dalt
BACKER
37 Reviews liked by dalt
Bloodborne
2015
a game that feels severely less than the sum of its parts.
it's strange that i would feel this way about any game - games more often than not than any other piece of media are able to have fundamental flaws looked over because of how easily enjoyment can be gauged from just one aspect of the experience. whether this be the story, the gameplay loop, atmosphere, sound, or rewarding progression, it's of no surprise to anyone on this website that bloodborne excels at all of these individually.
with all of that being said, this game strangely fails to evoke any emotion from me at all. as well thought out a lot of the lovecraftian, gothic, and victorian horror ideas are to diversify the setting from prior fromsoftware games, i think this is hidetaka miyazaki's most lacking project as director to an abnormally strong degree.
i certainly wouldn't have felt this way at the start of my first playthrough. central yharnam as an introductory point is gorgeously realised and dense with captivating level design scenarios that provoke unique ways of thinking for any player regardless of their experience in the genre. this catalyst of engaging design also seamlessly allures the player to the game's subtle yet ultimately impactful slices of lore and rewards heavily in added emotional stakes for those who put in the effort to piece it together. this is capped off by two of the best initial boss encounters fromsoftware had created to that point - although i think it's been surpassed since within elden ring's opening hours, i am fully supportive in commending the opening of this game as one of the finest ways the medium has been utilised to immerse and appeal to players of any kind heading into it.
i cannot say this about the rest of the game. what followed from central yharnam felt like a shallow evolution of ideas and design that feels so intent on delivering a worldly counterpart to its small lore elements that i genuinely believe a better game could have been constructed without them.
i understand this is a confusing perspective but i'd want to justify this in probably the most understandable way first to anyone reading, i promise there's a cohesive point behind this. blood vials for example - wonderfully thought out, an idea of a healing mechanic completely in tone with the body horror elements of the game and a constant representation to the player of the negative to positive dichotomy blood holds in the lore. does this make for a better gameplay loop synonymous with the design though? absolutely not. it's ridiculous grinding for consumable healing was revisited after the initial stint with demons souls when estus flasks completely mitigated this design choice 4 years prior when dark souls was released.
odd yet understandable choices like these are at the heart of why this game fails to deliver as a project for me. the beast bosses are thematically and sonically excellent but suffer from all having the same move set because of their similarity and relation in the lore. the hunter bosses are a mechanically refreshing change of pace and encourage an aggressive style of play unlike any souls game before it but lack visual diversity or any genuinely engaging red herrings to their fights because of the lore. worst of all, the level design post central yharnam is for lack of a better word, uninteresting, to fit the condensed locale of the lore. not to be confused with underbaked, because i do believe the vision to create this world was achieved and delivered on an exceptional front to most players. however, a baffling lack of enemy variety, a weirdly intense focus on verticality and platforming, and the visual setpieces being compromised to the point of just being a different light filter because of the ps4's limited technology subverted what should have been immersive worldbuilding to me than little more than tedium. sometimes i'd find this tedium was occasionally broken up by the sudden thrill of an enemy standing by in the dark and a gatling gun positioned at you which was devastating for all the right reasons on my first encounter with them. in the 2nd half of the game these cheap jumpscare thrills exist in every room you explore and are never once implemented again in a different way.
but a lot of these viewpoints are overly sentimental and critical of the game in relation to its reception, especially when a lot of my favourite games are just as guilty of feeding the same gameplay encounters wrapped up in a slightly different visual package to you. what is the real loose end from this game that makes the various painstakingly crafted facets of this experience completely fall apart for me?
i don't like london :(
it's strange that i would feel this way about any game - games more often than not than any other piece of media are able to have fundamental flaws looked over because of how easily enjoyment can be gauged from just one aspect of the experience. whether this be the story, the gameplay loop, atmosphere, sound, or rewarding progression, it's of no surprise to anyone on this website that bloodborne excels at all of these individually.
with all of that being said, this game strangely fails to evoke any emotion from me at all. as well thought out a lot of the lovecraftian, gothic, and victorian horror ideas are to diversify the setting from prior fromsoftware games, i think this is hidetaka miyazaki's most lacking project as director to an abnormally strong degree.
i certainly wouldn't have felt this way at the start of my first playthrough. central yharnam as an introductory point is gorgeously realised and dense with captivating level design scenarios that provoke unique ways of thinking for any player regardless of their experience in the genre. this catalyst of engaging design also seamlessly allures the player to the game's subtle yet ultimately impactful slices of lore and rewards heavily in added emotional stakes for those who put in the effort to piece it together. this is capped off by two of the best initial boss encounters fromsoftware had created to that point - although i think it's been surpassed since within elden ring's opening hours, i am fully supportive in commending the opening of this game as one of the finest ways the medium has been utilised to immerse and appeal to players of any kind heading into it.
i cannot say this about the rest of the game. what followed from central yharnam felt like a shallow evolution of ideas and design that feels so intent on delivering a worldly counterpart to its small lore elements that i genuinely believe a better game could have been constructed without them.
i understand this is a confusing perspective but i'd want to justify this in probably the most understandable way first to anyone reading, i promise there's a cohesive point behind this. blood vials for example - wonderfully thought out, an idea of a healing mechanic completely in tone with the body horror elements of the game and a constant representation to the player of the negative to positive dichotomy blood holds in the lore. does this make for a better gameplay loop synonymous with the design though? absolutely not. it's ridiculous grinding for consumable healing was revisited after the initial stint with demons souls when estus flasks completely mitigated this design choice 4 years prior when dark souls was released.
odd yet understandable choices like these are at the heart of why this game fails to deliver as a project for me. the beast bosses are thematically and sonically excellent but suffer from all having the same move set because of their similarity and relation in the lore. the hunter bosses are a mechanically refreshing change of pace and encourage an aggressive style of play unlike any souls game before it but lack visual diversity or any genuinely engaging red herrings to their fights because of the lore. worst of all, the level design post central yharnam is for lack of a better word, uninteresting, to fit the condensed locale of the lore. not to be confused with underbaked, because i do believe the vision to create this world was achieved and delivered on an exceptional front to most players. however, a baffling lack of enemy variety, a weirdly intense focus on verticality and platforming, and the visual setpieces being compromised to the point of just being a different light filter because of the ps4's limited technology subverted what should have been immersive worldbuilding to me than little more than tedium. sometimes i'd find this tedium was occasionally broken up by the sudden thrill of an enemy standing by in the dark and a gatling gun positioned at you which was devastating for all the right reasons on my first encounter with them. in the 2nd half of the game these cheap jumpscare thrills exist in every room you explore and are never once implemented again in a different way.
but a lot of these viewpoints are overly sentimental and critical of the game in relation to its reception, especially when a lot of my favourite games are just as guilty of feeding the same gameplay encounters wrapped up in a slightly different visual package to you. what is the real loose end from this game that makes the various painstakingly crafted facets of this experience completely fall apart for me?
i don't like london :(
Panzer Dragoon Saga
1998
This review contains spoilers
Something curious happens at the very start of this game. The hero straight up dies, and then the game simply asks, "The one who controls Edge - what is your name?"
