beetl
540 Reviews liked by beetl
This review contains spoilers
Almost a week after I started this 6 hour long update; 6 long, grueling hours; I finally finished it. It feels like a much more complete finale than the base game, but it definitely feels like the finale aspect is where most of the budget went, because, like Fire Emblem Engage's Fell Xenologue 6 months prior (?!??!??!??!?), this did not feel playtested at all. The sheer difficulty of this update feels more built on trial-and-error than genuine skill; there's no rime or reason to what goes where. This is showcased no better than with the penultimate challenge of the update, the now infamous Master King Koco Trial, where you're tasked with defeating all three of the game's major bosses, back to back to back, with all stats set to level 1 and no way to recover rings, both during and in between the fights, and with only Perfect Parries allowed. It feels like they just flipped a bunch of switches to make it arbitrarily harder and called it a day.
Because of the low ring cap and low damage output, the universal level 1 stat cap essentially forces you to cheese the bosses if you want to complete them in a timely manner, which utterly butchers the impact that those fights normally have. Wyvern is one of my favorite boss fights in any game, period, explicitly because of how masterfully done that fight is in the main game, both in terms of spectacle and combatting it. They managed to make a boss that somehow has it to where making mistakes against it makes the fight more fun because of how spectacular the fight is. In the Master King Trial, however, Wyvern feels awful because of the time constraint. It's the middle of a constricting boss rush, so every mistake you make in the fight adds up, ruining the impact of the fight. That's not even getting to the others: I've now fought Giganto so many times because of this trial that I can consistently butcher the thing in no time flat, also ruining the impact of that fight; and Knight's missile and saw parrying phases become even more obnoxious than they already were, because even a little bad luck with the missiles or even the god damn camera can set you back so far, to the point where you may have to restart what would have otherwise been a winning run because you lost too much time.
The finale feels much better than the main game; the tone of the story feels much more climactic, and the final boss fight is truly something else in terms of spectacle. Not quite Wyvern levels of fucking awesome IMO, but it's close. However, I still have my fair share of complaints. The final boss fight of the update, aptly named The End, is no longer just 3 button presses, and is instead an actual fight, acting as an extra couple phases to Supreme. The End constantly regenerates HP due to the weird umbilical cord attached to its head, so the first phase is just you wailing on it until phase 2 eventually starts. The End's second phase is where my complaints begin; it opens with a prompt that you can Perfect Parry to deflect attacks, which is immediately followed by The End throwing its giant Nier:Automata energy sphere things at you. You'll likely think, "Ok, so I parry those, and it'll finally start to take damage," right? Well, guess what? Perfect parrying is completely irrelevant to winning the fight. What you're supposed to do is attack the head, then repeatedly press the dodge button until the auto-target goes after the cord, wail on the cord until it breaks off, then Quick Cyloop the turret inside its back once it falls over. Like...what? Why did you tell me how to Perfect Parry, then?! I thought the game already assumed I knew how to do that because of the Master King Trial, only for the FINAL BOSS FIGHT WITH A GOD DAMN TUTORIAL MESSAGE FOR IT to not need it at all?! It makes NO FUCKING SENSE, I'M LOSING MY MIND
every iteration of i'm here is still fire tho
Because of the low ring cap and low damage output, the universal level 1 stat cap essentially forces you to cheese the bosses if you want to complete them in a timely manner, which utterly butchers the impact that those fights normally have. Wyvern is one of my favorite boss fights in any game, period, explicitly because of how masterfully done that fight is in the main game, both in terms of spectacle and combatting it. They managed to make a boss that somehow has it to where making mistakes against it makes the fight more fun because of how spectacular the fight is. In the Master King Trial, however, Wyvern feels awful because of the time constraint. It's the middle of a constricting boss rush, so every mistake you make in the fight adds up, ruining the impact of the fight. That's not even getting to the others: I've now fought Giganto so many times because of this trial that I can consistently butcher the thing in no time flat, also ruining the impact of that fight; and Knight's missile and saw parrying phases become even more obnoxious than they already were, because even a little bad luck with the missiles or even the god damn camera can set you back so far, to the point where you may have to restart what would have otherwise been a winning run because you lost too much time.
