afluffycloud
18 reviews liked by afluffycloud
Sunset Overdrive
2014
hot take but i think this game is garbage
Parasite Eve
1998
I'm going to preface this review with a complaint: Any game that finishes on a four phase bossfight and follows that up with a multi-faceted escape sequence that can end in a game over if you move slightly too slowly through its intended sequence deserves a strongly worded letter and discerned frowny face. Parasite Eve, here is your frowny face :(.
Parasite Eve was one of those games that I had been greatly interested in but had long escaped me because I didn't grow up with or embrace the Playstation ecosystem until the PS4 came out so I could jump on the FF7R bandwagon. This means I lost out on a lot of the mid to late 1990's classics and favorites from developers in their golden ages, in this case that was Square Soft and the nearly endless hits it seemed to release. Parasite Eve, a JRPG horror game with much of its development DNA being rooted in Final Fantasy was an immediate piqued interest to me. I knew absolutely nothing about the gameplay going into it, zero as to what the story was about, and again very little about runtime. What I got out of finally playing the 1998 classic was a quick and easy b-movie with a simple (yet enjoyably so) gameplay loop.
Taking place over six days, Parasite Eve's story revolves around a parasitic growth named Eve who is hellbent on creating and perpetrating the reign of the "Ultimate Lifeform." Unfortunately this story does not involve Shadow the Hedgehog's origin story. What begins as an NYPD cop named Aya Brea going on a date to the opera quickly morphs into a race against the clock to save Manhattan, and in turn the world. Aya begins her investigation immediately after the entire opera house is morphed into gloop by the demonic Eve on stage. Collaborating with the lead detective in her NYPD precinct, the military, and a Japanese scientist she embarks on a desperate mission to understand the mystery of Eve's origin and goals so that peace can be restored. I appreciate the limited scope of the story, as I mentioned previously this title only takes place in the one borough in New York, allowing for the story to move at a hastened yet measured pace. There's no moment where you think you should be in a zone longer than you are, and you don't miss out on anything by only hitting a few of the marquis locations within Manhattan. In your investigation you'll visit the zoo, the Museum of Natural History, the Statue of Liberty, and the Chrysler Building should you choose. I've said it before, and as a fan of Metal Gear Rising I'll say it again, games that pace themselves well are a dime a dozen and it's a severely underrated way to craft a solid game.
Gameplay in Parasite Eve is fairly basic, with combat utilizing a classic Final Fantasy ATB system where you can choose to either use special PE powers or simply shoot your gun at the opponent. The PE powers cover all the bases like healing yourself, giving Brea a shield or speed buff, and eventually moves that do devastatingly large amounts of damage to the opposition. These moves are strong and bolster your survival arsenal quick a bit, but need to be built up over time in battle. I liked this balance, forcing you as the player to dish out damage in the random encounters and boss fights while you're PE gauge built up and you could add some survivability into your kit. Because the game stayed at a lower level of difficulty throughout, I never felt like the system of running around in a fight to build up my gauge felt unfair or busy. World encounters (which are random to an extent) are often remedied through simply gunfights, but the bosses will require more planning and usage of the paranormal.
Weapons in Parasite Eve are limited in diversity but do give you an interesting way to complete the game. There's a few categories of guns you get: Pistols, rifles, machine guns, shotguns (I think,) and grenade launchers. Each come with their boons like how rifles have a longer range and machine guns have a higher rate of fire, but also have their cons that seem to balance them out. Rifles with that range have a lower rate of fire and maybe a smaller clip size, whereas machine guns dish out more shots but do less damage per shot and aren't as effective from further away. This leads to a chief complaint I had with PE, and that's how customizing rate of fire on your weapon felt rather... pointless? This is because the more shots you get in your "turn" to attack, the less damage each shot does. I remember upgrading one of my weapons to have seven shots per turn, only to find out I was doing twelve damage per shot. I was mystified and thought I'd reached some random difficulty spike, but I soon discovered that my error lied in trying to do more damage per turn. Though there is some reasoning you could give to have more shots per turn, I felt like the ability to blast through the opposition as quickly as possible with fewer, high damage blasts felt a lot better.