It wasn't ambiguous — I'm not naming my character. Who am I, personally?
The power of my name alone brought the man back to life.
The concept of the Divine Visitor in this game is not an off-the-cuff fourth wall integration. It completely changes our relationship to the game world. We are not partaking in a fantasy that someone else perpetuates; instead, we are the impossible being. Only something outside this world could possibly save it.
I kept thinking about this concept as I played; and honestly, a lot about this game really frustrated me. Traversing the towns is a bit tedious, the plot gates are really obtuse and sometimes a specific conversation flag is tripped by talking to all people at all times of day or by asking someone something 25 times without any indication that the next time you ask them, they'll say something new. Sometimes conversations are hinged on what you've overheard from someone else, meaning you have to from town to town keep in mind what to eavesdrop and what to share directly.
They're novel ideas; and they don't always work. The thing about experimentation is that it means half your systems are going to be obstacles for the player to overcome.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed the battle system. It perfected the risk/reward balance and was generally navigable without being too frustrating. Random encounters really made me not want to explore too aggressively, but when it came to boss rushes, I didn't feel overburdened by the challenge.
Around disc 3 I started to really catch the tone of this game. It feels overwhelmingly doomed, bleak, sad. It's just endless death and war. I do not know the lore. But I know the reality of the situation: all these people were living their lives while God's meat puppet and a biotechnological droid were the only things in the way of world-historical systems spanning millennia that only existed to cull and control. Everyone is absolutely powerless in the face of a machine designed by someone else.
These impossible beings appear from nowhere, develop inevitable fondness, then disperse. Edge evaporates after seeing the face of God for one moment, and our mutual loan concludes. Azel wanders the rest of her life seeking someone who should've never existed long enough to see her.
Miracles conclude. The world goes on. There are simply fewer people seeking to master power and violence. That's the best our sacred magic can do.
It wasn't ambiguous — I'm not naming my character. Who am I, personally?
The power of my name alone brought the man back to life.
The concept of the Divine Visitor in this game is not an off-the-cuff fourth wall integration. It completely changes our relationship to the game world. We are not partaking in a fantasy that someone else perpetuates; instead, we are the impossible being. Only something outside this world could possibly save it.
I kept thinking about this concept as I played; and honestly, a lot about this game really frustrated me. Traversing the towns is a bit tedious, the plot gates are really obtuse and sometimes a specific conversation flag is tripped by talking to all people at all times of day or by asking someone something 25 times without any indication that the next time you ask them, they'll say something new. Sometimes conversations are hinged on what you've overheard from someone else, meaning you have to from town to town keep in mind what to eavesdrop and what to share directly.
They're novel ideas; and they don't always work. The thing about experimentation is that it means half your systems are going to be obstacles for the player to overcome.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed the battle system. It perfected the risk/reward balance and was generally navigable without being too frustrating. Random encounters really made me not want to explore too aggressively, but when it came to boss rushes, I didn't feel overburdened by the challenge.
Around disc 3 I started to really catch the tone of this game. It feels overwhelmingly doomed, bleak, sad. It's just endless death and war. I do not know the lore. But I know the reality of the situation: all these people were living their lives while God's meat puppet and a biotechnological droid were the only things in the way of world-historical systems spanning millennia that only existed to cull and control. Everyone is absolutely powerless in the face of a machine designed by someone else.
These impossible beings appear from nowhere, develop inevitable fondness, then disperse. Edge evaporates after seeing the face of God for one moment, and our mutual loan concludes. Azel wanders the rest of her life seeking someone who should've never existed long enough to see her.
Miracles conclude. The world goes on. There are simply fewer people seeking to master power and violence. That's the best our sacred magic can do.
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
2023
An excellent spiritual sequel to Jet Set Radio, I congratulate the game designers for getting right the style that makes Jet Set Radio famous.
Talking about the gameplay, it's very similar to JSR, but you don't have to use rollerblades, in fact you can also use BMX and even skateboards, although they all work the same way, I think that's a good thing, in the end it's like playing JSR.
For the music on the other hand I'm a bit disappointed, I had high hopes for the soundtrack of the game, just because they announced a collaboration with the amazing composer Hideki Naganuma, the historical composer of the JSR series, I thought Naganuma did the whole soundtrack, but in the end Naganuma only did 3 tracks for the game, I'm not saying that the rest of the songs aren't decent, there are some amazing bangers, like I Wanna Kno by 2 Mello.
Overall, the game has been built on the foundations laid by Jet Set Radio, creating a new fun experience.
Talking about the gameplay, it's very similar to JSR, but you don't have to use rollerblades, in fact you can also use BMX and even skateboards, although they all work the same way, I think that's a good thing, in the end it's like playing JSR.
For the music on the other hand I'm a bit disappointed, I had high hopes for the soundtrack of the game, just because they announced a collaboration with the amazing composer Hideki Naganuma, the historical composer of the JSR series, I thought Naganuma did the whole soundtrack, but in the end Naganuma only did 3 tracks for the game, I'm not saying that the rest of the songs aren't decent, there are some amazing bangers, like I Wanna Kno by 2 Mello.
Overall, the game has been built on the foundations laid by Jet Set Radio, creating a new fun experience.