The finale feels much better than the main game; the tone of the story feels much more climactic, and the final boss fight is truly something else in terms of spectacle. Not quite Wyvern levels of fucking awesome IMO, but it's close. However, I still have my fair share of complaints. The final boss fight of the update, aptly named The End, is no longer just 3 button presses, and is instead an actual fight, acting as an extra couple phases to Supreme. The End constantly regenerates HP due to the weird umbilical cord attached to its head, so the first phase is just you wailing on it until phase 2 eventually starts. The End's second phase is where my complaints begin; it opens with a prompt that you can Perfect Parry to deflect attacks, which is immediately followed by The End throwing its giant Nier:Automata energy sphere things at you. You'll likely think, "Ok, so I parry those, and it'll finally start to take damage," right? Well, guess what? Perfect parrying is completely irrelevant to winning the fight. What you're supposed to do is attack the head, then repeatedly press the dodge button until the auto-target goes after the cord, wail on the cord until it breaks off, then Quick Cyloop the turret inside its back once it falls over. Like...what? Why did you tell me how to Perfect Parry, then?! I thought the game already assumed I knew how to do that because of the Master King Trial, only for the FINAL BOSS FIGHT WITH A GOD DAMN TUTORIAL MESSAGE FOR IT to not need it at all?! It makes NO FUCKING SENSE, I'M LOSING MY MIND
every iteration of i'm here is still fire tho
Action Taimanin
2020
even with astaroth's bulge bouncing around in my face, i couldn't actually play this game seriously, holy fuck what a SNOOZER. jesus fucking christ this really is a lilithsoft game because its the most boring, unjerkable shit you've ever seen
Damn, this game makes want to reenact a keyblade fight in the parking lot of a mall with my best buddy.
did a review on ps2 final mix but idc
this is still my fav game of all time
combat feels kinda button mashy at first but the more spells and shit you unlock the more you realize how deep it can actually get if you experiment with it
story while considered by many "Too convoluted" is simple if you just watch the cutscenes without skipping
everytime my life starts being shit I know I can just go back to this game and by the time im done with it everything is good again and it probably sounds funny considering we are talking about a game where mickey mouse sees goofy die and then says "They will pay for this" but again idc and tbh disney characters acting sometimes like shonen anime protagonists just adds to the charm of this game
its kinda what makes it so special to me
this is still my fav game of all time
combat feels kinda button mashy at first but the more spells and shit you unlock the more you realize how deep it can actually get if you experiment with it
story while considered by many "Too convoluted" is simple if you just watch the cutscenes without skipping
everytime my life starts being shit I know I can just go back to this game and by the time im done with it everything is good again and it probably sounds funny considering we are talking about a game where mickey mouse sees goofy die and then says "They will pay for this" but again idc and tbh disney characters acting sometimes like shonen anime protagonists just adds to the charm of this game
its kinda what makes it so special to me
One of the best games I ever played.
Must play for Jrpg or action game fans.
Must play for Jrpg or action game fans.
Rabbit & Steel
2024
FFXIV raiding but without the manchildren
Fire Emblem Engage
2023
hell nah they made the fire ember into a merryweather comic
Fire Emblem Engage
2023
people who genuinely hate this game are wrong and stupid and smelly and losers. it's pretty objectively one of the better FE games as a game and you're stupid and wrong if you hate the cheesy story.
Like Dreamer
2022
awesome shmup with cave and touhou elements.
Like Dreamer
2022
Based on completing all content on Nightmare mode, including an ALL+ run. I've also beaten the Extra stage and all of the individual stages (except 9) on Chaos.
Excellent shmup that blends the fun parts of CAVE and Touhou with exquisite stage and boss design. The recharging hypers and bombs let you experience the power fantasy of mowing through swarms of enemies, but you can't just spam them; there's a carefully considered balance between resource management and dodging (both practiced and ad hoc) that keeps things exciting even after sinking a dozen or more hours into the game.
You might say that that's simply how any good shmup should be designed, to which my response is: well, Like Dreamer is a very good shmup. It really nails all of the elements I like about the genre, offering oodles of content and alternate modes to boot. The staggered progression of modes and difficulties will force the player to get familiar with all of the stages and bosses in a variety of contexts, so it manages to be accessible to all skill levels as well.
It's only 14 bucks on Steam. Check it out if you like shmups, or even think you might like shmups.