Playing PS1 era games nearly thirty years after they've come out is often a crapshoot because of how far visual fidelity has come. Even within the genre, think about how expansive the differences in Final Fantasy VII and its Remake title are. Even though Parasite Eve shows its age on the polygonal front, the FMV cutscenes that it hangs its laurels upon are to this day still pretty impressive. Many horror games from the 1990's simply don't "feel" scary because they can't impart an actual element of visual horror on the player, but Parasite Eve goes to an incredible extent to make the disgusting transformations, deaths, and general grime of its cinematics feel visceral. Multiple times through my playthrough I made an exhausted uneasy face at what I was seeing, coupled with impressive soundtracking work to make the moment feel eerie. Square since time immemorial has known how to do work in the CGI space and its vindicating to go back and see how great they've always succeeded in that space. Nearing conclusion, I felt like I played a grotesque version of Final Fantasy VIII.
I do want to shoutout the legendary Yoko Shimomura here for her OST. For a game this short, it's filled with certified BOPS and BANGERS that make each area and moment feel distinct right from the opening crawl all the way to the end credits. It may be an interesting take for a lot people to hear but I think this is her best work yet, even in a career that includes Kingdom Hearts, FFXV, Live A Live, and Super Mario RPG.
Before I close, one thing that nearly ruined this game for me is that I named my protagonist "Gherkin." I don't like pickles... as a matter of fact I hate them but for whatever reason when the chance came to name my protagonist I thought of a sloppy, large, green gherkin. I couldn't stop laughing any time her name came on screen, and anytime I told my buddies I was going to go "Gherk" it erupted myself into cacophonous laughter. I guess my lesson here is that most players should probably keep their first name as "Aya" or go with something less abrasive. It reminds me of when I named my Tidus "Chad" in FFX and completely forgot his name wasn't Chad for months after I played.
Parasite Eve is a quick and fun JRPG experience that should not be missed if anyone still has a Playstation 1 around. I recommend this game to anyone with a knack for the golden age of JRPG's or the older Resident Evil title.
Parasite Eve was one of those games that I had been greatly interested in but had long escaped me because I didn't grow up with or embrace the Playstation ecosystem until the PS4 came out so I could jump on the FF7R bandwagon. This means I lost out on a lot of the mid to late 1990's classics and favorites from developers in their golden ages, in this case that was Square Soft and the nearly endless hits it seemed to release. Parasite Eve, a JRPG horror game with much of its development DNA being rooted in Final Fantasy was an immediate piqued interest to me. I knew absolutely nothing about the gameplay going into it, zero as to what the story was about, and again very little about runtime. What I got out of finally playing the 1998 classic was a quick and easy b-movie with a simple (yet enjoyably so) gameplay loop.
Taking place over six days, Parasite Eve's story revolves around a parasitic growth named Eve who is hellbent on creating and perpetrating the reign of the "Ultimate Lifeform." Unfortunately this story does not involve Shadow the Hedgehog's origin story. What begins as an NYPD cop named Aya Brea going on a date to the opera quickly morphs into a race against the clock to save Manhattan, and in turn the world. Aya begins her investigation immediately after the entire opera house is morphed into gloop by the demonic Eve on stage. Collaborating with the lead detective in her NYPD precinct, the military, and a Japanese scientist she embarks on a desperate mission to understand the mystery of Eve's origin and goals so that peace can be restored. I appreciate the limited scope of the story, as I mentioned previously this title only takes place in the one borough in New York, allowing for the story to move at a hastened yet measured pace. There's no moment where you think you should be in a zone longer than you are, and you don't miss out on anything by only hitting a few of the marquis locations within Manhattan. In your investigation you'll visit the zoo, the Museum of Natural History, the Statue of Liberty, and the Chrysler Building should you choose. I've said it before, and as a fan of Metal Gear Rising I'll say it again, games that pace themselves well are a dime a dozen and it's a severely underrated way to craft a solid game.