I don't really have that much interesting to say about this one to be honest so I'll just dump my thoughts lol. It's not really surprising to me that the gameplay wasn't as interesting to me as it was in Thracia though it's perfectly fine still. I probably enjoyed all of the unit variety the most, though it was a real shame that there weren't that many early units that were fun to build up over time. A lot of my army ended up being the endgame pre-promotes they hand you which is fine but not super interesting. I actually think this game is a bit more difficult than people give it credit for but I think the way it does gamefeel makes it not really matter. Handing you OP pre-promotes is a good example of this effect, since it doesn't really feel earned at all, and also the way they start shoving good weapons and items on you towards the end. I guess it doesn't help that 2 of the 3 lords aren't good units either.
I also thought this game was fine story-wise but pretty dumb. Like the gameplay, there was nothing I particularly hated but nothing I was a big fan of either. Hate to make another comparison but going from the Jugdral games to this felt like a pretty noticeable step down. Like a large portion of the story being dedicated to this generic magical essence just gets really old fast, and they add some really funny story diversions to try and stretch out such generic ideas. At least 40% of the cutscenes in this game have to be the one note villains talking about the magical essence and how they will harvest more of it and it's just like... goddamn I get it lol. The best part of the story is probably just Hector. Hector is awesome.
Anyways the more I write this the more I think I might not have liked this game so much but it was fine overall I guess. I spent my playthrough thinking "Yup, this is a Fire Emblem game alright. It sure does those Fire Emblem things that are neat" and that's the most praise I can give it for now.
I also thought this game was fine story-wise but pretty dumb. Like the gameplay, there was nothing I particularly hated but nothing I was a big fan of either. Hate to make another comparison but going from the Jugdral games to this felt like a pretty noticeable step down. Like a large portion of the story being dedicated to this generic magical essence just gets really old fast, and they add some really funny story diversions to try and stretch out such generic ideas. At least 40% of the cutscenes in this game have to be the one note villains talking about the magical essence and how they will harvest more of it and it's just like... goddamn I get it lol. The best part of the story is probably just Hector. Hector is awesome.
Anyways the more I write this the more I think I might not have liked this game so much but it was fine overall I guess. I spent my playthrough thinking "Yup, this is a Fire Emblem game alright. It sure does those Fire Emblem things that are neat" and that's the most praise I can give it for now.
Final Fantasy IX
2000
It's good don't get me wrong. The way people talk about it is annoying. It's not even the fifth best Final Fantasy game. IT'S A THROWBACK GAME. THE WHOLE GAME IS A REFERENCE TO PREVIOUS WORK. Saying it's the best one when it's easily the weakest thematically of the PSX games is frankly just rude to FF7 and 8.
The Last Guardian
2016
AI in video games exists to be predictable. Whether it is or isn’t on your side, its actions on first engagement have to be for the player to enact their intended objective in an area or level, and in the case of a companion, it’s all of their actions. Any unpredictability would only take place after its action is made clear, where the AI might consider any number of options that bounce off the game’s systems to follow up on their state inflicted by the player, but similar systems can also be used to better realize this AI as a character in their setting before any engagement. Trico ticks all the boxes, the difference is unpredictability’s been introduced into their initial response to the player.
And it’s not in the way that Trico will ignore what you tell them to do, but that the response is not instant. There’s no list of specific commands you can give to the beast, you can’t directly take control of it, and it won’t teleport to you if you’re too far. You can point to where you want it to go and call out if you want it to come to you. What this can promote in the dense setting of the Nest is situations that can make it hard for Trico to know exactly what you want, jumping ruined column to ruined column over a quiet fog is no problem, but getting on that first column might be. Chances are it was on the player for not positioning themselves clearly enough for Trico to see and hear, but sometimes it can be the creature’s fault. Every bit of gameplay alongside it becomes more than a choice to execute, it’s a moment for you and Trico to learn from, and this takes a unique weight off when you can get past an obstacle because you know you both worked through it together.
What starts as two creatures functioning on survival instinct becomes mutual understanding that codependence would be necessary for this survival, and eventually, a connection that’s so much more. Trico needs you to feed it barrels, to take spears out of its body and tend to the wounds, to take out stained glass eyes it’s afraid of and you need Trico to fight off the Nest’s guards, to climb and jump to places you’re too small to reach, and to dive deep to where you’re not able to swim. Interactions like these teem throughout the game on a micro and macro level, but there come to be gestures of affection like certain spots you can pet eliciting more endeared reactions, which in turn becomes less required as Trico starts to calm down quicker from your presence alone, or Trico perching up against where you went waiting for you to come back. It all forms a bond so deep that it’s motivating beyond the dissonant nature of the checkpoint and failstate to keep going, to avoid death lest my big feathery buddy be left behind.
From the boy’s perspective, it’s certainly the most minimalist amount of interaction a player’s had with the world of a Team Ico game. Puzzles are so abstracted that solutions more often come down to observations around the room or in timing than unique engine interactions and the little occasional engagement with combat you have is pointing to where you want Trico to shoot lightning. Of course, this props up the importance of the beast but it also makes the Nest that much more convincing as ruins reclaimed by nature’s elements as well as your place in it with other inhabitants. Previously Ico would have to concede to more gamey puzzle objects and Shadow of the Colossus plopped a HUD on the screen for health and stamina. Advancements in a purer gameplay direction are welcome, but what opposes it is the blatant handholding through tooltips for what seems like every button interaction right when you might’ve forgotten about them and narrated hints if you’ve been on a puzzle for too long. A regression from the expressive nature the team’s previous works lead you to solutions with but it’s fair enough for this one considering it’s by far their longest.
Ultimately, Team Ico, genDESIGN, whatever, their games are about relationships. Relationships that can be rife with conflict yet continue, but also that these relationships may form with a person or being you might not have expected. Whether your actions are to look after yourself or out of sympathy, it becomes an experience as invaluable and life defining as any other for the player’s character, if not more. Time and time again The Last Guardian delivers on these ideas in the story it seeks to tell and through its mechanics and systems that flourish by themselves, with enough care that it reframes the entire concept of AI and companions in the medium. Knowing the challenge of executing this game’s goal and “development hell” where release was only prolonged from Sony’s decision to move it to the PS4 from the PS3’s arcane architecture potentially warding off devs, it’s tough to tell if this will end up as influential as its predecessors. But that only stands to make it all the more special. I’ll miss you, Trico.
