The yakubian devil's whitest creation, and I live in the midwest.
I don't have negative feelings towards Skyrim, but that's mostly because its larger impact was overshadowed by more cunning, despicable RPGs. Skyrim is the Avatar of its time, a blockbuster success that's impact on the medium has been wholly insular. It makes sense! The worldbuilding in TES games has always come off as weak, relying on supplementary in-game essays that cover events that are much more interesting than anything you'd come across in the actual game. Skyrim's writing and worldbuilding is the nadir of an already lackluster series.
You can call me an insufferable asshole for this (and I wouldn't blame you), but whenever discussions about this game come up, I like to ask people to name three NPCs and describe them without talking about their role in the story or occupation. Even among the people who spend 700+ hours modding this game into something that's "playable", I have yet to get a full response. It's not because these people are stupid, I played through the entire game on launch and I couldn't answer that question.
For how long this game is, and for how much content's shoved into here, that becomes a problem that tanks the game. At the time, I enjoyed the process of morphing into the same stealth archer build everyone at end game winds up at without radically redesigning the game with a modloader, but I didn't give a shit as to why I was doing it. There aren't any setpieces that resonated with me. The closest I ever got to thinking the game was kinda neat was the opening, and replaying it is such an ordeal that most people just mod it out. The role playing element of this game might as well not exist, and the game lacks the sandbox elements of Morrowind. It's a game with severe restraints, and playing within those restraints isn't that fun.
At the time, and for years after its launch, Skyrim was the game that people who didn't play video games could pick up and grow attached to, at least from personal interactions IRL. I don't think that's a bad thing, anything that makes the onboarding process to my hobbies easier is rad in its own right. I just feel kinda bad because of how vapid of an experience it is compared to almost every other RPG I've played. It isn't creatively bankrupt. The account was never opened in the first place.
I don't have negative feelings towards Skyrim, but that's mostly because its larger impact was overshadowed by more cunning, despicable RPGs. Skyrim is the Avatar of its time, a blockbuster success that's impact on the medium has been wholly insular. It makes sense! The worldbuilding in TES games has always come off as weak, relying on supplementary in-game essays that cover events that are much more interesting than anything you'd come across in the actual game. Skyrim's writing and worldbuilding is the nadir of an already lackluster series.
You can call me an insufferable asshole for this (and I wouldn't blame you), but whenever discussions about this game come up, I like to ask people to name three NPCs and describe them without talking about their role in the story or occupation. Even among the people who spend 700+ hours modding this game into something that's "playable", I have yet to get a full response. It's not because these people are stupid, I played through the entire game on launch and I couldn't answer that question.
For how long this game is, and for how much content's shoved into here, that becomes a problem that tanks the game. At the time, I enjoyed the process of morphing into the same stealth archer build everyone at end game winds up at without radically redesigning the game with a modloader, but I didn't give a shit as to why I was doing it. There aren't any setpieces that resonated with me. The closest I ever got to thinking the game was kinda neat was the opening, and replaying it is such an ordeal that most people just mod it out. The role playing element of this game might as well not exist, and the game lacks the sandbox elements of Morrowind. It's a game with severe restraints, and playing within those restraints isn't that fun.
At the time, and for years after its launch, Skyrim was the game that people who didn't play video games could pick up and grow attached to, at least from personal interactions IRL. I don't think that's a bad thing, anything that makes the onboarding process to my hobbies easier is rad in its own right. I just feel kinda bad because of how vapid of an experience it is compared to almost every other RPG I've played. It isn't creatively bankrupt. The account was never opened in the first place.
Less a critique on SA1 itself and more the piss poor port. Obviously, with the mods that the dedicated Sonic community has put out, most of my issues have been rectified. Prior to 3rd party assistance, I would have suggested playing the original.
1991
Unironically the superior version of Sonic 1. The level design is less ambitious and gimmicky, which results in better tempo overall. The game also looks and sounds fantastic given the limitations, this was relatively late into Sega's 8-bit development history and it shows.
