brianlevin83
This review contains spoilers
Following one of the most incredible remakes of all time, Rebirth picks up right where Remake left off. Somehow, this works without feeling like a cheap reset of all your character stats. And after a brief tutorial stage, the game sets you off into the open world where suddenly it is revealed how much game this game wants you to game. 88 hours later I'm finally done, but unlike my playthrough of Final Fantasy 16, I could probably go another 30 hours and not be disappointed. Rebirth is, hands down, one of the best games in the entire series.
There are three things to consider when thinking about Rebirth. The combat, the minigames, and the story. Just like it's predecessor, the combat remains tight, fast, deep, and complex. When the game begins, you immediately start unlocking combat tactics that allow you to build your character to your exact specifications. Even if you button mash your way to success, combat feels furious and intense, even against insignificant enemies. Any time you pressure an enemy, the controller shakes in a satisfying way, time slows briefly, you feel powerful. This never lets up, as you face bigger and bigger bosses and challenges, the evolution of what you need to do in combat becomes more complex.
As someone who gets stuck playing as one character and never changes things up in games like this, I appreciated that Rebirth forced me out of that comfort zone and regularly put me on missions where I needed to play as other team members. This kept the game fresh at every step, even down to the final boss which introduces a completely new playable character along with team battles that you are forced into. That is echoes the final boss of the entire FF7 original game is strange, but we'll get to the story in a moment.
Speaking of keeping things fresh, the minigames. FF7 was known to have a few oddball moments, with things like shivering to keep from freezing to death on the ice mountain, the doing squats in the gym in Midgar. Of course, on the PS1 these minigames were no more than a basic button press mechanic, there wasn't much complexity. Here in Rebirth the minigames are on full display. Not only does the Gold Saucer provide plenty of games to play, but Costa Del Sol has a ton of minigames. But it doesn't stop there, everywhere you go, and in every chapter of the game, there seems to be some sort of minigame mechanic. They are, of course, of varying quality.
Some minigames are really fun, I'd play more of them just for the hell of it, like the first person shooter inspired pirate ship game in Costa Del Sol, to a four player game of soccer with Red XIII. But then for every minigame you can relax and enjoy there came games that were so awful, I begrudgingly got the lowest tier score on them just to complete the mission. Things like 3D boxing, the motorbike, and the worst of all, playing the piano.
What they lack in equal quality is offset greatly by how much variety they provide. You could just run around the "open world" or rather, open zones, fighting monsters all day, but that too would get tedious. The games provided a fun, if uneven, distraction from the main game. It made 88 hours feel like I wasn't stuck on one thing.
Finally, the story. If you've played the original FF7, then you may recall all of the key moments and details that make up the story. And Rebirth manages to tackle almost all of them in a compelling, modern way. Except... it also eeks out a wet fart in the form of a multiverse concept that is, as you'd expect from Square Enix, confusing at best. This is the Kingdom Heats-ification of Final Fantasy, for worse in many ways.
It's not clear what exactly happened at the end of the story, but that doesn't discount the amazing journey. Just like in the original game, Red XIII's Cosmo Canyon story is full of heart. I was surprised at how emotionally relevant a series of late game flashbacks were for each character facing their demons of the past, especially a young Aerith searching for help for her dying mother. To be able to see these scenes rendered with such clarity, with voice acting, new music, and more depth, was a delight. But more importantly, it felt like they really belonged in the story being told. The thing that both Remake and Rebirth are doing so well is skirting fan service in favor of being its own thing. It doesn't feel like we're getting a rehash that shoehorns in things from the past, this story is carving its own path.
For instance, when playing through the temple of the ancients, swells of wind crossing pathways that threaten to knock you off is taken from the crater scenario later in the original FF7 game, although plotwise these two areas are remarkably similar, so it makes sense to borrow those elements and bring them forward. This is likely because where Rebirth ends and the third game in the trilogy will begin, means that the way in which the story now needs to be told may have to dance around some of the plot points in the latter half of the original game to bring them into this modern format. Just like Rebirth ignores Cid's entire Rocket Town scenario, and moves Cosmo Canyon to much later in the game, I can see how the crater scene may need to rethink its placement in the story.
A big question I wonder is if the introduction of the multiverse concept is something that really aligns with the story here, or if it is a representation of multiverse heavy media concepts in film and TV these days. Is Final Fantasy adopting something popular and trying to squeeze it into their story, or is there going to be a big payoff that makes this all make sense? If you are meant to understand what is going on in the story at this point, then either I'm an idiot or the storytelling isn't clear because by the time the game ended, I was completely lost on what had transpired. It doesn't help that I am familiar with the original game having recently played it ahead of Rebirth, so I'm regularly comparing the story I know with the one I'm now being told.