And it’s not in the way that Trico will ignore what you tell them to do, but that the response is not instant. There’s no list of specific commands you can give to the beast, you can’t directly take control of it, and it won’t teleport to you if you’re too far. You can point to where you want it to go and call out if you want it to come to you. What this can promote in the dense setting of the Nest is situations that can make it hard for Trico to know exactly what you want, jumping ruined column to ruined column over a quiet fog is no problem, but getting on that first column might be. Chances are it was on the player for not positioning themselves clearly enough for Trico to see and hear, but sometimes it can be the creature’s fault. Every bit of gameplay alongside it becomes more than a choice to execute, it’s a moment for you and Trico to learn from, and this takes a unique weight off when you can get past an obstacle because you know you both worked through it together.
What starts as two creatures functioning on survival instinct becomes mutual understanding that codependence would be necessary for this survival, and eventually, a connection that’s so much more. Trico needs you to feed it barrels, to take spears out of its body and tend to the wounds, to take out stained glass eyes it’s afraid of and you need Trico to fight off the Nest’s guards, to climb and jump to places you’re too small to reach, and to dive deep to where you’re not able to swim. Interactions like these teem throughout the game on a micro and macro level, but there come to be gestures of affection like certain spots you can pet eliciting more endeared reactions, which in turn becomes less required as Trico starts to calm down quicker from your presence alone, or Trico perching up against where you went waiting for you to come back. It all forms a bond so deep that it’s motivating beyond the dissonant nature of the checkpoint and failstate to keep going, to avoid death lest my big feathery buddy be left behind.
From the boy’s perspective, it’s certainly the most minimalist amount of interaction a player’s had with the world of a Team Ico game. Puzzles are so abstracted that solutions more often come down to observations around the room or in timing than unique engine interactions and the little occasional engagement with combat you have is pointing to where you want Trico to shoot lightning. Of course, this props up the importance of the beast but it also makes the Nest that much more convincing as ruins reclaimed by nature’s elements as well as your place in it with other inhabitants. Previously Ico would have to concede to more gamey puzzle objects and Shadow of the Colossus plopped a HUD on the screen for health and stamina. Advancements in a purer gameplay direction are welcome, but what opposes it is the blatant handholding through tooltips for what seems like every button interaction right when you might’ve forgotten about them and narrated hints if you’ve been on a puzzle for too long. A regression from the expressive nature the team’s previous works lead you to solutions with but it’s fair enough for this one considering it’s by far their longest.
Ultimately, Team Ico, genDESIGN, whatever, their games are about relationships. Relationships that can be rife with conflict yet continue, but also that these relationships may form with a person or being you might not have expected. Whether your actions are to look after yourself or out of sympathy, it becomes an experience as invaluable and life defining as any other for the player’s character, if not more. Time and time again The Last Guardian delivers on these ideas in the story it seeks to tell and through its mechanics and systems that flourish by themselves, with enough care that it reframes the entire concept of AI and companions in the medium. Knowing the challenge of executing this game’s goal and “development hell” where release was only prolonged from Sony’s decision to move it to the PS4 from the PS3’s arcane architecture potentially warding off devs, it’s tough to tell if this will end up as influential as its predecessors. But that only stands to make it all the more special. I’ll miss you, Trico.
Dead Space
2023
should be up my alley but man halfway through this is a slog
wish there was something more compelling to keep me playing aside from just the setting cuz the gameplay loop and story isn't clicking at all
wish there was something more compelling to keep me playing aside from just the setting cuz the gameplay loop and story isn't clicking at all
Final Fantasy IV
1991
This is almost like a shell of a Final Fantasy game to me in many ways. That's not meant to be quite as harsh as it sounds, but it really does feel like more of a tribute to the series rather than a foundational installment in it. In so many ways it perfectly understands the basic things that make the series great. Good soundtrack, a lot of strong cinematic moments, great use of said music to elevate certain scenes, forward-thinking game design. Plenty of elements that Final Fantasy is renowned for are here, yet the game overall lacks that spark that makes entries stand out.
A lot of it comes down to the story to be honest. If I had been playing the games in order, I would be worried that they were already running ideas by the time they made this game lol. That really sucks for a series that is constantly pushing in interesting directions! FF4 has a fairly basic and inoffensive plot but makes it much more insufferable with a LOT of dumb story decisions. There are like 6 different fakeout deaths in that series, each one getting more and more meaningless than the one before. What was even the point of having these happen if you reverse them minutes later? Are these supposed to be emotionally impactful? Why even reverse them when they aren't going to have any meaningful impact on the story or gameplay going forward? I try not to let this stuff sink games for me but it undermines basically every "serious" story moment in the game. Even past that these dumb rug pulls extend to many other plot elements. Just when you think something is resolved, it gets brought back as another macguffin to chase around. It feels like a thin veil of padding placed on a story without much of a strong central focus. While FF2 was also a basic story, at least it was competent? FF4 is all over the place and it annoyed me to no end. I can see how people respect a lot of the semi-novel things this game did with the focus on characters and cinematic moments that the previous games didn't have. But it's all kind of moot to me when the story being told is something I'd write in like elementary school.
Despite all of that...the gameplay is a lot of fun! I definitely had some frustrations at points but it does a really great job of making dungeons actually fun, the perfect mix of linear paths with branches that don't punish you too much for exploring. I really enjoyed how rewarding the loot in each dungeon was as well, I wish more FF games outright gave you good weapons/armor in exchange for fighting bosses in the final dungeon because that was really neat. Overall just feels way more balanced and carefully designed than any of the NES games.
I don't think the gameplay was enough to make up for the insanely bad story but I would still say the game is fine overall. It's just like a textbook example of an incompetent story. It's not like it's repulsive or offensive or anything to me it just kind of fails on every level and is slightly redeemed by fun gameplay.
Game equivalent of this essay
A lot of it comes down to the story to be honest. If I had been playing the games in order, I would be worried that they were already running ideas by the time they made this game lol. That really sucks for a series that is constantly pushing in interesting directions! FF4 has a fairly basic and inoffensive plot but makes it much more insufferable with a LOT of dumb story decisions. There are like 6 different fakeout deaths in that series, each one getting more and more meaningless than the one before. What was even the point of having these happen if you reverse them minutes later? Are these supposed to be emotionally impactful? Why even reverse them when they aren't going to have any meaningful impact on the story or gameplay going forward? I try not to let this stuff sink games for me but it undermines basically every "serious" story moment in the game. Even past that these dumb rug pulls extend to many other plot elements. Just when you think something is resolved, it gets brought back as another macguffin to chase around. It feels like a thin veil of padding placed on a story without much of a strong central focus. While FF2 was also a basic story, at least it was competent? FF4 is all over the place and it annoyed me to no end. I can see how people respect a lot of the semi-novel things this game did with the focus on characters and cinematic moments that the previous games didn't have. But it's all kind of moot to me when the story being told is something I'd write in like elementary school.