2005
This game's soundtrack has Superchunk, so like, I gotta imagine it's the best college football game ever made
2002
As of the time of writing this, this is the most concentrated amount of egg avaliable for handheld consoles.
2020
I've seen on here and on the steam page that this game has been compared to Evergrace. It's what got me to pick this game up, and while aesthetically I could see the comparison at a glance, Spartoi Meadow is very much its own game with little in common with the PS2 RPG other than "they're both kinda bad games that I still really enjoyed".
The faults with the game are obvious and really hard to get around. The camera in this game, especially during combat, is uniquely awful. The translation for the game is machine-translation tier incomprehensible. The game is cryptic and the game just sort of ends after twoish hours. None of this is better than it seems once you get behind the wheel.
None of that is a dealbreaker for me. The combat and movement is janky, but never annoying. The two main characters move quickly and their attacks are responsive. Random encounters are plentiful, but being able to effectively skip them on the overworld helps the game keep up its solid pacing. There's a ton of little secrets and side areas that reward the player for taking the time to explore. The music, again, while not sounding like anything Kota Hoshino would have put out, kinda bangs and if anyone has a soundtrack upload I'd love to grab it. There's a fleshed out NG+ system, a cosmetic system, there's just so many little additions to the game that it's really hard to root against Spartoi Meadow, despite it having zero polish whatsoever.
If there's anything I'd really like to see from this game, it would be a better english translation. I don't expect a more faithful script to blow me away, but I enjoyed the plot and the cast from what I could decipher. There's been plenty of other games I've payed $5 for that didn't come close to giving me the same enjoyment Spartoi Meadow did. It's such an eager game that swings for the bleachers, while having just enough quality of life considerations to make all the rough parts go down smoothly.
The faults with the game are obvious and really hard to get around. The camera in this game, especially during combat, is uniquely awful. The translation for the game is machine-translation tier incomprehensible. The game is cryptic and the game just sort of ends after twoish hours. None of this is better than it seems once you get behind the wheel.
None of that is a dealbreaker for me. The combat and movement is janky, but never annoying. The two main characters move quickly and their attacks are responsive. Random encounters are plentiful, but being able to effectively skip them on the overworld helps the game keep up its solid pacing. There's a ton of little secrets and side areas that reward the player for taking the time to explore. The music, again, while not sounding like anything Kota Hoshino would have put out, kinda bangs and if anyone has a soundtrack upload I'd love to grab it. There's a fleshed out NG+ system, a cosmetic system, there's just so many little additions to the game that it's really hard to root against Spartoi Meadow, despite it having zero polish whatsoever.
If there's anything I'd really like to see from this game, it would be a better english translation. I don't expect a more faithful script to blow me away, but I enjoyed the plot and the cast from what I could decipher. There's been plenty of other games I've payed $5 for that didn't come close to giving me the same enjoyment Spartoi Meadow did. It's such an eager game that swings for the bleachers, while having just enough quality of life considerations to make all the rough parts go down smoothly.
Yu-Gi-Oh's early games are interesting to go back to because, unlike basically every other card game I can think of (even ones that went through major publisher changes like WoWTCG's transition to Cryptozoic or the Pokemon TCG away from WOTC), there was a period of time where the rules of the game didn't really exist. The first Yugi major was played through Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters for the Gameboy, for example. What we know as Yugi wouldn't solidify until Konami's OCG ruleset in 2002, which would be exported around the world (banlist changes aside). As a historical artifact of a card game property without a card game (no, the Bandai version doesn't count), this is a really cool video game to have access to, especially stateside.
This game still sucks to play through, though. I wish it didn't. Even as a condensed version of the card game, with the core rules the game has, I think there's some fun to be had with contact fusions and deck building. If you enjoy breaking out the SMT fusion chart, this is the card game for you. The balance of the game is horrendous, with decks and board states that cheat and that the player cannot consistently overcome, even with proper deckbuilding. You're going to lose a lot, and being a PS1 game, getting into another match takes an unreasonable amount of time. I would have rather the game been way too easy, but let the target audience for this game play around in a sandbox full of cards and effects that would only apply to this weird, at the time 3 year old import title than have the game in its current state. It's not like the game can be beaten in an afternoon as is! There's a good amount of fights and over 700 cards to choose from.
