ann3lid
2021
This is a really fun rougelike that is best experienced on mobile. The concept of using actual die to roll your moves is really clever and is explored thoroughly through the various classes, enemy types, and items you'll experience. A major gripe I have with the game is how the upgrade classes are not linked in any way to the current classes of your characters. This can lead to some frustrating scenarios where you turn down crucial character upgrades in the late game because they don't gel with how you've built your character/team. One potential solution could be to group classes into archetypes and restrict the possible character upgrades to classes of the archetype to which they already belong. Then, allowing for a class reroll (also with dice) at the beginning of the game could be a fun way to keep the randomness of the current class system but allow for a bit more strategy.
Pokemon games love to make you grind through monotonous tasks for legendaries. The dynamax adventures AI makes collecting the additional legendaries a chore. If there was more to break up the legendary collecting this mightve been more interesting but as it stands it's not very engaging.
2012
Rhythym game meets platformer. The introduction of additional members to your party helps introduce some variety into the otherwise simple, but tight, gameplay. The use of a dynamic camera during boss fights helps lend the levels some real spectacle. Unfortunately the music itself is probably the weakest part of the game. I found myself having more fun during the bonus levels which use songs from the Pokemon series.
The scope of this game is pretty unreal, but a lot of it feels like trendy game design concepts were thrown into a blender regardless of if they fit or not. This game is the most fun when you're exploring the galaxy hunting down the many collectables and listening to a podcast/watching TV in the background.
2015
The game designed to make you wish you were playing Valkyria Chronicles.
Rusty is an amazing character, I really wanted to play this, but not enough to go through the hassle of putting money on my 3ds eshop account!
Using the music of Final Fantasy already gives this rhythym game a leg up; Nobuo Uematsu is a great composer even when disregarding the medium of video games. Full of nods to the series and packed with gameplay tweaks to the normal rhythym formula that instill it with a real Final Fantasy feeling. Unique backgrounds for particular songs and some stellar DLC tracks make this a standout and a clear upgrade from the first game.
2015
After getting through the initial stages I started to warm up to the game. The steam mechanic functioning as the joint movement and action currency is pretty clever and forces some tough decision making. The handling of the POC characters is generally pretty embarrassing. Sometimes there is a lack of information provided that can make scenarios feel frustrating. Notably, it's hard to tell if your attack is likely to hit an enemy's weak spot and there is no overhead map view.
2012
I played it.
2016
Play the later entries and come back to the first if you are really looking for more content. The basic idea here is expanded upon.
2019
Such a cute game! The gameplay is very simple to grasp and new mechanics are consistently being added throughout the experience.
2012
Pretty bare bones and not really tennis in the end because of the special shots, but still a good time-waster nonetheless.
2017
Definitely an improvement on the first release. I think playing a queen also makes a bit more sense thematically.
One of the best games I've ever read. I don't mean that in a snarky way. This game really does have some of the best writing I've seen in the medium. After playing it on switch, however I can confidently say you're better off playing it elsewhere if possible. The game definitely suffers from semi frequent crashes (~10 throughout my time playing) and the automated feature doesn't kick in frequently enough to alleviate the frustration of the setbacks. That being said, the depth of emotion I felt for many of the characters was really something I don't think I've experienced in a game before.
2012
Such a nice surprise! The game only takes about 10 hours to complete. The dice mechanic is fantastic, I almost wish it was used more. The story isn't anything too exciting, but the aesthetic had me immersed for my playthrough.