Despite all of that...the gameplay is a lot of fun! I definitely had some frustrations at points but it does a really great job of making dungeons actually fun, the perfect mix of linear paths with branches that don't punish you too much for exploring. I really enjoyed how rewarding the loot in each dungeon was as well, I wish more FF games outright gave you good weapons/armor in exchange for fighting bosses in the final dungeon because that was really neat. Overall just feels way more balanced and carefully designed than any of the NES games.
I don't think the gameplay was enough to make up for the insanely bad story but I would still say the game is fine overall. It's just like a textbook example of an incompetent story. It's not like it's repulsive or offensive or anything to me it just kind of fails on every level and is slightly redeemed by fun gameplay.
Game equivalent of this essay
Thracia 776 is a game notorious for it's difficulty and punishing nature, yet it ended up being one of the most rewarding games I've played. The way it simulates the fatigue and stress of war is something really impressive that I haven't seen many strategy games or games in general recreate.
"Unfair" is probably one of the most common gripes people can have with a game, yet Thracia cultivates a sense of unfairness that works excellently for what it's trying to make the player feel. It wants to put the player in Leif's shoes, and share the burden that he faces as a 15 year old trying to command an army against a vastly more powerful foe. To that end there are multiple maps where Leif has to straight up escape, to run away from the enemy instead of taking it on. There are multiple bosses that are nearly impossible to take on, and have to be left for later which leads to some great payoffs. This isn't some petty sense of unfairness for the sake of making the player mad, it's meant to convey the feeling of struggling against immense odds and squeezing out a victory. Leif's mistakes are the player's mistakes, and can result in substantial consequences, but his victories are also the player's victories and they feel equally as satisfying.
Not only is this game rewarding in that broader sense, the gameplay is also perfectly attuned to what it's trying to do. Not only do a lot of the unique mechanics give this game an interesting sense of realism, they offer a lot of freedom to the player to tackle the challenge. Infinitely trading between units, rescue chains, the abundance of utility units like flyers and stave users, and the sheer amount of different useful items that can be gathered by playing smart make for an experience where success feels well earned. Even with that sense of unfairness I mentioned, the game still gives the player the tools to succeed and makes using them a satisfying experience. It's okay to warpskip! I don't think the challenge is always perfectly balanced in this (ambush spawns still suck in this game and in general) but the way it lays all of its mechanics on the table makes it playing it a stressful but gratifying experience.
I played New Mystery of the Emblem before Thracia and Thracia feels like a much more fully realized version of the same ideas. They both have large unit pools, yet Thracia makes almost every unit feel like they have value, and shifts the balance a lot to make typically weaker units like support classes feel like the most useful units in the game that require a lot of protection. This stands in contrast to New Mystery having a bloated cast that feels incredibly disposable outside of the small group of good units that you can snowball. The fatigue mechanic isn't great in Thracia, but it adds another layer of thought that I think balances out having such a large cast quite well. While New Mystery feels like you are constantly working around its mechanics and punishes you for seeking out side objectives, Thracia expects you to use its mechanics to the fullest and rewards you for going out of your way.
For the sake of a more positive comparison, it's worth pointing out how well this game works in tandem with Genealogy of the Holy War as well. Leif's ragtag bunch of whoever he picks up along the way contrasts well with the army of walking nukes that Seliph ends up with, both narratively and in terms of gameplay. The biggest gripe I would have with Thracia is that its narrative isn't quite as interesting as Genealogy yet the connections present are still a lot of fun to see (it's worth playing 24x for the conversation at the end by the way). It's debatable whether it would have been made better or worse by not trying to squeeze itself in the middle of Genealogy's plot, but what is there is well done regardless.
One of the series' biggest strengths is how well the narrative and characters fuse together with the gameplay to create individual stories in each battle and each decision by the player. Despite it's uniqueness among FE games, Thracia 776 embodies this strength incredibly well, particularly through using the perspective of Leif. It took me a long time, and it wasn't always so fun, but that liberation war was one worth fighting.
"Unfair" is probably one of the most common gripes people can have with a game, yet Thracia cultivates a sense of unfairness that works excellently for what it's trying to make the player feel. It wants to put the player in Leif's shoes, and share the burden that he faces as a 15 year old trying to command an army against a vastly more powerful foe. To that end there are multiple maps where Leif has to straight up escape, to run away from the enemy instead of taking it on. There are multiple bosses that are nearly impossible to take on, and have to be left for later which leads to some great payoffs. This isn't some petty sense of unfairness for the sake of making the player mad, it's meant to convey the feeling of struggling against immense odds and squeezing out a victory. Leif's mistakes are the player's mistakes, and can result in substantial consequences, but his victories are also the player's victories and they feel equally as satisfying.
Not only is this game rewarding in that broader sense, the gameplay is also perfectly attuned to what it's trying to do. Not only do a lot of the unique mechanics give this game an interesting sense of realism, they offer a lot of freedom to the player to tackle the challenge. Infinitely trading between units, rescue chains, the abundance of utility units like flyers and stave users, and the sheer amount of different useful items that can be gathered by playing smart make for an experience where success feels well earned. Even with that sense of unfairness I mentioned, the game still gives the player the tools to succeed and makes using them a satisfying experience. It's okay to warpskip! I don't think the challenge is always perfectly balanced in this (ambush spawns still suck in this game and in general) but the way it lays all of its mechanics on the table makes it playing it a stressful but gratifying experience.
I played New Mystery of the Emblem before Thracia and Thracia feels like a much more fully realized version of the same ideas. They both have large unit pools, yet Thracia makes almost every unit feel like they have value, and shifts the balance a lot to make typically weaker units like support classes feel like the most useful units in the game that require a lot of protection. This stands in contrast to New Mystery having a bloated cast that feels incredibly disposable outside of the small group of good units that you can snowball. The fatigue mechanic isn't great in Thracia, but it adds another layer of thought that I think balances out having such a large cast quite well. While New Mystery feels like you are constantly working around its mechanics and punishes you for seeking out side objectives, Thracia expects you to use its mechanics to the fullest and rewards you for going out of your way.
