In 2005, we got a Nintendo DS. Shortly after we picked up a game called Another Code: Two Memories because we like puzzling adventure titles and needed something to play while going on the bus or train. It became our favourite Nintendo DS game of all time and Ashley Mizuki Robins became one of our favourite video game leads ever.

Four years later we picked up Another Code: R - A Journey Into Lost Memories on Wii, and while it didn't impress us as much as the first game, we left it happy to have played it. We could never have imagined that Arc System Works would end up developing a remake of both games from the ground up for Switch, but here we are in 2024 with Another Code: Recollection.

The best Another Code game to date.

Retelling both of the previous two games, Recollection makes the interesting creative choice of mostly keeping the first game narratively intact while greatly changing up the sequel. This could have easily harmed the game, but ends up strengthening its writing immensely in the end as it ties the two stories together as one in a way that feels so perfectly cohesive that it took us a considerable amount of time to realize how much had actually been changed.

The plot has a nice blend of expected developments and clever twists and despite the often absurd fantastical aspects of the story it pulls through thanks to sheer sincerity about its subject matter. It's so easy to be immersed in Ashley and her co-stars' story of coping with loss and PTSD through a deeply emotional scenario focused on rewriting memories, especially thanks to the excellent voice acting at hand.

The the DS and Wii games made heavy use of unique hardware gimmicks for its puzzle design, resulting in the Switch requiring to change things up quite a lot. But the puzzles created for the game are fun and feel like classic adventure game material. If there's anything we felt was lacking, it's that the first game, Two Memories, felt somewhat rushed compared to its sequel. But by the time we reached the credits it didn't matter at all.

This is a game tailor made for us, and we loved every moment of it.

When we started playing Alan Wake II we were extremely disappointed in what was a highly anticipated sequel to our GOTY of 2010. But by the time the credits rolled we had completely turned around on it. An absolute work of art.

The game has some flaws that should probably hurt it more than it does. The case board gameplay is rarely engaging and far too prone to bugs and tedious busywork, the combat often feels sluggish and lacks the simplicity of the original game and the opening hours are incredibly slow.

But once it gets going, it never stops impressing. The writing is stellar, the characters are all memorable and engaging, the horror is superb and the ongoing meta-narrative from the first game and Remedy's Control hits better than ever.

It's very rare to feel that waiting 13 years for something was worth it. But Alan Wake II is... but maybe play it on "Story" difficulty to avoid the combat becoming too tedious.

FFXVI is hands down the worst of the 16 mainline FF titles, though we take no delight in this game being such a disappointment.

FF is our favourite video game franchise. We wanted nothing but to love this. There are glimpses of a game we love in FFXVI. Sadly it's maybe a grand total of 15 minutes out of the 55+ hour runtime. It has solid combat, but even that isn't as good as other action games out there and by the time you're on your 30th hour of the game it's gotten dull.

The game is a bafflingly poorly executed mess of bad writing. From its superficial understanding of oppression politics to its far too large cast of one-dimensional characters to the way the main scenario is effectively split into six mini-stories that don't flow together in either tone or narrative.

It's almost impressive that throughout the 8 years it took for FFXVI to develop, virtually every core concept within the story was done better in other FF games. Seriously, there are shards of FFXV, FFXIV Stormblood, FFXIV Shadowbringers, FFXIV Endwalker, Stranger of Paradise and more in here... all of them outclassing FFXVI on their shared themes and plot points.

FFXVI is basically a game that sums up what we dislike about AAA game design, dark fantasy writing tropes and more. Bad game.

While not quite as good as the original Resident Evil 4, this remake manages to capture the spirit of the original game while providing an all new experience at the same time. Three times in less than half a decade Capcom have managed to put out an excellent reimagining of a classic Resident Evil title and this time it's even more impressive given how beloved the original game remains to this day.

It's a shame that the PC version suffers from crashes and loading issues, as well as a lot of content not being ready at launch. It holds back an otherwise excellent title.

The original release of DOOM 3 is our favourite shooter of all time and this was the first time we actually played through the game in its entirety on a console.

Playing the game on Switch was fun, but really hammered home how shooters need to include gyro aiming as an option because when the game is designed for mouse you will have so much struggle with aiming at times.

The game features "aim assist" but it's a really bad one and it actively makes some of the aiming harder when it comes to faster and flying enemies, or just wanting to get head shots.

We still don't like the changes made to the flashlight in the 2012 and 2019 releases and the checkpoint system is severely flawed. We appreciate that they put it in to help out in a game that initially didn't have anything like that, but they're badly placed.

We've had checkpoints hit in the middle of voice lines and in the middle of active combat. Those two things should never happen with automatic checkpoints.

The thing that has probably aged the worst since 2004 is the stamina bar, which funnily enough goes away in the Hell and Excavation levels and some of the physics puzzles. But it was 2004, you had to do physics puzzles.