If you want to give this a go, there is an active modding scene with tweaks to the gameplay on either end. As a stand alone title, it's hard to recommend playing through the entire thing.
This game still sucks to play through, though. I wish it didn't. Even as a condensed version of the card game, with the core rules the game has, I think there's some fun to be had with contact fusions and deck building. If you enjoy breaking out the SMT fusion chart, this is the card game for you. The balance of the game is horrendous, with decks and board states that cheat and that the player cannot consistently overcome, even with proper deckbuilding. You're going to lose a lot, and being a PS1 game, getting into another match takes an unreasonable amount of time. I would have rather the game been way too easy, but let the target audience for this game play around in a sandbox full of cards and effects that would only apply to this weird, at the time 3 year old import title than have the game in its current state. It's not like the game can be beaten in an afternoon as is! There's a good amount of fights and over 700 cards to choose from.
If you want to give this a go, there is an active modding scene with tweaks to the gameplay on either end. As a stand alone title, it's hard to recommend playing through the entire thing.
"Descendant of Shinobi" is a "Last Surprise" tier battle theme. They made me emotionally invested in Yuffie, and the Fort Condor minigame is better here than in Rebirth. Re-adding the Dirge of Cerberus cast is a hilarious choice and I support it fully.
Nobody remembers how bad the original fan translation was for this game.
But I do. I'll never forget that arrow to the knee joke as long as Iive.
But I do. I'll never forget that arrow to the knee joke as long as Iive.
I didn't really notice any slowdown or chugging in this port, but it's been awhile since I've played through it. I really enjoy the original dungeons and bosses. Has the same audio issues that the other GBA ports suffered from. This isn't even the third version of this game I would recommend to someone, thankfully FF4 is a good enough game where you could play four different ports (over the course of a few years) and not want to stick a fork into an electrical socket.
2014
I paid for this port.
2024
If you need to take a fat, toilet denting, S++ risk rating ogre shit, there isn't a better game on the market.
1994
The worst map design in a SRPG, full stop.
Not much else to say. This game has one major flaw, and that flaw is bad enough to completely tank the game. I think most of the other aspects of the game are forgivable, if not enjoyable. Every map taking half a hour - two hours to complete made this such a grueling experience. I'll suck off Koga to completion for Genealogy of the Holy War, but I gotta draw the line somewhere.
Not much else to say. This game has one major flaw, and that flaw is bad enough to completely tank the game. I think most of the other aspects of the game are forgivable, if not enjoyable. Every map taking half a hour - two hours to complete made this such a grueling experience. I'll suck off Koga to completion for Genealogy of the Holy War, but I gotta draw the line somewhere.
You know how people will add on a joke title to a sequel, and most of the time it's something unfunny and played out like "electric boogaloo"? Why aren't more people using "The Fall of Max Payne"? It's funnier, the media referenced is great, and it has more weight to it.
1988
Erwin Rommel might be the most mid loser to ever get this fluffed up retroactively in history. A lot of this comes down to the west fundamentally agreeing with the Nazis in their ideology, if not conduct of the war (hence their capture of civil society post-war), but even then this man did not deserve one of the few NES strategy games to make it stateside.
Goddamn this game is slow. If it wasn't released in 1988, my reception towards it would be worse. There isn't a ton of content in this game, and what counts as the campaign is painfully slow. The fight animations are basic and get quickly repetitive. An admirable attempt (playing as the Nazis aside), but the genre just wasn't mature enough yet to have a NES game like this play well.
Goddamn this game is slow. If it wasn't released in 1988, my reception towards it would be worse. There isn't a ton of content in this game, and what counts as the campaign is painfully slow. The fight animations are basic and get quickly repetitive. An admirable attempt (playing as the Nazis aside), but the genre just wasn't mature enough yet to have a NES game like this play well.