Stories in videogames can be a divisive conversation. When Mario goes on his journey he needs only know that Bowser stole Peach, and must go there, stop him, and save her. There isn't much story to be told, Mario never learns anything along the way. He's a good guy, who does good things, stops the bad guys, saves the girl. Games are meant to be played, games are not movies. So this works! But when a game becomes a movie, the way Rebirth does, and gives us complexity to our hero, it begins to tow the line. So judging a videogame story, especially the second part of an incomplete trilogy, on the merits of its storytelling as we consider stories in movies and other fiction media is perhaps shortsighted. As a gamer, and a viewer, I was never really lost as to what was happening, and I was even surprised at how much I was tracking what was happening on an emotional level for the characters. When I look back on the journey, I look back fondly. I really felt like I was hanging out with these characters for 88 hours.
Speaking of characters, there were a few surprises that delighted me. Yuffie was a terrific addition to the team, not only is she a powerful fighter, but the voice acting and motion capture for her came across wonderfully. I enjoyed everything she did, vomiting on planes and other vehicles, being angry at people stealing her materia, but also being emotionally connected to the story. Red XIII's changing of his voice was a clever and brilliant way to show how his character is meant to be understood. The only character who was even more confusing this time around was Cait Sith. It was never quite clear how Cait Sith worked in the original game, and it was even less clear in this game. Just go with it, I suppose.
All in all, I consider this one of best games of the series, one of the best games of the year, and an experience it will take me a long time to forget. Fondly looking forward to part three, I'd like to see where this journey takes me, and I'm excited to be along for the ride.
There are three things to consider when thinking about Rebirth. The combat, the minigames, and the story. Just like it's predecessor, the combat remains tight, fast, deep, and complex. When the game begins, you immediately start unlocking combat tactics that allow you to build your character to your exact specifications. Even if you button mash your way to success, combat feels furious and intense, even against insignificant enemies. Any time you pressure an enemy, the controller shakes in a satisfying way, time slows briefly, you feel powerful. This never lets up, as you face bigger and bigger bosses and challenges, the evolution of what you need to do in combat becomes more complex.
As someone who gets stuck playing as one character and never changes things up in games like this, I appreciated that Rebirth forced me out of that comfort zone and regularly put me on missions where I needed to play as other team members. This kept the game fresh at every step, even down to the final boss which introduces a completely new playable character along with team battles that you are forced into. That is echoes the final boss of the entire FF7 original game is strange, but we'll get to the story in a moment.
Speaking of keeping things fresh, the minigames. FF7 was known to have a few oddball moments, with things like shivering to keep from freezing to death on the ice mountain, the doing squats in the gym in Midgar. Of course, on the PS1 these minigames were no more than a basic button press mechanic, there wasn't much complexity. Here in Rebirth the minigames are on full display. Not only does the Gold Saucer provide plenty of games to play, but Costa Del Sol has a ton of minigames. But it doesn't stop there, everywhere you go, and in every chapter of the game, there seems to be some sort of minigame mechanic. They are, of course, of varying quality.
Some minigames are really fun, I'd play more of them just for the hell of it, like the first person shooter inspired pirate ship game in Costa Del Sol, to a four player game of soccer with Red XIII. But then for every minigame you can relax and enjoy there came games that were so awful, I begrudgingly got the lowest tier score on them just to complete the mission. Things like 3D boxing, the motorbike, and the worst of all, playing the piano.
What they lack in equal quality is offset greatly by how much variety they provide. You could just run around the "open world" or rather, open zones, fighting monsters all day, but that too would get tedious. The games provided a fun, if uneven, distraction from the main game. It made 88 hours feel like I wasn't stuck on one thing.
Finally, the story. If you've played the original FF7, then you may recall all of the key moments and details that make up the story. And Rebirth manages to tackle almost all of them in a compelling, modern way. Except... it also eeks out a wet fart in the form of a multiverse concept that is, as you'd expect from Square Enix, confusing at best. This is the Kingdom Heats-ification of Final Fantasy, for worse in many ways.
It's not clear what exactly happened at the end of the story, but that doesn't discount the amazing journey. Just like in the original game, Red XIII's Cosmo Canyon story is full of heart. I was surprised at how emotionally relevant a series of late game flashbacks were for each character facing their demons of the past, especially a young Aerith searching for help for her dying mother. To be able to see these scenes rendered with such clarity, with voice acting, new music, and more depth, was a delight. But more importantly, it felt like they really belonged in the story being told. The thing that both Remake and Rebirth are doing so well is skirting fan service in favor of being its own thing. It doesn't feel like we're getting a rehash that shoehorns in things from the past, this story is carving its own path.