Excellent shmup that blends the fun parts of CAVE and Touhou with exquisite stage and boss design. The recharging hypers and bombs let you experience the power fantasy of mowing through swarms of enemies, but you can't just spam them; there's a carefully considered balance between resource management and dodging (both practiced and ad hoc) that keeps things exciting even after sinking a dozen or more hours into the game.
You might say that that's simply how any good shmup should be designed, to which my response is: well, Like Dreamer is a very good shmup. It really nails all of the elements I like about the genre, offering oodles of content and alternate modes to boot. The staggered progression of modes and difficulties will force the player to get familiar with all of the stages and bosses in a variety of contexts, so it manages to be accessible to all skill levels as well.
It's only 14 bucks on Steam. Check it out if you like shmups, or even think you might like shmups.
Like Dreamer
2022
Ultimately my big take away from playing Like Dreamer wasn't even the cute atmosphere or busty girls or weird nonsensical plot, but that I was improving in my shmup skills and really do like the genre. Not to say that all those things, the busty girls, cute atmosphere, or deranged plot didn't pull me in either. It's very much a mix blend of "Oh, this looks interesting, and oh because I was interested in the genre". I wouldn't even say that Like Dreamer isn't exactly an average game, but rather an exotic taste of weirdness that needs to be tolerated first before engaging with it. Like Dreamer is mechanically sound, very casual friendly, but if you don't dig the ascetics, than you kinda get nothing out of it.
Breath of Fire III
1997
Picked up and put down this game multiple times over the span of 2-3 years. A bit scuffed of a translation, but it oozes soul and you literally play as a dude who can transform into multiple different dragons, so it's awesome. Also the soundtrack is fire
no thicc thighs but the comfy vibes are thicker anyway
since im already knee deep into the atelier series after playing ryza i decided to hold the sequel off for a second while i take my time exploring the beginning of the series with the remake of atelier marie the very first game in the franchise and a damn good one at that i thought there were gonna be a lot lesbians in this one too and i was pretty happy to see that theres a lot of sapphic play going on we won people
since i only played one (1) i still have no idea what this franchise comprises and when booting this game my expectations were definitely high up there due to me being blown away by ryza and it definitely delivered in that department if i gotta be honest
as a remake i cant really attest for a lot of stuff since again ive never played the original (i saw i can toggle the atelier marie plus version in-game so i think im gonna give that a try to see how the original is faring whether its cock and balls torture or not) but i definitely can see a lot of love poured into this project even though the skeleton of the source material is still mostly intact as much as im concerned
atelier marie plays it safe in every single part of the game starting by the story itself: marie is an alchemist in an academy institute who is also well known to be an absolute failure in everything she does so the principal gives her the possibility to use an atelier for 5 years for the purpose of honing her ability and creating an high quality object as a testament of her improvement in the art
and thats basically it youre gonna play through these 5 years which actually sound like a lot of work but realistically everything you do in this game will move the day forward traveling harvesting fighting doing alchemy i swear 5 years went by faster than i initially planned and this game is probably gonna take you something like 10 hours its definitely way way way shorter than i expected it to be but i think the original is even shorter so they made a huge amount of work actually adding some flare to the whole thing
coming from ryza most of the elements of the series are simpler and way toned down here the exploration is pretty bare bones you have like 10 places to visit which yeah theyre pretty fun and range in biomes and gathering in them makes it pretty clear that theres definitely not as much variety in the items even things like alchemy make a huge step back with only something between 50 and 100 items im not actually sure im just giving out numbers for the stuff ive seen in there but do i care about all this drivel ? absolutely fucking NOT the core element of a relaxed jrpg are still there and wow the formula was already a winning one in the very first game thats absurd
so as i was saying the gameplay is (as far as i know) typical atelier loop you explore and gather items you make some alchemy and do some fetch requests in the tavern and if the stars align youre gonna get a huge event or something
while i was definitely familiar with the gameplay loop the time management aspect of it all was something that i found weird being completely absent in ryza and it was kind of a delight to explore (even tho i chose to do the unlimited time mode because im very easily stressed but i still managed to have the requirements for a couple good endings so apparently its more lenient than i thought it would be)
as i said time passes while doing literally anything whatsoever so theres that but i definitely enjoyed how this all entwined to the different events in specific moments of the year or side quests for specific character is a really fun mechanic that drives home the limited time and schedule youre gonna have to deal with