Gameplay in Parasite Eve is fairly basic, with combat utilizing a classic Final Fantasy ATB system where you can choose to either use special PE powers or simply shoot your gun at the opponent. The PE powers cover all the bases like healing yourself, giving Brea a shield or speed buff, and eventually moves that do devastatingly large amounts of damage to the opposition. These moves are strong and bolster your survival arsenal quick a bit, but need to be built up over time in battle. I liked this balance, forcing you as the player to dish out damage in the random encounters and boss fights while you're PE gauge built up and you could add some survivability into your kit. Because the game stayed at a lower level of difficulty throughout, I never felt like the system of running around in a fight to build up my gauge felt unfair or busy. World encounters (which are random to an extent) are often remedied through simply gunfights, but the bosses will require more planning and usage of the paranormal.
Weapons in Parasite Eve are limited in diversity but do give you an interesting way to complete the game. There's a few categories of guns you get: Pistols, rifles, machine guns, shotguns (I think,) and grenade launchers. Each come with their boons like how rifles have a longer range and machine guns have a higher rate of fire, but also have their cons that seem to balance them out. Rifles with that range have a lower rate of fire and maybe a smaller clip size, whereas machine guns dish out more shots but do less damage per shot and aren't as effective from further away. This leads to a chief complaint I had with PE, and that's how customizing rate of fire on your weapon felt rather... pointless? This is because the more shots you get in your "turn" to attack, the less damage each shot does. I remember upgrading one of my weapons to have seven shots per turn, only to find out I was doing twelve damage per shot. I was mystified and thought I'd reached some random difficulty spike, but I soon discovered that my error lied in trying to do more damage per turn. Though there is some reasoning you could give to have more shots per turn, I felt like the ability to blast through the opposition as quickly as possible with fewer, high damage blasts felt a lot better.
Playing PS1 era games nearly thirty years after they've come out is often a crapshoot because of how far visual fidelity has come. Even within the genre, think about how expansive the differences in Final Fantasy VII and its Remake title are. Even though Parasite Eve shows its age on the polygonal front, the FMV cutscenes that it hangs its laurels upon are to this day still pretty impressive. Many horror games from the 1990's simply don't "feel" scary because they can't impart an actual element of visual horror on the player, but Parasite Eve goes to an incredible extent to make the disgusting transformations, deaths, and general grime of its cinematics feel visceral. Multiple times through my playthrough I made an exhausted uneasy face at what I was seeing, coupled with impressive soundtracking work to make the moment feel eerie. Square since time immemorial has known how to do work in the CGI space and its vindicating to go back and see how great they've always succeeded in that space. Nearing conclusion, I felt like I played a grotesque version of Final Fantasy VIII.
I do want to shoutout the legendary Yoko Shimomura here for her OST. For a game this short, it's filled with certified BOPS and BANGERS that make each area and moment feel distinct right from the opening crawl all the way to the end credits. It may be an interesting take for a lot people to hear but I think this is her best work yet, even in a career that includes Kingdom Hearts, FFXV, Live A Live, and Super Mario RPG.
Before I close, one thing that nearly ruined this game for me is that I named my protagonist "Gherkin." I don't like pickles... as a matter of fact I hate them but for whatever reason when the chance came to name my protagonist I thought of a sloppy, large, green gherkin. I couldn't stop laughing any time her name came on screen, and anytime I told my buddies I was going to go "Gherk" it erupted myself into cacophonous laughter. I guess my lesson here is that most players should probably keep their first name as "Aya" or go with something less abrasive. It reminds me of when I named my Tidus "Chad" in FFX and completely forgot his name wasn't Chad for months after I played.
Parasite Eve is a quick and fun JRPG experience that should not be missed if anyone still has a Playstation 1 around. I recommend this game to anyone with a knack for the golden age of JRPG's or the older Resident Evil title.
Finished a while back, forgot to log. Played on the Advance Collection.
Immediately, Harmony of Dissonance feels a lot more floaty- very weird feeling coming off of CotM but I prefer the trade off of not needing to double tap to dash. I missed the backdash so much- and hey, you even get a front dash in this one! It does get a bit repetitive just dashing through the castle, mashing the L/R buttons but it's been a while since i've felt good moving through the castle from the get- usually it takes a while before you get to that point.