For instance, when playing through the temple of the ancients, swells of wind crossing pathways that threaten to knock you off is taken from the crater scenario later in the original FF7 game, although plotwise these two areas are remarkably similar, so it makes sense to borrow those elements and bring them forward. This is likely because where Rebirth ends and the third game in the trilogy will begin, means that the way in which the story now needs to be told may have to dance around some of the plot points in the latter half of the original game to bring them into this modern format. Just like Rebirth ignores Cid's entire Rocket Town scenario, and moves Cosmo Canyon to much later in the game, I can see how the crater scene may need to rethink its placement in the story.
A big question I wonder is if the introduction of the multiverse concept is something that really aligns with the story here, or if it is a representation of multiverse heavy media concepts in film and TV these days. Is Final Fantasy adopting something popular and trying to squeeze it into their story, or is there going to be a big payoff that makes this all make sense? If you are meant to understand what is going on in the story at this point, then either I'm an idiot or the storytelling isn't clear because by the time the game ended, I was completely lost on what had transpired. It doesn't help that I am familiar with the original game having recently played it ahead of Rebirth, so I'm regularly comparing the story I know with the one I'm now being told.
Stories in videogames can be a divisive conversation. When Mario goes on his journey he needs only know that Bowser stole Peach, and must go there, stop him, and save her. There isn't much story to be told, Mario never learns anything along the way. He's a good guy, who does good things, stops the bad guys, saves the girl. Games are meant to be played, games are not movies. So this works! But when a game becomes a movie, the way Rebirth does, and gives us complexity to our hero, it begins to tow the line. So judging a videogame story, especially the second part of an incomplete trilogy, on the merits of its storytelling as we consider stories in movies and other fiction media is perhaps shortsighted. As a gamer, and a viewer, I was never really lost as to what was happening, and I was even surprised at how much I was tracking what was happening on an emotional level for the characters. When I look back on the journey, I look back fondly. I really felt like I was hanging out with these characters for 88 hours.
Speaking of characters, there were a few surprises that delighted me. Yuffie was a terrific addition to the team, not only is she a powerful fighter, but the voice acting and motion capture for her came across wonderfully. I enjoyed everything she did, vomiting on planes and other vehicles, being angry at people stealing her materia, but also being emotionally connected to the story. Red XIII's changing of his voice was a clever and brilliant way to show how his character is meant to be understood. The only character who was even more confusing this time around was Cait Sith. It was never quite clear how Cait Sith worked in the original game, and it was even less clear in this game. Just go with it, I suppose.
All in all, I consider this one of best games of the series, one of the best games of the year, and an experience it will take me a long time to forget. Fondly looking forward to part three, I'd like to see where this journey takes me, and I'm excited to be along for the ride.
2023
Lovingly crafted remake of a classic Super Nintendo RPG. Honestly, I am loving that Nintendo is doing these types of remakes of old properties, following up on Link's Awakening. I will gladly play modernized remakes of virtually any SNES game. There are a few I'm sure we can all name.
As for Super Mario RPG, it's a faithful remake with tons of great quality of life improvements. Some tweaked gameplay elements make the game more exciting, and more challenging. Trying to get the timing right added a fun, unique, battle challenge that even upped the ante on simple fights you are guaranteed to win.
As far as RPGs go, this game is fairly linear and exploration is kept to a minimum, however coming off of my 48 hours of Final Fantasy 16 playtime, I was happy to have a game that took me less than 20 hours to finish.
There are some elements of the game that don't translate to a modern style of gaming, the turn based combat is a formula we don't get much of these days. It still works charmingly, but it can be very repetitive.
Overall I really enjoyed my time with this game.
As for Super Mario RPG, it's a faithful remake with tons of great quality of life improvements. Some tweaked gameplay elements make the game more exciting, and more challenging. Trying to get the timing right added a fun, unique, battle challenge that even upped the ante on simple fights you are guaranteed to win.
As far as RPGs go, this game is fairly linear and exploration is kept to a minimum, however coming off of my 48 hours of Final Fantasy 16 playtime, I was happy to have a game that took me less than 20 hours to finish.
There are some elements of the game that don't translate to a modern style of gaming, the turn based combat is a formula we don't get much of these days. It still works charmingly, but it can be very repetitive.
Overall I really enjoyed my time with this game.
This game mostly gets all of the stars it is earning because I love a giant Metroidvania and the actual gameplay and combat were fun. But the game is full of problems.
