ckl1995
BACKER
The standard against which all other DLCs should be compared.
This was unbelievably good. The battle system felt more refined than XC2, the music was god tier, and the story was damn near perfect. I was a little annoyed by the way the game intentionally dragged itself out at the end (looking at you Community system) but it's a minor gripe compared to just how fucking good this game was. A masterpiece.
This was unbelievably good. The battle system felt more refined than XC2, the music was god tier, and the story was damn near perfect. I was a little annoyed by the way the game intentionally dragged itself out at the end (looking at you Community system) but it's a minor gripe compared to just how fucking good this game was. A masterpiece.
Everything really came together for me in the last two chapters of this game.
Now, this game is definitely not without its flaws. The combat felt needlessly complex at times (I don't think I scratched the surface of its mechanics), the voice acting made me cringe so many times (especially compared to XC1's stellar voice acting) and that fucking compass got me lost more times than I care to admit.
But this game's story was incredible, especially the last 1/3. Seeing how all these seemingly disparate heroes and villains intertwine was a joy to watch, and Monolith Soft continue to be masters at creating rich, vibrant worlds with fascinating lore. Everything clicked for me towards the end of this game, and although XC1 still takes the #1 spot over it, this game is definitely special in its own way.
Now, this game is definitely not without its flaws. The combat felt needlessly complex at times (I don't think I scratched the surface of its mechanics), the voice acting made me cringe so many times (especially compared to XC1's stellar voice acting) and that fucking compass got me lost more times than I care to admit.
But this game's story was incredible, especially the last 1/3. Seeing how all these seemingly disparate heroes and villains intertwine was a joy to watch, and Monolith Soft continue to be masters at creating rich, vibrant worlds with fascinating lore. Everything clicked for me towards the end of this game, and although XC1 still takes the #1 spot over it, this game is definitely special in its own way.
2019
A nice return to form from Yakuza 3. I think I was a bit biased from the Kiwami remasters but this game feels like it's held up much better than 3 has. Getting to switch between the 4 different stories was a lot of fun, and seeing how they all come together in the finale was dope as fuck. The gameplay was very solid, and the music in 4 really stood out to me this time around. Yakuza continues to impress!
2018
I have some seriously complicated feelings about this game.
On the one hand, the story was downright excellent, easily up there with Y0 for my favorite story in the series so far. I loved the Big Dad Energy Kiryu brings to his orphanage, and the new characters are truly memorable in a great way.
On the other hand, I absolutely hated a lot of the game mechanics. I can see why so many people complain about the excessive blocking in this game, and it really ruined a lot of the momentum for some of the longer fights. And those chase sequences made me want to bash my head into a fucking wall, there were way too many of them. The whole thing just felt dated, and it could definitely use the Kiwami treatment like 1 and 2.
All in all, this game was bolstered by its story and really held down by its gameplay elements. It's still a very solid game in its own right, and hopefully Y4 will raise the bar again for me.
On the one hand, the story was downright excellent, easily up there with Y0 for my favorite story in the series so far. I loved the Big Dad Energy Kiryu brings to his orphanage, and the new characters are truly memorable in a great way.
On the other hand, I absolutely hated a lot of the game mechanics. I can see why so many people complain about the excessive blocking in this game, and it really ruined a lot of the momentum for some of the longer fights. And those chase sequences made me want to bash my head into a fucking wall, there were way too many of them. The whole thing just felt dated, and it could definitely use the Kiwami treatment like 1 and 2.
All in all, this game was bolstered by its story and really held down by its gameplay elements. It's still a very solid game in its own right, and hopefully Y4 will raise the bar again for me.
2021
My first ever Final Fantasy that I’ve played start to finish, and what a solid start!
I really enjoyed this game. The cast of characters grew on me a lot over the course of the game, and by the end I was a big fan of (almost) all of them. The music was gorgeous, and the combat + runtime didn’t overstay it’s welcome.
I did feel like the game was a bit rushed—to my knowledge this was the first FF game where they tried to focus on more of a fleshed out plot, but that didn’t stop it from feeling a bit all over the place.
All in all though, I’m glad I decided to start my FF journey with FF4 PR, and I’m eager to jump into FF5 next!
I really enjoyed this game. The cast of characters grew on me a lot over the course of the game, and by the end I was a big fan of (almost) all of them. The music was gorgeous, and the combat + runtime didn’t overstay it’s welcome.
I did feel like the game was a bit rushed—to my knowledge this was the first FF game where they tried to focus on more of a fleshed out plot, but that didn’t stop it from feeling a bit all over the place.
All in all though, I’m glad I decided to start my FF journey with FF4 PR, and I’m eager to jump into FF5 next!
2017
Another incredibly solid entry in the Yakuza series. I've been thoroughly impressed with 0, Kiwami and now this--the game looked gorgeous, the combat felt a bit more fluid this time around, and the story once again had me hooked. On to 3!