For the sake of a more positive comparison, it's worth pointing out how well this game works in tandem with Genealogy of the Holy War as well. Leif's ragtag bunch of whoever he picks up along the way contrasts well with the army of walking nukes that Seliph ends up with, both narratively and in terms of gameplay. The biggest gripe I would have with Thracia is that its narrative isn't quite as interesting as Genealogy yet the connections present are still a lot of fun to see (it's worth playing 24x for the conversation at the end by the way). It's debatable whether it would have been made better or worse by not trying to squeeze itself in the middle of Genealogy's plot, but what is there is well done regardless.
One of the series' biggest strengths is how well the narrative and characters fuse together with the gameplay to create individual stories in each battle and each decision by the player. Despite it's uniqueness among FE games, Thracia 776 embodies this strength incredibly well, particularly through using the perspective of Leif. It took me a long time, and it wasn't always so fun, but that liberation war was one worth fighting.
It almost feels hard to even judge the campaign. Sledgehammer had poor communication, was rushed in trying to turn this from an expansion into a full-fledged game, and apparently underwent a lot of crunch as well. That sucks!
That being said, all of this is absolutely glaring while playing through it and makes for one of the worst campaigns in a while. In absence of interesting or fun setpieces we get copy-pasted segments of Warzone gameplay on maps that don't feel tuned for a singleplayer experience with stealth at all. The shipyard and dam levels are particularly awful with this due to the complete lack of cover making it hard to avoid any enemies seeing you. The only real unique gimmick level is a copy-pasted AC-130 mission that was already in MW22. I didn't love the gimmick stuff in the past two MWs but at least it felt like something different, like a change of pace. The most original stuff here is like 10 seconds of bomb defusing at the end.
The plot suffers from all the same issues in many ways. I'm not gonna claim any COD campaign as high art, but at least the other MW games have been... coherent? This one is just a complete mess from start to finish. Makarov is rendered a total unthreatening goober by the fact that it jumps from terrorist attack to terrorist attack without any of them feeling like they had any sort of impact. The most we get is a plane sequence that ends up being more stupid and nonsensical than anything, and even that is basically cleared of consequences by virtue of it just being a stupid plan in the first place. Look, stuff like the nuke scene and No Russian in the original trilogy was silly and over the top too, but at least they had actual impact on the player and story, while this game won't have a single scene that sticks out to me in a fewyears days. We even get some bizarre 20 years late post 9/11 commentary that makes the other games seem nuanced in comparison with how quickly it's blown over. Beyond being incoherent it's just plain unfinished, and the lame cliffhanger ending feels like a final slap in the face to players.
As I said before I almost feel bad for Sledgehammer and I doubt they were much happier about having to ship out this mess of Warzone levels and Warzone cutscenes. Activision robbed them of a chance to make a better campaign and that really sucks. Will I still enjoy this game? Yeah probably, at least they had a good foundation to build on with multiplayer. It makes it hard for me to score this game because I do think the reboot trilogy has some of my favorite COD gameplay period and I'll likely get another 100 hours out of it. But this game just made me plain sad. Take me back to when the biggest complaints of this series were that they were making too many space games.
That being said, all of this is absolutely glaring while playing through it and makes for one of the worst campaigns in a while. In absence of interesting or fun setpieces we get copy-pasted segments of Warzone gameplay on maps that don't feel tuned for a singleplayer experience with stealth at all. The shipyard and dam levels are particularly awful with this due to the complete lack of cover making it hard to avoid any enemies seeing you. The only real unique gimmick level is a copy-pasted AC-130 mission that was already in MW22. I didn't love the gimmick stuff in the past two MWs but at least it felt like something different, like a change of pace. The most original stuff here is like 10 seconds of bomb defusing at the end.
The plot suffers from all the same issues in many ways. I'm not gonna claim any COD campaign as high art, but at least the other MW games have been... coherent? This one is just a complete mess from start to finish. Makarov is rendered a total unthreatening goober by the fact that it jumps from terrorist attack to terrorist attack without any of them feeling like they had any sort of impact. The most we get is a plane sequence that ends up being more stupid and nonsensical than anything, and even that is basically cleared of consequences by virtue of it just being a stupid plan in the first place. Look, stuff like the nuke scene and No Russian in the original trilogy was silly and over the top too, but at least they had actual impact on the player and story, while this game won't have a single scene that sticks out to me in a few
As I said before I almost feel bad for Sledgehammer and I doubt they were much happier about having to ship out this mess of Warzone levels and Warzone cutscenes. Activision robbed them of a chance to make a better campaign and that really sucks. Will I still enjoy this game? Yeah probably, at least they had a good foundation to build on with multiplayer. It makes it hard for me to score this game because I do think the reboot trilogy has some of my favorite COD gameplay period and I'll likely get another 100 hours out of it. But this game just made me plain sad. Take me back to when the biggest complaints of this series were that they were making too many space games.
Playing this game immediately after the first one makes it abundantly clear that this is the greatest sequel to any game of all time. Everything that doesnt work about the first game is fixed and its way more ambitious and interesting. This is one of my favorite games of all time. The more I play this the better it gets.
I dont even know where to begin with it. I think the storytelling is far better than the original. It has a more personal narrative, where you and your dragon, Lagi, are hunting down the ancient ship that destroyed your home. The dragon evolution mechanic is one of my favorite things in any video game. Seeing Lagi evolve throughout the entire game is such a cool thing. It adds to the narrative, but also getting better at the game and mastering it gives you further evolutions, so its this tangible reason for you to replay it. This also includes the alternate routes which dramatically change a levels progression. One of my absolute favorite things is that the first time Lagi flies is in gameplay. He struggles to do it during a couple of cutscenes, but then during one of the levels, he finally gets it. Its done entirely through the gameplay and you get to control it. It had a big impact on me even though I first played it decades after it came out.