a highlight is getting to know the different aspects of the town and listening to different gossips around the plaza and IN PARTICULAR the side plot lines are so interesting now as i said the main story isnt really so thick its basically “you need to make item X in 5 years” and thats it but the fact that you actually dont have a set party and you can actually hire/befriend/help a plethora of different characters in town which makes it really fun to actually get to know each one of them if youre interested just get them in your party fight a bit with them and increase the friendship to get new heart to heart events
top of the top are schea my sweet little baby she definitely has some scissoring going on with marie but you will be the judge of that also side note why are all atelier girls excited by barrels and have weird names like what kinda name is marlone honestly whatever so i was saying the bandit boss is so hot im sorry yall i HAD to say that as soon as i saw him i was like damn do i want a piece of that and hes actually a pretty deep character to boot likeeeeeeeeeee ruven is also pretty hot i love me some extraverted confident mercenary for my party and for my hole and then idk the others are also cool the kings knight is handsome the redhead woman can kick my balls yknow the usual
talking side characters the new way the combat system work is pretty simple but i really enjoyed it its definitely not that deep you only get a couple of tactics going on and most of the time is just skill skill skill until everyones dead but the fact that you can bring different people in battle actually make for a really cool variety in the party composition and overall its way on the easy side youre gonna level up pretty smoothly and kill everyone in your way without any real problem
the art direction is stellar this chibi style really ate and left no crumbs it has that sweet little ps1 charme (the entire game also feels like a early console game if im being honest like it has those kind of simple and charming vibes) and while it is pretty simple most of the locations are actually pretty beautiful if you ask me and the little CGs during events are SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD and also did you look at those portraits theyre so beautiful my jaw dropped so hard after looking at them not gonna lie oh and the music is also booming ngl
got the “going to the adventure ending” but i actually watched the remaining events and endings on youtube and obviously the lesbian schea route is the canon one im not even gonna argue with yall on this
all in all another confirmation that i gotta dig into this series a lot more and i cant wait to play some more stuff my expectations are HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH
since im already knee deep into the atelier series after playing ryza i decided to hold the sequel off for a second while i take my time exploring the beginning of the series with the remake of atelier marie the very first game in the franchise and a damn good one at that i thought there were gonna be a lot lesbians in this one too and i was pretty happy to see that theres a lot of sapphic play going on we won people
since i only played one (1) i still have no idea what this franchise comprises and when booting this game my expectations were definitely high up there due to me being blown away by ryza and it definitely delivered in that department if i gotta be honest
as a remake i cant really attest for a lot of stuff since again ive never played the original (i saw i can toggle the atelier marie plus version in-game so i think im gonna give that a try to see how the original is faring whether its cock and balls torture or not) but i definitely can see a lot of love poured into this project even though the skeleton of the source material is still mostly intact as much as im concerned
atelier marie plays it safe in every single part of the game starting by the story itself: marie is an alchemist in an academy institute who is also well known to be an absolute failure in everything she does so the principal gives her the possibility to use an atelier for 5 years for the purpose of honing her ability and creating an high quality object as a testament of her improvement in the art
and thats basically it youre gonna play through these 5 years which actually sound like a lot of work but realistically everything you do in this game will move the day forward traveling harvesting fighting doing alchemy i swear 5 years went by faster than i initially planned and this game is probably gonna take you something like 10 hours its definitely way way way shorter than i expected it to be but i think the original is even shorter so they made a huge amount of work actually adding some flare to the whole thing
coming from ryza most of the elements of the series are simpler and way toned down here the exploration is pretty bare bones you have like 10 places to visit which yeah theyre pretty fun and range in biomes and gathering in them makes it pretty clear that theres definitely not as much variety in the items even things like alchemy make a huge step back with only something between 50 and 100 items im not actually sure im just giving out numbers for the stuff ive seen in there but do i care about all this drivel ? absolutely fucking NOT the core element of a relaxed jrpg are still there and wow the formula was already a winning one in the very first game thats absurd
so as i was saying the gameplay is (as far as i know) typical atelier loop you explore and gather items you make some alchemy and do some fetch requests in the tavern and if the stars align youre gonna get a huge event or something