The most noticeable issue is that the game has bugs. Several times the game would drop me out of spike death back to my starting position without the ability to control the map, my character would move but the map/camera would not. Other times I got stuck on the map itself, unable to move around or exit, thus bricking the game. One time I opened one my saved photos that you can place on the map and I was unable to exit from it. And all of this would be fine, and somewhat forgivable, if the game had a more robust checkpoint system. But, it does not. The only time the game saves your progress is when you complete a major event (boss fight) or when you save at a tree. Otherwise, if you should happen to exit the game, or your PS5 updates overnight and restarts itself, you will lose all progress up to your last save. For a modern game this is strange, why is progress not caught with every new door you enter?
The combat is incredibly fun, but despite there being a deep combat system a la Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, you can easily finish the game with some hack and slashing. The combat is never required, you can just jump, dodge and dash your way to success. But it's propulsive, and if you want that feeling of being fast and whipping around the map, you have that power.
Once Sargon achieves more of his move set, you can really get going, it is reminiscent of the Ori games.
As Metroidvania's go, the map is gigantic. It seems to go on endlessly and I loved exploring and unraveling secrets. It's hard to go wrong with a giant Metroidvania style game.
A pretty standard 2D side scrolling adventure game doesn't need a complex story, but Prince of Persia tows the line between wanting to have a complex story and wanting to have a simplistic good guy/bad guy thing. Unfortunately, in never fully committing one way or another, the story itself is muddled and confusing, the lore is unclear, and ultimately I just didn't care what happened to any of the characters.
Would definitely play another entry of this game in the future though, some 30 hours of very entertaining combat and mobility.
The most noticeable issue is that the game has bugs. Several times the game would drop me out of spike death back to my starting position without the ability to control the map, my character would move but the map/camera would not. Other times I got stuck on the map itself, unable to move around or exit, thus bricking the game. One time I opened one my saved photos that you can place on the map and I was unable to exit from it. And all of this would be fine, and somewhat forgivable, if the game had a more robust checkpoint system. But, it does not. The only time the game saves your progress is when you complete a major event (boss fight) or when you save at a tree. Otherwise, if you should happen to exit the game, or your PS5 updates overnight and restarts itself, you will lose all progress up to your last save. For a modern game this is strange, why is progress not caught with every new door you enter?
The combat is incredibly fun, but despite there being a deep combat system a la Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, you can easily finish the game with some hack and slashing. The combat is never required, you can just jump, dodge and dash your way to success. But it's propulsive, and if you want that feeling of being fast and whipping around the map, you have that power.
Once Sargon achieves more of his move set, you can really get going, it is reminiscent of the Ori games.
As Metroidvania's go, the map is gigantic. It seems to go on endlessly and I loved exploring and unraveling secrets. It's hard to go wrong with a giant Metroidvania style game.
A pretty standard 2D side scrolling adventure game doesn't need a complex story, but Prince of Persia tows the line between wanting to have a complex story and wanting to have a simplistic good guy/bad guy thing. Unfortunately, in never fully committing one way or another, the story itself is muddled and confusing, the lore is unclear, and ultimately I just didn't care what happened to any of the characters.
Would definitely play another entry of this game in the future though, some 30 hours of very entertaining combat and mobility.
2023
Does a game have to be challenging to be fun? No, Pikmin 4 says forget about that. Just enjoy. And you know what, it's very enjoyable. This is peak gaming, it's relaxing, it's meditative, it feels good.
That it is coupled with gorgeous art and varied locations, a delightful music score, and tight controls makes it even more of a positive experience.
This is a rare occasion where I'm happy to do endgame missions because they keep upping the ante. So many different enemy types, new challenges to explore, and it just feels great to command 100 Pikmin.
I need to keep this log as a memory that I really do love Pikmin games, even when this one came out I was sort of not into the idea of playing it, but I'm so glad I did.
That it is coupled with gorgeous art and varied locations, a delightful music score, and tight controls makes it even more of a positive experience.
This is a rare occasion where I'm happy to do endgame missions because they keep upping the ante. So many different enemy types, new challenges to explore, and it just feels great to command 100 Pikmin.
I need to keep this log as a memory that I really do love Pikmin games, even when this one came out I was sort of not into the idea of playing it, but I'm so glad I did.
As a Mario game it's top notch. Every complaint about prior 2D Mario games is mostly fixed and then some in this new 2D Mario entry. The game is a true delight.
That being said, it's an easy game and you can easily 100% the game. Is that a bad thing? Mario is not Celeste. If I wanted a more difficult platforming experience, there are other options. But Mario Wonder, for what it is, is excellent.
Wonderful music, beautiful visuals, terrific gameplay, and a delightful concept make this a stellar entry into the Mario franchise.
I like this new direction for 2D Mario, but I'm sad this release wasn't a new 3D Mario game instead.
That being said, it's an easy game and you can easily 100% the game. Is that a bad thing? Mario is not Celeste. If I wanted a more difficult platforming experience, there are other options. But Mario Wonder, for what it is, is excellent.