It's also great seeing the melodrama return- one thing greatly missing from CotM. I neglected to talk about it because I figured it wasn't really worth noting but CotM feels incredibly stilted dialogue wise, something I figured was just because it was just trying to be a CV on the GBA. Comparatively, Iga's flavor comes out on a ton of fronts throughout this title. Plot wise it's fairly vanilla throughout, but Juste and Maxim have that right amount of melodrama even for as little screen time as you get for the two. I appreciate details like both characters realizing there's alternate dimension-personae encounters pretty early on rather than dragging that out.
I also really appreciate how many set-piece rooms are littered throughout this castle, a lot of rooms where there's just one element they throw in just to make the castle feel a bit more interactable. For example the room with a pendulum and a giant knight, baiting the knight under the pendulum and knocking him into a wall opens up a new section with some nice trinkets. It's a lot of fun to enter and explore the new areas of the castles, with a lot of goodies sprinkled throughout to keep interest up.
The main point of contention here is the castle itself, being an already extraordinary labyrinth compared to most other maps in the series, with a lot of dead ends and tangled sections to explore at first, then mitosis'd into a Castle 'B' that you've been entering in and out of for a good chunk of the first half. Here's where exploring gets bipolar, needing to remind yourself of whether you've explored certain segments as thoroughly on one side as the other and juggling between which castle has the next plot/item beat before reaching the climax in the center of the castle. Although I do appreciate the lack of rooms hidden behind destructible walls for this game distinctly.
This game also has a lot more bosses than CotM and while the quality of the 'fights' feels a bit better on average, the quality of the 'boss' aspect varies greatly. Most of them have some pretty distinct phases and well telegraphed attacks, making for a much smoother time handling boss fights compared to some of the more repetitive fights in COTM. However, certain other fights are just 'here's a larger version of an enemy', there's not as much of a distinct scale as some of the standout fights in COTM like Adramelech or the Zombie Dragons.
Overall, I didn't find myself feeling as fatigued going through this compared to previous Castlevanias. No need to grind for cards, perfectly manageable difficulty curve, lot of items to actually use, and while the story isn't all too complicated the writing feels more in line to what I come to expect from the series. A pretty good translation of the Igavania style to GBA.
Immediately, Harmony of Dissonance feels a lot more floaty- very weird feeling coming off of CotM but I prefer the trade off of not needing to double tap to dash. I missed the backdash so much- and hey, you even get a front dash in this one! It does get a bit repetitive just dashing through the castle, mashing the L/R buttons but it's been a while since i've felt good moving through the castle from the get- usually it takes a while before you get to that point.
It's also great seeing the melodrama return- one thing greatly missing from CotM. I neglected to talk about it because I figured it wasn't really worth noting but CotM feels incredibly stilted dialogue wise, something I figured was just because it was just trying to be a CV on the GBA. Comparatively, Iga's flavor comes out on a ton of fronts throughout this title. Plot wise it's fairly vanilla throughout, but Juste and Maxim have that right amount of melodrama even for as little screen time as you get for the two. I appreciate details like both characters realizing there's alternate dimension-personae encounters pretty early on rather than dragging that out.
I also really appreciate how many set-piece rooms are littered throughout this castle, a lot of rooms where there's just one element they throw in just to make the castle feel a bit more interactable. For example the room with a pendulum and a giant knight, baiting the knight under the pendulum and knocking him into a wall opens up a new section with some nice trinkets. It's a lot of fun to enter and explore the new areas of the castles, with a lot of goodies sprinkled throughout to keep interest up.
The main point of contention here is the castle itself, being an already extraordinary labyrinth compared to most other maps in the series, with a lot of dead ends and tangled sections to explore at first, then mitosis'd into a Castle 'B' that you've been entering in and out of for a good chunk of the first half. Here's where exploring gets bipolar, needing to remind yourself of whether you've explored certain segments as thoroughly on one side as the other and juggling between which castle has the next plot/item beat before reaching the climax in the center of the castle. Although I do appreciate the lack of rooms hidden behind destructible walls for this game distinctly.
This game also has a lot more bosses than CotM and while the quality of the 'fights' feels a bit better on average, the quality of the 'boss' aspect varies greatly. Most of them have some pretty distinct phases and well telegraphed attacks, making for a much smoother time handling boss fights compared to some of the more repetitive fights in COTM. However, certain other fights are just 'here's a larger version of an enemy', there's not as much of a distinct scale as some of the standout fights in COTM like Adramelech or the Zombie Dragons.