while i was definitely familiar with the gameplay loop the time management aspect of it all was something that i found weird being completely absent in ryza and it was kind of a delight to explore (even tho i chose to do the unlimited time mode because im very easily stressed but i still managed to have the requirements for a couple good endings so apparently its more lenient than i thought it would be)
as i said time passes while doing literally anything whatsoever so theres that but i definitely enjoyed how this all entwined to the different events in specific moments of the year or side quests for specific character is a really fun mechanic that drives home the limited time and schedule youre gonna have to deal with
a highlight is getting to know the different aspects of the town and listening to different gossips around the plaza and IN PARTICULAR the side plot lines are so interesting now as i said the main story isnt really so thick its basically “you need to make item X in 5 years” and thats it but the fact that you actually dont have a set party and you can actually hire/befriend/help a plethora of different characters in town which makes it really fun to actually get to know each one of them if youre interested just get them in your party fight a bit with them and increase the friendship to get new heart to heart events
top of the top are schea my sweet little baby she definitely has some scissoring going on with marie but you will be the judge of that also side note why are all atelier girls excited by barrels and have weird names like what kinda name is marlone honestly whatever so i was saying the bandit boss is so hot im sorry yall i HAD to say that as soon as i saw him i was like damn do i want a piece of that and hes actually a pretty deep character to boot likeeeeeeeeeee ruven is also pretty hot i love me some extraverted confident mercenary for my party and for my hole and then idk the others are also cool the kings knight is handsome the redhead woman can kick my balls yknow the usual
talking side characters the new way the combat system work is pretty simple but i really enjoyed it its definitely not that deep you only get a couple of tactics going on and most of the time is just skill skill skill until everyones dead but the fact that you can bring different people in battle actually make for a really cool variety in the party composition and overall its way on the easy side youre gonna level up pretty smoothly and kill everyone in your way without any real problem
the art direction is stellar this chibi style really ate and left no crumbs it has that sweet little ps1 charme (the entire game also feels like a early console game if im being honest like it has those kind of simple and charming vibes) and while it is pretty simple most of the locations are actually pretty beautiful if you ask me and the little CGs during events are SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD and also did you look at those portraits theyre so beautiful my jaw dropped so hard after looking at them not gonna lie oh and the music is also booming ngl
got the “going to the adventure ending” but i actually watched the remaining events and endings on youtube and obviously the lesbian schea route is the canon one im not even gonna argue with yall on this
all in all another confirmation that i gotta dig into this series a lot more and i cant wait to play some more stuff my expectations are HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH
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⠘⣯⣜⠁⠘⠿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⡄⣿⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⡿⠀⠀⠘⣷⡄⠀⠹⡆⠀⢀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣾⠟
⠀⠹⣿⠄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢻⣟⣿⣧⡄⠀⢰⡿⠁⠀⠀⠀⠘⣷⣀⣠⢷⣽⣿⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢹⡛⠻⣿⣶⣿⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⣿⣏⢀⣤⣼⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣟⡶⣮⣽⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⣿⣿⡶⠟⢱⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⠿⠛⠛⠙⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣰⠿⣟⠉⠀⠈⣧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣧⠀⠀⠀⢀⣵⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⠀⢸⡀⠀⢸⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⣏⠀⠀⢠⣼⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢿⣄⠃⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⣾⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣀⣀⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⣿⣷⣶⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣿⣿⡛⣿⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣠⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⣦⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⠶⠋⠀⣀⣀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣀⠤⠞⠁⠀⠀⣴⠃⣼⠀⠀⣰⡇⢸⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠐⠒⠒⠒⠤⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡤⠚⠉⠀⡄⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⡿⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠲⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⠏⠁⠀⠀⡰⠁⠀⣀⡀⢸⣿⣿⠇⠀⠀⣿⣿⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠠⣄⠀⠀⠱⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡟⠀⠀⣀⡀⡀⠀⢾⣯⣭⠟⠉⢋⣀⣀⣀⡨⠍⠁⠀⠀⢀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠲⠯⢭⣅⣈⡀⠀⠀⠱⡄⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡾⠀⠀⠒⢺⢀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠻⠿⠿⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠰⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠱⡄⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⠞⠁⠀⠀⠀⠈⡎⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣶⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⣆⠀