Wonderful music, beautiful visuals, terrific gameplay, and a delightful concept make this a stellar entry into the Mario franchise.
I like this new direction for 2D Mario, but I'm sad this release wasn't a new 3D Mario game instead.
2023
This review contains spoilers
It is finally over. 48 hours. I'm so conflicted.
As a Final Fantasy fan, when you step back and look at everything in this game you can see the Final Fantasy template being followed, but when you zoom in more closely there is something missing. There's a lot to talk about here.
Let's just start with the thing I think everyone can agree on, and is a big part of where it earns the stars. The combat. The combat is genuinely great. It's not FF7-Remake great, but it is its own thing and it totally works. Combat is fun, fast, and can be very challenging. Combat is rewarding, hitting enemies feels heavy, performing magic attacks is exciting and if you start to chain things together the screen fills with explosions and particles and it all just looks and feels fantastic.
I only wish there was more of it because for at least half of my playtime I was watching one of the worst Game of Thrones ripoffs I've ever seen. And that is where I'm conflicted.
The story. The cutscenes. The mission structure. For the longest time I avoided this game because the trailers did not give me the Final Fantasy vibes I was hoping for. Meanwhile I was busy playing the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters on Switch and so I was heavily entrenched in the nostalgia of what FF meant to me growing up. It's strange how FF16 helps recontextualize some of what I was now seeing in FF4, FF5 and FF6.
When playing back through FF4 especially, the idea of knights and dragoons and princes and kings, castles and backstabbing, and Gods and birth are all so very present, but when rendered in adorable pixel art they seem so much less... violent. FF16 embraces a lot of f-bombs and gory violence and this all happens in the first few minutes of gameplay. It feels very un-FF like and this sets the tone for the rest of the game. Where early iterations of FF were more comedic due in large part to the limitations of pixel art sprite poses, FF16 eschews any real sense of humor in favor of lengthy cutscenes of council meetings.
For the longest time FF16 felt like some version of FF I did not recognize. It took a while for me to start to see the template of FF underneath the grimy facade. And as we approached the end of the game, the story was more willing to make four or five warriors stand up against some overpowered evil dude who wants to destroy the world using some sort of other dimensional void something I was suddenly hit with all the ways FF16 is aligning to the ethos of FF as a whole.
Sadly it takes forever to get here and by the time you do you just want the game to come to an end. And come to an end it does in a seizure inducing final boss battle that is easier than most of the S-rank hunts but still very fun.
The structure of the gameplay is too easily recognizable early on, leaving no room for surprises. You can either choose to do the main story, or stop and do all of the current available side quests. Side quests in this game rarely reward you for the time spent other than giving you some experience, some gold and some crafting resources that you can otherwise just purchase. Rarely do side quests reward you with game enhancing things like maximizing how many potions you can carry or how potent they are. Doing side quests feels pointless most of the time, and they are the worst thing about the game. The quests themselves are not organic to the plot of the game, and oftentimes attempt to dive deep into the lore of the world, which is aggressively uninteresting. Looooooong conversations eventually lead to the inevitable "Clive, can you help clear the monsters out of XYZ place so I can keep on studying archeology there?"
But as it has come to an end, I'm left with a strange feeling of wanting to do more, but also never wanting to play another FF game like that again. I want to return to a more cheerful fantasy world. I want non-humanoid party members like Vivi, Cait Sith, Mog, and Umaro. I want scenes that are more heatfelt, like Cait Sith sacrificing himself in FF7, or Mog's hilarious relationship with Umaro in FF6.
Does FF16 have all of these things in it? Yes, sorta. Long lost brothers reconnect and form a relationship. Check. Call upon summons like Ifrit, Shiva, Odin, Titan, and Bahamut? Check. Bad guy is some sort of God from another plane of existence who wants to wipe out humanity? Check. The planet is being sucked dry by humans use of excess and is an allegory for the way we are destroying our own planet? Check check check. Hilariously large swords? Check. So what is this game missing? The way in which these things are handled feels off. It feels like this game is embarassed to be an FF game, where FF7-Remake feels like a celebration of every single pixel that inspired it.
As a Final Fantasy fan, when you step back and look at everything in this game you can see the Final Fantasy template being followed, but when you zoom in more closely there is something missing. There's a lot to talk about here.
Let's just start with the thing I think everyone can agree on, and is a big part of where it earns the stars. The combat. The combat is genuinely great. It's not FF7-Remake great, but it is its own thing and it totally works. Combat is fun, fast, and can be very challenging. Combat is rewarding, hitting enemies feels heavy, performing magic attacks is exciting and if you start to chain things together the screen fills with explosions and particles and it all just looks and feels fantastic.