Overall, I didn't find myself feeling as fatigued going through this compared to previous Castlevanias. No need to grind for cards, perfectly manageable difficulty curve, lot of items to actually use, and while the story isn't all too complicated the writing feels more in line to what I come to expect from the series. A pretty good translation of the Igavania style to GBA.
Hi-Fi Rush
2023
they just don't make them like they used to. This game reminds me of the mid-budget mascot platformers of the ps2 era in all the best ways. I went in with high expectations and they were all exceeded. The style and personality of all the characters and the world itself are all immaculate. Everything moving to the beat is such a cool design choice. The cutscenes, dialog, characters, environment, everything always fits the beat of the background music. The game was actually funny too without being cringey which feels like a big accomplishment these days. I liked all the characters and their growth throughout the story. Gameplay is great, too. Fighting to the beat never got old, especially when they are constantly throwing new enemy types at you throughout the entirety of the game. And most of all the boss fights all ruled. Every one was an improvement on the last. Just a really fun game that I feel typically doesn't get made much anymore in the modern AAA games landscape. A breath of fresh air. Note: 05/07/2024 - RIP TANGO (I hate Microsoft)
Hi-Fi Rush
2023
It was my second time beating this game. The first one was during its release.
You know, there're not that much games which capture my soul entirely, but this one... It's one of them.
Hi-Fi Rush is a helluva banger, and I despise Microsoft for closing Tango Gameworks. It's a game which doesn't have a deep, hard plot or something like that, but instead it has a striking and fun gameplay, a bunch of jokes, some adrenaline attractions, and, after all, a fucking soul put in it.
The entire soundtrack is a banger, especially the selected copyright songs (I mean, there's Prodigy!!!), and... Damn, I have no words to describe how cool this game is. It's just so well done, that it grabs and doesn't let you go 'till the very end. Just try it out for yourself, and spend a couple of hours of yours playing a game that actually deserves your attention and all the praise it has.
Fuck you, Microsoft. I'll never forgive you.
You know, there're not that much games which capture my soul entirely, but this one... It's one of them.
Hi-Fi Rush is a helluva banger, and I despise Microsoft for closing Tango Gameworks. It's a game which doesn't have a deep, hard plot or something like that, but instead it has a striking and fun gameplay, a bunch of jokes, some adrenaline attractions, and, after all, a fucking soul put in it.
The entire soundtrack is a banger, especially the selected copyright songs (I mean, there's Prodigy!!!), and... Damn, I have no words to describe how cool this game is. It's just so well done, that it grabs and doesn't let you go 'till the very end. Just try it out for yourself, and spend a couple of hours of yours playing a game that actually deserves your attention and all the praise it has.
Fuck you, Microsoft. I'll never forgive you.
Idk how to do serious reviews so I'm just gonna say that this is the most important game in my life
This type of game is the hardest to rate because there is nothing quite like it.
If we are talking pure detail and fidelity, there is nothing that can even come close to Red Dead Redemption 2. The immersion is probably the best out of any game I have ever played.
The story is masterful and hits home. Arthur is possibly the single greatest protagonist in video game history. Every single line of dialogue is given with passion from every voice actor and it’s just stupidly good.
I feel bad for not giving Rdr2 a 5/5 because where it shines, it truly exceeds any other game. My rankings still give 4/5 ratings to games when they are something EVERYONE should play.
That being said the mission design and the gameplay just are not it for me. The gameplay is following orders given to you from the minimap or the game literally telling you something like DO THIS which is insanely lazy. You ride 15 minutes somewhere just to ride 15 minutes more for some guy to say “Dutch has changed” and go into lengthy discussions about the same topics. I know it is well written and I can enjoy the slow burn but I just can’t enjoy this level or repetitive content. The gunplay is weighty and simple, but annoyingly easy to the point that you aren’t even doing any important decisions mid-fight. It’s not fun or challenging.
I know that some people don’t care about those things but for me the pacing, gameplay and challenge is what makes a game the most enjoyable and Red Dead Redemption 2 didn’t hit the mark. Like I said, I recommend it to everyone, I love the game, but for me it’s not a masterpiece.