⠀⠀⢠⡞⠁⠀⢷⣄⠀⣴⣾⣿⣧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣿⠃⠙⢶⣤⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⠀
⠀⠀⣾⠃⠀⠀⣈⣻⣿⣿⠟⠁⠹⣧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣾⠏⠀⠀⠀⢹⡏⢦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⢠⡏⠀⠀⣰⣿⢠⣾⠟⠀⠀⠀⠘⢷⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣀⣤⡴⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠻⣿⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⡼⠀⠀⢰⣿⠿⠛⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⣿⠷⣤⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⠖⠋⠉⠁⢸⡁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀
⢠⡇⠀⠀⠈⢧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠉⠛⠶⣦⣤⣀⣀⣶⣤⠞⠋⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⣿⢦⣤⡀⠀⠀
⢸⣴⠀⣤⢶⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⠿⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⣽⡟⠛⣧⡀⠀⠸⡄⠀⠀⠀⢀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠹⣧⣴⠟⢇⢀⣀
⠘⣯⣜⠁⠘⠿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⡄⣿⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⡿⠀⠀⠘⣷⡄⠀⠹⡆⠀⢀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣾⠟
⠀⠹⣿⠄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢻⣟⣿⣧⡄⠀⢰⡿⠁⠀⠀⠀⠘⣷⣀⣠⢷⣽⣿⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢹⡛⠻⣿⣶⣿⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⣿⣏⢀⣤⣼⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣟⡶⣮⣽⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⣿⣿⡶⠟⢱⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⠿⠛⠛⠙⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣰⠿⣟⠉⠀⠈⣧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣧⠀⠀⠀⢀⣵⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⠀⢸⡀⠀⢸⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⣏⠀⠀⢠⣼⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢿⣄⠃⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⣾⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣀⣀⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⣿⣷⣶⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣿⣿⡛⣿⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣠⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⣦⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I'm not quite done with this game - want to do as much side content as possible - but close enough to where I think I can review it.
The original Return to Dream Land was the first Kirby game I really liked and was already a 4/5 for me, so a remake with a more personally appealing artstyle and side content is great. And yeah, it delivers. Magolor Epilogue is probably the best side mode in the series as of now, clear effort went into making it a reason to play this version; not that it isn't rather short still, but longer than its contemporaries, and much more original than them. Merry Magoland is such a great treat. I veered straight towards it as soon as I could, wanting to get as many of the masks as possible before moving onto the story, and I'm glad I did. The returning subgames are mostly improved and are genuinely good challenges when going for all missions, and the new ones... well, the library one is good - reminds me of a fleshed-out Astro-Logical from Mario Party 6. Yes, I realize how specific of a comparison that is.
Really, my biggest problems with this game come from what problems were already there. I think the level design of this game and general feel aren't as up to snuff as I'd like, and makes levels feel like a slog sometimes. I'm usually able to look past this since the copy abilities began reaching their apex in this game (helping with that is Mecha, added in Deluxe, being perhaps my new favorite ability), but it's definitely an issue I have. The other is more of a nitpick, but I really hate Extra Mode is a requirement for 100% - getting all the gears in it, too, no less. It's very exhausting going through the game a second time, and the hard mode isn't different enough to warrant it.
Anyway, I love and treasure the masks for Dark Nebula, Awoofy, and Clawroline.
The original Return to Dream Land was the first Kirby game I really liked and was already a 4/5 for me, so a remake with a more personally appealing artstyle and side content is great. And yeah, it delivers. Magolor Epilogue is probably the best side mode in the series as of now, clear effort went into making it a reason to play this version; not that it isn't rather short still, but longer than its contemporaries, and much more original than them. Merry Magoland is such a great treat. I veered straight towards it as soon as I could, wanting to get as many of the masks as possible before moving onto the story, and I'm glad I did. The returning subgames are mostly improved and are genuinely good challenges when going for all missions, and the new ones... well, the library one is good - reminds me of a fleshed-out Astro-Logical from Mario Party 6. Yes, I realize how specific of a comparison that is.
Really, my biggest problems with this game come from what problems were already there. I think the level design of this game and general feel aren't as up to snuff as I'd like, and makes levels feel like a slog sometimes. I'm usually able to look past this since the copy abilities began reaching their apex in this game (helping with that is Mecha, added in Deluxe, being perhaps my new favorite ability), but it's definitely an issue I have. The other is more of a nitpick, but I really hate Extra Mode is a requirement for 100% - getting all the gears in it, too, no less. It's very exhausting going through the game a second time, and the hard mode isn't different enough to warrant it.
Anyway, I love and treasure the masks for Dark Nebula, Awoofy, and Clawroline.