I only wish there was more of it because for at least half of my playtime I was watching one of the worst Game of Thrones ripoffs I've ever seen. And that is where I'm conflicted.
The story. The cutscenes. The mission structure. For the longest time I avoided this game because the trailers did not give me the Final Fantasy vibes I was hoping for. Meanwhile I was busy playing the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters on Switch and so I was heavily entrenched in the nostalgia of what FF meant to me growing up. It's strange how FF16 helps recontextualize some of what I was now seeing in FF4, FF5 and FF6.
When playing back through FF4 especially, the idea of knights and dragoons and princes and kings, castles and backstabbing, and Gods and birth are all so very present, but when rendered in adorable pixel art they seem so much less... violent. FF16 embraces a lot of f-bombs and gory violence and this all happens in the first few minutes of gameplay. It feels very un-FF like and this sets the tone for the rest of the game. Where early iterations of FF were more comedic due in large part to the limitations of pixel art sprite poses, FF16 eschews any real sense of humor in favor of lengthy cutscenes of council meetings.
For the longest time FF16 felt like some version of FF I did not recognize. It took a while for me to start to see the template of FF underneath the grimy facade. And as we approached the end of the game, the story was more willing to make four or five warriors stand up against some overpowered evil dude who wants to destroy the world using some sort of other dimensional void something I was suddenly hit with all the ways FF16 is aligning to the ethos of FF as a whole.
Sadly it takes forever to get here and by the time you do you just want the game to come to an end. And come to an end it does in a seizure inducing final boss battle that is easier than most of the S-rank hunts but still very fun.
The structure of the gameplay is too easily recognizable early on, leaving no room for surprises. You can either choose to do the main story, or stop and do all of the current available side quests. Side quests in this game rarely reward you for the time spent other than giving you some experience, some gold and some crafting resources that you can otherwise just purchase. Rarely do side quests reward you with game enhancing things like maximizing how many potions you can carry or how potent they are. Doing side quests feels pointless most of the time, and they are the worst thing about the game. The quests themselves are not organic to the plot of the game, and oftentimes attempt to dive deep into the lore of the world, which is aggressively uninteresting. Looooooong conversations eventually lead to the inevitable "Clive, can you help clear the monsters out of XYZ place so I can keep on studying archeology there?"
But as it has come to an end, I'm left with a strange feeling of wanting to do more, but also never wanting to play another FF game like that again. I want to return to a more cheerful fantasy world. I want non-humanoid party members like Vivi, Cait Sith, Mog, and Umaro. I want scenes that are more heatfelt, like Cait Sith sacrificing himself in FF7, or Mog's hilarious relationship with Umaro in FF6.
Does FF16 have all of these things in it? Yes, sorta. Long lost brothers reconnect and form a relationship. Check. Call upon summons like Ifrit, Shiva, Odin, Titan, and Bahamut? Check. Bad guy is some sort of God from another plane of existence who wants to wipe out humanity? Check. The planet is being sucked dry by humans use of excess and is an allegory for the way we are destroying our own planet? Check check check. Hilariously large swords? Check. So what is this game missing? The way in which these things are handled feels off. It feels like this game is embarassed to be an FF game, where FF7-Remake feels like a celebration of every single pixel that inspired it.
This review contains spoilers
Another outstanding outing for Insomniac's Spider-man series, this game gives us two spider people to play as. The addition of the web wings makes for more fun traversal and a few unique challenges. Combat remains fast, fun and effective even if it is repetitive. A new parry system takes a while to get used to as it happens so quickly in the flurry of things going on, but once you get the hang of it, you can really make combat scenes fly.
The standout here is great acting, amazing visual details, and that real sense of being Spider-man. The game is immersive to say the least, with the PS5's dual sense controller doing so much more work this time around to make you feel like you are really there. A big standout is using the web wings, which have a heft to them that is echoed throughout the controller.
The story has some issues, however. Perhaps it was my naivety while playing the first game, and my assumption that seeing Otto Octavius was just a red herring for a future game, but I was genuinely surprised at the mid-game turn that Doc Ock was going to become our main villain. In this game, however, the arrival of Venom was shouted from the rooftops, there were very few, if any, narrative twists or turns that caught me off guard. Everything just feels like a run of the mill Spider-man story. That's okay though, because so much of it is done so lovingly and this is easily the best incarnation of Spider-man and Venom we've seen on screen together, even if it is in a videogame. Stakes felt big and epic, the journey felt monumental.
Unfortunately the game has issues with repetition, it didn't feel like much had changed since we last played one of these games and even after getting upgraded abilities, the way you just mash a few buttons the same way for both characters, who share the same gadgets, just felt lazy. I wanted more complexity.