If we are talking pure detail and fidelity, there is nothing that can even come close to Red Dead Redemption 2. The immersion is probably the best out of any game I have ever played.
The story is masterful and hits home. Arthur is possibly the single greatest protagonist in video game history. Every single line of dialogue is given with passion from every voice actor and it’s just stupidly good.
I feel bad for not giving Rdr2 a 5/5 because where it shines, it truly exceeds any other game. My rankings still give 4/5 ratings to games when they are something EVERYONE should play.
That being said the mission design and the gameplay just are not it for me. The gameplay is following orders given to you from the minimap or the game literally telling you something like DO THIS which is insanely lazy. You ride 15 minutes somewhere just to ride 15 minutes more for some guy to say “Dutch has changed” and go into lengthy discussions about the same topics. I know it is well written and I can enjoy the slow burn but I just can’t enjoy this level or repetitive content. The gunplay is weighty and simple, but annoyingly easy to the point that you aren’t even doing any important decisions mid-fight. It’s not fun or challenging.
I know that some people don’t care about those things but for me the pacing, gameplay and challenge is what makes a game the most enjoyable and Red Dead Redemption 2 didn’t hit the mark. Like I said, I recommend it to everyone, I love the game, but for me it’s not a masterpiece.
batman se fosse jogavel
Persona 5 Royal
2019
Confidant who is hyperfocused on burning ants: Alright Joker... it's a deal then... I'll be your ant burning friend from here on out
*flashback animation*
My sexy hag prosecutor: You must have had some kind of insect combustion expert on your team.. who was it!! TALK!!!!
Me, popping a stiffy so hard I'm about to pass out: i think i hauve mental shutdown syndrome
Great game, ultimately still strictly worse than the other 2 modern Personas if you care about anything else than presentation. Concept is great - who doesn't love silly Lupin heists? The story immediately drills into the core of Planet slop at the start of the Medjed arc and doesn't recover for more than brief moments of JRPG cheese (I like the gooey cheese though). All the Social Links (that's what they're called man) are pretty good, but none are really great unless it's like the two that I missed. The soundtrack? It's great. The UI? Okay this might get assassins sent after me but to me it's very busy for a UI and I think it's a bit overrated in terms of being the be all end all of design for that reason. It is beautiful though.
I really like the additions to the combat system, despite it all feeling a bit overtuned - I died like three times in my entire playthrough and 2 of them were due to not having high enough damage and 1 of them was me nuking myself on a reflect. The baton passing, extra elements and Social Link buffs really help One More stand out as Not Just Press Turn But Worse (it still is worse, but you know, it helps, and it's fun).
Honestly after P3 the whole time management system and Social Links kinda feels tacked on to the other Persona games. Like it was meant for that game in particular and makes total sense with the theme whereas here they are just... systems that surround a JRPG. If that makes any sense. If I'm crazy you can shoot me in the head.
I stopped at the third semester. "Why"? I shouldn't have to justify that. Why didn't you? You should explain yourself. The story is over. If you continued to play for 30 hours you don't care about story do you? You don't give a shit about storytelling at all. You just care about characters and seeing them interact in little set pieces. You're a poser. You just want to play with dolls in your head because the cast functions as premade OCs for your fanfiction when you can't write your own. You're having the Phantom Thieves step in for real relationships in your life. You're pathetic. Sorry.. sorry about that. I don't know what came over me. Forgive me.
Nitpicky Rant Minor Spoiler Asshole Lightning Round:
- I think JRPG creators have realized 60% of people only play the first act and that's why a lot of modern JRPGs are frontloaded nosedive halfway in. Much research to be done here.
- Morgana has decided 30% of my nights simply can't be used for anything
- Please do not give me insanely overpowered DLC items for no reason you crazy bastards
- Why are we still pretending Persona protagonists can be self insert? Please just name him next time. He's stuck in this weird limbo where he's an unvoiced blank slate but also randomly will have lines. Give it up Atlus.
- Could not fuck Akechi Goro
- Morgana cat form? Cute. Cuddly. What a little guy. Love him. Morgana Metaverse form? I'm going to kick him over a building.
