, the combat is appealing and fun but it's riddled with holes. On the combat side of things, the bulk of enemies approach you with their guard up, leading the combat to be basically the same fight every encounter. I think the only thing opposing that is the satisfaction of finally defeating said enemy. The only boss that's misses hard is scaldera, you roll bombs at it, they're sucked up, they blow up, and then you strike it's eye. Opposingly, Skyward also has some of the best bosses in the franchise like Demise, Ghriahim, Koloktos. All of them unique, creative, and remarkable in their own ways.
Dugenons/setting ramblings: Skyward will have you dwelling on the idea of "believable and immersive world Vs. Video game level". Skyward's overworld is disconnected, none of it feels like one cohesive world. The area's themselves are really just an obstacle with nothing exactly to keep you interested before you get to the real dungeon. The area's themselves are great, maybe a little too linear also, but I just think it's a shame that they all feel like a standalone levels. The Sky itself is open for exploration but it's disappointingly empty considering how wonderful and interesting it is. Skyloft has actual rewarding and enjoyable side quests, as well as a way to upgrade your equipment. That in itself give the player an incentive to actually search for collectables. Onto arguably skyward's biggest strength, the dungeons. The ancient cistern for example, I wouldn't bat eye if someone said that it is their favorite dungeon in all of Zelda. The heavenly/enlighten look to the dungeon is something to soak in and gawk at. And in direct contrast to it, is the hell like underground cavern that has undead Bokoblins. The way you escape the cavern is through a blinding light in the ceiling that has rope hanging down from it. It all makes for a memorable build up to the koloktos boss battle. Even the less inspired dungeons like skyview temple, fire santurary, and the earth temple, still have their own distinct flare and atmosphere.
This is most likely 3D Zelda's weakest narrative, it's a plot you've seen a thousand times in a thousand life times. It plays it safe, the tone always light hearted, and it seems to come from a point in time where Nintendo was trying to figure out how to innovate Zelda. But what it did do is take time to establish skyloft and make you care for the goofy cast. The most substantial content comes at the end of the game, where Demise finally appears after learning about him through various means during the journey and is characterized as a barbaric monster who's lived for eons and is intrigued by a human that is capable of ending him. All the talk payoffs in a kino battle, in a area that's reminiscent of a anime opening/ending. Demise loses the duel, and curses Link and Zelda by fating them to be reincarnated- hence the other Zelda games. And in that sense, a greater appreciation for Skyward is fostered.
Skyward HD is very much a worthwhile experience as flawed as it is.
random stuff:
-There's item collecting related padding near the end of the game. Ex: collectign your own items, collecting pieces of the song of hero, collecting notes, it's all stuff that didn't really need to be there.
-The music is pretty forgettable, it sucks considering this is Zelda.
-Fi still states crap the player already knows.
-Hero Mode is only available after you beat it the game
Skyward's gameplay is fundamentally great, the combat is appealing and fun but it's riddled with holes. On the combat side of things, the bulk of enemies approach you with their guard up, leading the combat to be basically the same fight every encounter. I think the only thing opposing that is the satisfaction of finally defeating said enemy. The only boss that's misses hard is scaldera, you roll bombs at it, they're sucked up, they blow up, and then you strike it's eye. Opposingly, Skyward also has some of the best bosses in the franchise like Demise, Ghriahim, Koloktos. All of them unique, creative, and remarkable in their own ways.
Dugenons/setting ramblings: Skyward will have you dwelling on the idea of "believable and immersive world Vs. Video game level". Skyward's overworld is disconnected, none of it feels like one cohesive world. The area's themselves are really just an obstacle with nothing exactly to keep you interested before you get to the real dungeon. The area's themselves are great, maybe a little too linear also, but I just think it's a shame that they all feel like a standalone levels. The Sky itself is open for exploration but it's disappointingly empty considering how wonderful and interesting it is. Skyloft has actual rewarding and enjoyable side quests, as well as a way to upgrade your equipment. That in itself give the player an incentive to actually search for collectables. Onto arguably skyward's biggest strength, the dungeons. The ancient cistern for example, I wouldn't bat eye if someone said that it is their favorite dungeon in all of Zelda. The heavenly/enlighten look to the dungeon is something to soak in and gawk at. And in direct contrast to it, is the hell like underground cavern that has undead Bokoblins. The way you escape the cavern is through a blinding light in the ceiling that has rope hanging down from it. It all makes for a memorable build up to the koloktos boss battle. Even the less inspired dungeons like skyview temple, fire santurary, and the earth temple, still have their own distinct flare and atmosphere.
This is most likely 3D Zelda's weakest narrative, it's a plot you've seen a thousand times in a thousand life times. It plays it safe, the tone always light hearted, and it seems to come from a point in time where Nintendo was trying to figure out how to innovate Zelda. But what it did do is take time to establish skyloft and make you care for the goofy cast. The most substantial content comes at the end of the game, where Demise finally appears after learning about him through various means during the journey and is characterized as a barbaric monster who's lived for eons and is intrigued by a human that is capable of ending him. All the talk payoffs in a kino battle, in a area that's reminiscent of a anime opening/ending. Demise loses the duel, and curses Link and Zelda by fating them to be reincarnated- hence the other Zelda games. And in that sense, a greater appreciation for Skyward is fostered.
Skyward HD is very much a worthwhile experience as flawed as it is.
random stuff:
-There's item collecting related padding near the end of the game. Ex: collectign your own items, collecting pieces of the song of hero, collecting notes, it's all stuff that didn't really need to be there.
-The music is pretty forgettable, it sucks considering this is Zelda.
-Fi still states crap the player already knows.
-Hero Mode is only available after you beat it the game
the legend of zelda: miyamoto's fumbled bag
near perfect story, art, dungeon design and characters, still wouldnt recommend to my worst enemy
the game equivalent of a whole loaf of bread being bad when theres one spot of visible mold
i'd rather do a blind 100% playthrough of zelda 2, or preferably kill myself, than fight the imprisoned for a single additional second
near perfect story, art, dungeon design and characters, still wouldnt recommend to my worst enemy
the game equivalent of a whole loaf of bread being bad when theres one spot of visible mold
i'd rather do a blind 100% playthrough of zelda 2, or preferably kill myself, than fight the imprisoned for a single additional second
After completing this game and thinking on it for a few days, I've come to the conclusion that I really liked this game. I had some issues with the mechanics of the game (mind you, I REFUSED to play with motion controls so partially my fault) I thought the story was solid, the dungeons were solid, the bosses were challenging. Though, environmentally sometimes repetitive ("Go back to these three locations AGAIN."), I never really found myself bored playing this game. The character development was outstanding (#TeamGroose). Though I can't say Id ever replay it, I really enjoyed it for what it was.
Dead Space 3
2013
"I love ladders and my military friend." ~ Isaac Clarke
Hello Neighbor
2017
I could fuck up the neighbor just saying