Finally, the game had a few bugs and crashes. It crashed twice, forcing me to restart the PS5, and on one occasion I completed a side mission but the side mission UI was stuck on screen, forcing me to relaunch the game. Several times while doing basic crime missions a bad guy would get stuck outside of the geometry and the mission had to be abandoned. Fortunately this has no bearing on the overall game except for the guilt you feel when you web swing away and Peter goes "no time to help those people..." like yeah, I had time to help those people, thanks for not noticing Peter.
The standout here is great acting, amazing visual details, and that real sense of being Spider-man. The game is immersive to say the least, with the PS5's dual sense controller doing so much more work this time around to make you feel like you are really there. A big standout is using the web wings, which have a heft to them that is echoed throughout the controller.
The story has some issues, however. Perhaps it was my naivety while playing the first game, and my assumption that seeing Otto Octavius was just a red herring for a future game, but I was genuinely surprised at the mid-game turn that Doc Ock was going to become our main villain. In this game, however, the arrival of Venom was shouted from the rooftops, there were very few, if any, narrative twists or turns that caught me off guard. Everything just feels like a run of the mill Spider-man story. That's okay though, because so much of it is done so lovingly and this is easily the best incarnation of Spider-man and Venom we've seen on screen together, even if it is in a videogame. Stakes felt big and epic, the journey felt monumental.
Unfortunately the game has issues with repetition, it didn't feel like much had changed since we last played one of these games and even after getting upgraded abilities, the way you just mash a few buttons the same way for both characters, who share the same gadgets, just felt lazy. I wanted more complexity.
Finally, the game had a few bugs and crashes. It crashed twice, forcing me to restart the PS5, and on one occasion I completed a side mission but the side mission UI was stuck on screen, forcing me to relaunch the game. Several times while doing basic crime missions a bad guy would get stuck outside of the geometry and the mission had to be abandoned. Fortunately this has no bearing on the overall game except for the guilt you feel when you web swing away and Peter goes "no time to help those people..." like yeah, I had time to help those people, thanks for not noticing Peter.
Everything about the way these games were remastered is stunning, beautiful and downright perfect. The updated animations are spot on, the way they retain all of the charm of the original games is amazing. The QoL updates truly modernize the games. I finished FF6, and I'll eventually play the rest of them, but 40 hours of FF6 has me wanting to move on to something new for a while.
The only real problem I can say about these games is that despite QoL updates, they are very much the same games they were in the 80's and 90's. The turn based combat, the lack of clear guidance on what to be doing especially in FF6, and the by-todays-standards story writing is showing its age.
The only real problem I can say about these games is that despite QoL updates, they are very much the same games they were in the 80's and 90's. The turn based combat, the lack of clear guidance on what to be doing especially in FF6, and the by-todays-standards story writing is showing its age.
The only reason this game loses half a star is because the port on the Switch fucking sucks, and I'm not gonna buy an XBox just for this game.
This game is amazing. The combat issues from the first game are resolved and then some, this game has a combat focus that is fun and challenging, while keeping all of the same exciting movement mechanics and even adding more to them.
If you've ever wanted to run, dash, slide, swing and swoop through a Metroid-vania like a parkour master, this game is it. Really loved this, tried to 100% it but side quests start to have diminishing returns after a while.
The story is very touching, very sad. But an ultimate ray of hope helps brighten what was otherwise a very difficult middle act full of despair. Wow, did not expect a game like this to really hit me in the feels.
This game is amazing. The combat issues from the first game are resolved and then some, this game has a combat focus that is fun and challenging, while keeping all of the same exciting movement mechanics and even adding more to them.
If you've ever wanted to run, dash, slide, swing and swoop through a Metroid-vania like a parkour master, this game is it. Really loved this, tried to 100% it but side quests start to have diminishing returns after a while.
The story is very touching, very sad. But an ultimate ray of hope helps brighten what was otherwise a very difficult middle act full of despair. Wow, did not expect a game like this to really hit me in the feels.
Wow did I not expect this game to be something I would love so much. It was a game I had given up once long ago because I wasn't feeling it, but I'm glad I finally picked it back up and got into the groove of it because wow, what an experience.
Beautiful, delightful, exploration, everything you want from a 2D Metroid-vania. The only thing that was weak here was the combat, which was mostly ignored in favor of more movement mechanics. And boy do those movement mechanics really work as you leap and jump and run at high speeds through perfectly designed environments.
It's too short, I would've played a game twice as long.
Beautiful, delightful, exploration, everything you want from a 2D Metroid-vania. The only thing that was weak here was the combat, which was mostly ignored in favor of more movement mechanics. And boy do those movement mechanics really work as you leap and jump and run at high speeds through perfectly designed environments.