- Ban all localization from saying "kek"
- Having the optional dungeon turn mandatory in the final act is insane, it didn't affect me but for those it did I am so sorry
- The in media res flashback structure contributes absolutely nothing other than to do a "Ohhh I actually forgot crucial details" plot twist, it's basically just there to be there
- "The Councillor" Tarot? Really? Come on.
- The final dungeons(s) are basically completely disconnected from the theming of the rest of the game which makes them seem really out of nowhere and lame
- Like 3-4 instances of Japanese being spoken but no subs anywhere. "Just play in English" Haha, no, obviously. Don't be fucking stupid
- Demon negotiation is actually just SMT But Lame
- We have yet to find a good way to hide elemental weaknesses and then show them later and this is no exception
*flashback animation*
My sexy hag prosecutor: You must have had some kind of insect combustion expert on your team.. who was it!! TALK!!!!
Me, popping a stiffy so hard I'm about to pass out: i think i hauve mental shutdown syndrome
Great game, ultimately still strictly worse than the other 2 modern Personas if you care about anything else than presentation. Concept is great - who doesn't love silly Lupin heists? The story immediately drills into the core of Planet slop at the start of the Medjed arc and doesn't recover for more than brief moments of JRPG cheese (I like the gooey cheese though). All the Social Links (that's what they're called man) are pretty good, but none are really great unless it's like the two that I missed. The soundtrack? It's great. The UI? Okay this might get assassins sent after me but to me it's very busy for a UI and I think it's a bit overrated in terms of being the be all end all of design for that reason. It is beautiful though.
I really like the additions to the combat system, despite it all feeling a bit overtuned - I died like three times in my entire playthrough and 2 of them were due to not having high enough damage and 1 of them was me nuking myself on a reflect. The baton passing, extra elements and Social Link buffs really help One More stand out as Not Just Press Turn But Worse (it still is worse, but you know, it helps, and it's fun).
Honestly after P3 the whole time management system and Social Links kinda feels tacked on to the other Persona games. Like it was meant for that game in particular and makes total sense with the theme whereas here they are just... systems that surround a JRPG. If that makes any sense. If I'm crazy you can shoot me in the head.
I stopped at the third semester. "Why"? I shouldn't have to justify that. Why didn't you? You should explain yourself. The story is over. If you continued to play for 30 hours you don't care about story do you? You don't give a shit about storytelling at all. You just care about characters and seeing them interact in little set pieces. You're a poser. You just want to play with dolls in your head because the cast functions as premade OCs for your fanfiction when you can't write your own. You're having the Phantom Thieves step in for real relationships in your life. You're pathetic. Sorry.. sorry about that. I don't know what came over me. Forgive me.
Nitpicky Rant Minor Spoiler Asshole Lightning Round:
- I think JRPG creators have realized 60% of people only play the first act and that's why a lot of modern JRPGs are frontloaded nosedive halfway in. Much research to be done here.
- Morgana has decided 30% of my nights simply can't be used for anything
- Please do not give me insanely overpowered DLC items for no reason you crazy bastards
- Why are we still pretending Persona protagonists can be self insert? Please just name him next time. He's stuck in this weird limbo where he's an unvoiced blank slate but also randomly will have lines. Give it up Atlus.
- Morgana cat form? Cute. Cuddly. What a little guy. Love him. Morgana Metaverse form? I'm going to kick him over a building.
- Ban all localization from saying "kek"
- Having the optional dungeon turn mandatory in the final act is insane, it didn't affect me but for those it did I am so sorry
- The in media res flashback structure contributes absolutely nothing other than to do a "Ohhh I actually forgot crucial details" plot twist, it's basically just there to be there
- "The Councillor" Tarot? Really? Come on.
- The final dungeons(s) are basically completely disconnected from the theming of the rest of the game which makes them seem really out of nowhere and lame
- Like 3-4 instances of Japanese being spoken but no subs anywhere. "Just play in English" Haha, no, obviously. Don't be fucking stupid
- Demon negotiation is actually just SMT But Lame
- We have yet to find a good way to hide elemental weaknesses and then show them later and this is no exception