The controls are emaculate. Flying, switching the four directions, aiming and shooting lasers and shots, it all feels like butter. Its such a satisfying game to control. Everything is so readable. I never felt there were many unfair moments or that the hardware was holding it back. It has a great difficulty curve, its actually a lot easier than the first game, but the scoring gives it more complexity. Its just a nice balance between that first playthrough being impressive versus having really good staying power. Every level is so cool and they are backed by an incredible soundtrack that eclipses the first games OST. The bosses are a highlight too. I love how the game encourages you to kill them quickly, they feel really dynamic as some have hidden phases or have attacks that can be interrupted with skillful shots.
The final boss in this game is legendary to me. It is my favorite final boss of any game. It is epic in scale but it also has this ethereal beauty to it. The track that plays is incredible and the attacks it does are stunning. The second phase is amazing. Its a fight of equals that I dont think couldve been done any better. Its something you gotta experience to really understand and its worth playing the game just to get there. Its incredible stuff.
I really dont have anything bad to say about it. I mean maybe my only issue is that alternate routes are pretty hard to identify in the moment and easy to screw up if you want to play perfectly. But thats something I really dont even mind because I can just play this over and over and over again. Its simply a perfect video game that I hope everyone gets to experience. A real masterclass.
I dont even know where to begin with it. I think the storytelling is far better than the original. It has a more personal narrative, where you and your dragon, Lagi, are hunting down the ancient ship that destroyed your home. The dragon evolution mechanic is one of my favorite things in any video game. Seeing Lagi evolve throughout the entire game is such a cool thing. It adds to the narrative, but also getting better at the game and mastering it gives you further evolutions, so its this tangible reason for you to replay it. This also includes the alternate routes which dramatically change a levels progression. One of my absolute favorite things is that the first time Lagi flies is in gameplay. He struggles to do it during a couple of cutscenes, but then during one of the levels, he finally gets it. Its done entirely through the gameplay and you get to control it. It had a big impact on me even though I first played it decades after it came out.
The controls are emaculate. Flying, switching the four directions, aiming and shooting lasers and shots, it all feels like butter. Its such a satisfying game to control. Everything is so readable. I never felt there were many unfair moments or that the hardware was holding it back. It has a great difficulty curve, its actually a lot easier than the first game, but the scoring gives it more complexity. Its just a nice balance between that first playthrough being impressive versus having really good staying power. Every level is so cool and they are backed by an incredible soundtrack that eclipses the first games OST. The bosses are a highlight too. I love how the game encourages you to kill them quickly, they feel really dynamic as some have hidden phases or have attacks that can be interrupted with skillful shots.
The final boss in this game is legendary to me. It is my favorite final boss of any game. It is epic in scale but it also has this ethereal beauty to it. The track that plays is incredible and the attacks it does are stunning. The second phase is amazing. Its a fight of equals that I dont think couldve been done any better. Its something you gotta experience to really understand and its worth playing the game just to get there. Its incredible stuff.
I really dont have anything bad to say about it. I mean maybe my only issue is that alternate routes are pretty hard to identify in the moment and easy to screw up if you want to play perfectly. But thats something I really dont even mind because I can just play this over and over and over again. Its simply a perfect video game that I hope everyone gets to experience. A real masterclass.
destroying waves of enemy ships with an ocean of laser beams through your dragon, shredding ferocious beasts of terror with your blaster, all the while killer tunes play as you fly through gloomy canyons and a lush jungle that eventually leads to a giant screaming monster chasing you down like prey. how the fuck does this game exist?
This review contains spoilers
Nintendo has succeeded in creating a promising first step to what could be a fantsatic series of 2d mario games that is already miles more interesting and ambitious than anything present in the new super mario bros franchise. However, while I'm happy to see nintendo taking mario in a more creative and expirimental route this game still comes to a very safe and mechanical design philosophy that platformers in recent years have endlessly expirimented with and come to some incredible outcomes while nintendo are fine with resting on their laurels and sadly don't do much to play with what mario level design can be in 2023.
Mario Wonder is a fantastic looking game with so much charm and personality bursting at the seams with fantastic new models and gorgeous animations to accompany those new models. They have a almost clay like quality to them which really makes them pop and mario seems to have inherhited some of that confiedent snark that his spikey blue friend making for a mario with more personality than featured before. Enemy designs are also fantastic perfectly communicating their function through the use of soft and sharp shapes while also being full personality and charm. While I think the presentation of this game is far beyond anything the 2d series has ever seen and feels like a natural progression from the snes games rather than the stagnation of the new series, I still have problems here namely with the music which the most bland boring and generic slop they could've possible come up with especially considering how creative the game is. The OST is just more of the same stuff from the new series failing to expand the musical world of mario in any exciting or interesting way, there are maybe two songs I thought were pretty good those being the special world overworld theme, which is fantastic, and the music promiant in the fungal world. The soundtrack also just has a lack of songs, several songs are reused throughout the game and they become stale fast making for maybe the worst soundtrack I've heard all year due to its lack of interesting ideas. There are so many directions you could take the music of mario be it big band jazz, funk, rock, electronic, orechestral, advant gard, all of these would be interesting directions for the sound of the franchise and have been used in the 3d games namely games such as mario galaxy and 3d world but it seems koji Kondo and his fellow composers want to keep the 2d series music stale and forgettable which is a shame, even sonic superstars had some absolute bangers in there such as speed jungle, pinball carnival, lagoon city, even that game with as mixed bag a soundtrack had a different song each act and had some variety this just feels bland especially when compared to some of the better soundtracks this year such as pizza towers and tears of the kingdome both having fantastic music that fit each of their games respectivly. Also, this is a minor point and doesnt really affect my opinions on the game but the voice acting for mario and co is actually pretty good for the most part but their are times when mario sounds off especially his mama mia which is actually bad and the talking flowers fucking suck, they're not funny or charming just annoying with dialog just going 'woah that just happened, wow man that was crazy' which sucks, Im fine with voice acting in a mario game but the flower is just annoying and barely helpful. Also, I think the level themes are super uninspired and boring, I'm sick of seeing grass world, sand world, lava world, forest world. Why can't we see some truley weried shit like a level in a crystalised mosolium, or a level in a mario rendition of rome or paris, why can't we have level that takes place on a circuite board and the world map could be little city with each part of the circuite borad acting as a city in and of itself. Why can't we have something visually distinct and cool instead of the same themes regudated over and over again. The only one I can think of that was different was the dounut level that is something that has been done better in other games like sonic colours where it took the whole desert gimick and made it appart of the level instead of deligating it to the background.