It's too short, I would've played a game twice as long.
Yeah, truly delightful. More of this please. More lovingly crafted remasters.
Despite the fact that the gameplay of this game shows its age, it's still a wonderful time to play, explore and do all things Metroid. Rolling into a ball feels great, double jumping, platforming in 3D, it just somehow works when you wouldn't expect it to.
I want Prime 2, Prime 3 and then really, please, give us Prime 4 already. We're waiting, You could say we're "primed" for it.
Despite the fact that the gameplay of this game shows its age, it's still a wonderful time to play, explore and do all things Metroid. Rolling into a ball feels great, double jumping, platforming in 3D, it just somehow works when you wouldn't expect it to.
I want Prime 2, Prime 3 and then really, please, give us Prime 4 already. We're waiting, You could say we're "primed" for it.
2022
Hard to believe this game could be better than the first amazing game. But it was.
Admittedly at first I was not into this sequel, it has a slow start and feels just like DLC from the first game. But it quickly sheds that notion once you get into the wider world of exploration. There are challenges upon challenges and a huge open-world-esque location to explore late into the game, with terrific stat buff rewards.
But more than anything, this game has an amazing story that felt epic at all times. I truly cared about what happened to these characters like I was watching a movie, and wanted to see them succeed and shuttered at their failures. A late game twist was shocking, came out of left field, and totally changes the tone of the story in a moment.
Impressive that this game felt more like a film, I can see why Amazon wants to make it into a TV show.
Combat is tremendous, movement and pacing, use of space, level layout all top notch.
However, like the first game, this game is light on complex boss fights, I'd love to see that spruced up in a third game.
Admittedly at first I was not into this sequel, it has a slow start and feels just like DLC from the first game. But it quickly sheds that notion once you get into the wider world of exploration. There are challenges upon challenges and a huge open-world-esque location to explore late into the game, with terrific stat buff rewards.
But more than anything, this game has an amazing story that felt epic at all times. I truly cared about what happened to these characters like I was watching a movie, and wanted to see them succeed and shuttered at their failures. A late game twist was shocking, came out of left field, and totally changes the tone of the story in a moment.
Impressive that this game felt more like a film, I can see why Amazon wants to make it into a TV show.
Combat is tremendous, movement and pacing, use of space, level layout all top notch.
However, like the first game, this game is light on complex boss fights, I'd love to see that spruced up in a third game.
2023
This 1:1 recreation of the original Dead Space does an amazing job of rebuilding, from the ground up, a brand new experience. It's more challenging, but also more rewarding. It's visually stunning, albeit a little too dark to notice all of the wonderful new details.
Didn't love it though. I guess I suck at shooting games, but I felt like I could literally never aim and hit the limbs, and I never had enough ammo. Perhaps this was all intentional as it was stressful as fuck and I guess that's the idea. But maybe that wasn't the most fun thing I could be doing at the end of the night trying to wind down.
Didn't love it though. I guess I suck at shooting games, but I felt like I could literally never aim and hit the limbs, and I never had enough ammo. Perhaps this was all intentional as it was stressful as fuck and I guess that's the idea. But maybe that wasn't the most fun thing I could be doing at the end of the night trying to wind down.
2021
Just missing that last half a star because the story completely punks out in the end and relies too heavily on suggestion and metaphor than to simply give us a clear and definitive answer to anything.
Combat, gameplay, movement, all genius. Controls, the PS5 remote, visuals, everything, firing on all cylinders. Not since Control has it been this fun to simply shoot a pistol.
I gave this game so many hours of my time, I just wish it rewarded me with a clearer story in the end. It was truly a remarkable game, challenging in all the best ways, really got stuck in my head.
Combat, gameplay, movement, all genius. Controls, the PS5 remote, visuals, everything, firing on all cylinders. Not since Control has it been this fun to simply shoot a pistol.
I gave this game so many hours of my time, I just wish it rewarded me with a clearer story in the end. It was truly a remarkable game, challenging in all the best ways, really got stuck in my head.
Initially it felt like DLC from the first game, but some new weapon choices and movement options helped differentiate it. Ultimately though the story felt rushed and I couldn't connect to what was going on in it. Despite the game having larger worlds, it felt like I was seeing a lot of the same thing over and over again.
Side questions result in you picking up, ultimately, useless trinkets that don't buff your stats in any way other than cosmetics.
Would I play the third one? Yeah probably, but I need to remember I did not love the first two at all.
Side questions result in you picking up, ultimately, useless trinkets that don't buff your stats in any way other than cosmetics.
Would I play the third one? Yeah probably, but I need to remember I did not love the first two at all.