2016
Enjoyed this a lot more than a lot of other people. I absolutely loved the story (would take a bullet for Haruka in a heartbeat) and thought the gameplay was strong if not a bit clumsy at times. I don't think it's as big of a step down from Yakuza 0 as many seem to believe, but do agree it isn't anywhere close. That being said, Yakuza 0 has become one of my all-time favorite games and Kiwami was a great game in and of itself.
REALLY good shit right here.
And with that, I've finished my first complete playthrough of the Trails series. Started this journey 7 months ago and it's been one hell of a ride. I can see why this game is so highly praised--while I still love Estelle and Joshua, the Crossbell gang is easily my favorite team in the entire series. This game did everything so well, and I'm glad I saved it for last. Already looking forward to doing a second playthrough of the series once the Crossbell games + Hajimari are localized in the next year or two.
And with that, I've finished my first complete playthrough of the Trails series. Started this journey 7 months ago and it's been one hell of a ride. I can see why this game is so highly praised--while I still love Estelle and Joshua, the Crossbell gang is easily my favorite team in the entire series. This game did everything so well, and I'm glad I saved it for last. Already looking forward to doing a second playthrough of the series once the Crossbell games + Hajimari are localized in the next year or two.
Didn't think the campaign was as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I think this and 2019's MW campaign are some of their best in years, especially in the graphics + in-game movie department. I liked switching perspectives between the different members, and overall found it pretty enjoyable. That said I've been a sucker for CoD campaigns since CoD 4 so I'm a little biased.
Managed to get something in my eye right at the end, not sure what it could've been.
Good shit right here.
Good shit right here.
2015
This game managed to catapult itself into my top 5 favorite games ever. What a fuckin' ride.
I absolutely loved everything about this game. The plot, voice acting, music, gameplay--it was all so well done. I can't wait to continue Kiryu's story in the rest of this series.
I absolutely loved everything about this game. The plot, voice acting, music, gameplay--it was all so well done. I can't wait to continue Kiryu's story in the rest of this series.
As a disclaimer, I messed up my team builds and I'm currently stuck at the final boss. I've tried the fight a handful of times but think my current team set-up just cannot win the fight, so I'm saying I finished it even though I technically haven't seen the ending yet. Will try to come back to it later.
I tried playing this game a few months back after beating FC and SC back-to-back, and for some reason it just did not click with me. I think the change in location + context sorta threw me off, and I put it down only after about 5-6 hours. But I'm so so glad I decided to pick it back up again.
What an absolute ride. Once I was able to take this game for what it was, everything seemed to click into place. Without going into too much detail, this game just did everything right for me, but I have to give credit to the world-building in this game. The side stories are some of the best I've ever seen in a game, and although they took a lot of time to get through, I'm so glad I did, it made the world and characters feel that much more fleshed out. On to Zero now!
I tried playing this game a few months back after beating FC and SC back-to-back, and for some reason it just did not click with me. I think the change in location + context sorta threw me off, and I put it down only after about 5-6 hours. But I'm so so glad I decided to pick it back up again.
What an absolute ride. Once I was able to take this game for what it was, everything seemed to click into place. Without going into too much detail, this game just did everything right for me, but I have to give credit to the world-building in this game. The side stories are some of the best I've ever seen in a game, and although they took a lot of time to get through, I'm so glad I did, it made the world and characters feel that much more fleshed out. On to Zero now!
I finally finished this game at 2am last night and have been sitting with my thoughts on it all day.
This was my first Yakuza game and it didn't disappoint. I knew I was getting a somewhat different experience than the other mainline Yakuza games, but I absolutely loved the way this game was structured. The turn-based combat was fun and zany, the characters + their relationships to each other and to Ichi were so well done and the story was well executed and kept me wanting more. I've heard Yakuza 0 is just as good if not better, so I'm eager to start back at the beginning and take a deep dive into this well-loved franchise.
This was my first Yakuza game and it didn't disappoint. I knew I was getting a somewhat different experience than the other mainline Yakuza games, but I absolutely loved the way this game was structured. The turn-based combat was fun and zany, the characters + their relationships to each other and to Ichi were so well done and the story was well executed and kept me wanting more. I've heard Yakuza 0 is just as good if not better, so I'm eager to start back at the beginning and take a deep dive into this well-loved franchise.
2021
My first Tales of game and a very solid experience overall! Minus the plot dragging itself out a lot towards the end, I loved the fluidity of the combat, the excellent music and the strong relationships between the characters.
On an unrelated note, I would die for Hootle.
On an unrelated note, I would die for Hootle.
So unbelievably good. I had heard great things about this game and my expectations were high, and it completely blew them out of the water. One of the best stories ever told in a video game, I thought I had the plot figured out but they kept throwing curveballs in that made me love it even more. The characters were all well-developed, the writing was top notch, and I loved the intricacies of the combat. An incredible gaming experience.