Anyway, the 2004 release is a 10/10 game in our book and this Switch port still claws its way to a solid 9/10.

" like Civilization VI, I really do. The additions of districts is fun, the new policy system is a great improvement and even the advisor system is better than it’s been in recent titles. But the game is full of so many small issues that pile up into one big mess that it’s hard to see the great game hiding beneath. With a few months of fixes I can see this game truly shine and possibly be one of the best titles in the series, but as it stands now it feels like it was rushed out of the oven before it was done. So it’s here I return back to the first question I asked, how does Civilization VI fair?

You know, I’m still not entirely sure. But I like it."

Full Review: https://andrearitsu.com/2016/10/26/sid-meiers-civilization-vi-review/

"As of writing this review my Steam account tells me I have 12 hours played in total. During these 12 hours I’ve had the game make me laugh out loud, tear up and grow attached to its many characters in ways most games would only dream of. I could tell you about the amazing conversations, tense encounters and strange outcomes I’ve been through but I feel that would miss the point of the game. It’s very much a story that the player has to direct themselves through."

Full Review: https://andrearitsu.com/2015/11/28/undertale-review/

"The only connection Alone in the Dark: Illumination has to its cosmic horror roots is that its entire existance is an unintelligible abomination. The only praises I can give the game is that it’s at least free from microtransactions and made the other lesser entries in the series look like masterpieces in comparison. The game proudly boasts that the Alone in the Dark saga will continue in its final splash screen, which I find impossible considering Atari and pals have made a damn good job at killing it and burying its corpse six feet under with this entry. This is one of the worst games I’ve ever seen released by a big name publisher.

I hate this game."

Full Review: https://andrearitsu.com/2015/10/24/alone-in-the-dark-illumination-review/

"I’m afraid I don’t have many kind words about Fairy Fencer F as a game. All the very few moments of potential are quickly squashed by the terrible writing, the annoying characters, the repetitive gameplay and the insulting design. It’s like Compile Heart decided to collect the worst bits of the most mediocre and sub-par RPG titles of the last generation and give you the full tour of them. After the hours I spent on this game I think it’s clear what the F actually stands for; a fiasco."

Full Review: https://andrearitsu.com/2014/09/19/fairy-fencer-f-review/

"I’ve made it no secret that I love A Realm Reborn. It’s the best FINAL FANTASY since FINAL FANTASY XII and the most fun I’ve ever had in an MMO not starting with the words Phantasy Star Online. Square Enix managed to assemble a great team that not only saved a total mess of a game, but they made it something truly alive and special in a way I honestly can’t say I expected them to.

In the end, FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn is absolutely the final nail in the coffin for FINAL FANTASY XIV, but in a positive way. Because with that old game dead, buried and forgotten, we can all happily accept this completely reborn game into our lives."

Full Review: https://andrearitsu.com/2013/08/31/final-fantasy-xiv-a-realm-reborn-review/

"It’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly where I should put LIGHTNING RETURNS compared to the rest of the games in the series. In a lot of ways, it does improve on its predecessors, but it also takes some steps back. It presents some inexcusably bad writing, an insult of an ending and a sad lack of polish on the technical side. But it also shows stellar gameplay with respect for the player and content to keep you occupied for days.

LIGHTNING RETURNS: FINAL FANTASY XIII is a mixed bag, that’s for sure, but in the end it’s a mixed bag that I did have fun with, and having fun is one of the most important aspects of anything, let alone any game. As such, I do recommend giving it a try if you still have any interest in the sub-series."

Full Review: https://andrearitsu.com/2014/02/02/lightning-returns-review/

"In the end, FINAL FANTASY XIII is just not a very good game. It’s boring, repetitive, doesn’t understand how a linear design should work and feels like a 40 hour lecture in mechanics you could have mastered in an hour if the game would just let you. The writing is a joke more than half of the time and the story desperately wants to appear more complex than it actually is. It’s not an unplayable mess and it have a few good ideas here and there, but as a whole it’s just one big disappointment that’s not worth it. Not four years ago, not today."

Full Review: https://andrearitsu.com/2014/10/09/final-fantasy-xiii-review/

"While there are problems here and there in the package Heavensward offers, the experience all makes up for it. Rarely does a day pass where I don’t want to log on and play either with friends or even on my own. There’s so much to do that even when you’ve technically “done everything” you’ll gladly do a lot of it over and over again because it’s just so much fun to play the game. I think now is as great as time as any to get into FINAL FANTASY XIV thanks in part to Heavensward and the content patches that followed.

It’s truly a game that goes beyond what it needs to do in order to be acceptable, and reaches for what it can do in order to be incredible."

Full Review: https://andrearitsu.com/2016/03/09/final-fantasy-xiv-heavensward-review/