In terms of gameplay I have some thoughts. Controls are fantastic and tight, super responsive and fun to use, I think its a testiment to how good this game controls that when using the invisibilty badge that despite not seeing mario on the screen I still have a very good idea as to where he is on the screen. Now in terms of level design, this is just bogstandard mario level design with very little done to evolve what a mario level can be in 2023 outside of the wonder flower abilities. Each level follows basic standars of level design that being showing a level mechanic in a safe enviroment, showing how the mechanic interacts with the enviroment and continuously evolving it until the level ends. This is not the problem, the problem is that mario wonder does a poor job of actually evolving the mechanics in each level making each level feel underwhelming and unsatfisfying to play through. I love that the game doesnt throw away the mechanic after one level like mario galaxy does and instead evolves the mechanics throughout the game but I still don't think it does a good enough job of doing that for example the game has these pulley ropes that are initally used for coins but later are used to show plaforms in the level and are used for two enemies, this is fine but it never goes beyond that, never showing anything I havent seen in different platformers and done more creatively. What about using the rope pulleys to unpeal different parts of the level and hiding secrets in those, this could be used in conjuction with the background and foregrounds, peeling away different parts of the level to go into the background or foreground and bouncing between them to complete the level, maybe using the pulleys to shift the level around playing with perspective. Maybe there could be a level that is tied to the pace of the music and the pulleys could be used to determine the pace of the song and therefore changing the level. These are just some ideas I came up with that, I think, really could've achieved the sense of wonder that I was really expecting from this title and had while playing mario growing up in both 3d and 2d games but sadly I don't think this game ever achieve this. I've seen a lot of people saying this feels like a 3d mario game but in 2d and while I can see they're coming from I don't because if this was a 3d mario game then the mechanics would be used in much more creative ways and would be used to their fullest but wonder is fine with not trying this and instead using its selling gimick to fill that void. The wonder flower is the part that is supposed to make the game feel as if it full of wonders and it does this... Ocassionally since the many times the wonder flower is used it almost feels like a slight detour or its something thats completly seperate from the level making the game feel somewhat unfocused and divorced from the main part of the game, the level design. There are few times where I was pleased with the implementation such as the second to last level in the special world and the level with the ship in it, I also like the marching parade and the ninja hideout but even the music oriented ones get old as they are repeated constantly throughout the game, the first time was really cool and charming but after that it got kinda stale like it was treading old ground constantly which is a shame because there are really awesome ideas here such as the one where mario is walking on the background of the stage but even that is only a surface level of enjoyment because it only lasts a couple of seconds and before it really starts to feel like something really cool and awesome it ends which is unfortunate. I'm not saying the game is lacking ideas that are interesting becasue it definelty does not, this is probably the most creative mario game yet but I just wanted it to go further in its creativity. Reading an interview with the developers, it says they came up with over 2,000 ideas, that is staggering but it seems the ones that were the most wacky or funny were cut out such as the idea of having a sports commenting track while playing the level and having a Tsundere option or the idea for there to be a live action mario in the background whistling to the song playing. These are amazing ideas and I would've loved to have seen these and others like them in the game because they would've actually made me feel something which the game just didn't do much. When I finished wonder I felt kinda hollow, I didn't really feel much while playing if anything I was getting annoyed at how much better this game could've been and I'm so confused by the response to this game making me wonder if this is enough for most people, a standard mario game with a new visuals and the minute long detour, is this it, is this good enough when compared to incredibly creative and engaging plaformers out there such as pizza tower, sonic mania, celeste, donkey kong torpical freeze, rayman legends, shovel knight and many many more. Shouldn't we be expecting more from the face of gaming, the pinicle of the medium showing off how amazingly creative our medium is and can be. I don't know if I think this is good enough for mario when compared to the sea of more interesting platformers out there that push their gimicks and are branching and expirimenting with the form instead of settling for the stausque of game design. I was hoping mario was going to reinvent and shake up the platformer but instead it still feels like its trying to play catchup. Like I said there are cool ideas here but they kinda just come and go kinda like the new badge system, they're cool, offering a way for different playstyles in the levels but your probably only gonna stick with one or two because the levels don't offer enough expirimentation for you to want to play around with them and levels that are built with them in mind are some of the best in the game since they do push what they can do and it shows that they can be cool but why would I not use the one that gives you a double jump or why not use the one that makes water levels actually fun. Also, mario continues to have the most uninspired and boring bosses in gaming history with bowser junior bosses feeling increibly samey and lacking in difficulty and the final boss and general ending being incredibly underwhelming and honestly unintersting.
I feel like I could write about this game forever and why it dissapointed me but with all this said I still recommend mario wonder. It's an above average game that I did enjoy playing but I never loved playing outside of a few examples. A game I wanted to love but ultimatly came up short. Who knew that my two favourite frachises would come out with games that ended up dissapointing me within the span of a week. I'm glad people are loving this game but I just couldn't. This may be the best 2D mario since super mario world but thats because nintendo tried to put the franchise in a state of perpertual staggnaiton until poeple started to complain. I'm happy nintendo is being more loose with mario but I don't expect them to let mario go crazy ever which is a shame. I'll say that if this game was filled with the type of stuff it gives you when 100%ing the game then I think it would've been better.
Mario Wonder is a fantastic looking game with so much charm and personality bursting at the seams with fantastic new models and gorgeous animations to accompany those new models. They have a almost clay like quality to them which really makes them pop and mario seems to have inherhited some of that confiedent snark that his spikey blue friend making for a mario with more personality than featured before. Enemy designs are also fantastic perfectly communicating their function through the use of soft and sharp shapes while also being full personality and charm. While I think the presentation of this game is far beyond anything the 2d series has ever seen and feels like a natural progression from the snes games rather than the stagnation of the new series, I still have problems here namely with the music which the most bland boring and generic slop they could've possible come up with especially considering how creative the game is. The OST is just more of the same stuff from the new series failing to expand the musical world of mario in any exciting or interesting way, there are maybe two songs I thought were pretty good those being the special world overworld theme, which is fantastic, and the music promiant in the fungal world. The soundtrack also just has a lack of songs, several songs are reused throughout the game and they become stale fast making for maybe the worst soundtrack I've heard all year due to its lack of interesting ideas. There are so many directions you could take the music of mario be it big band jazz, funk, rock, electronic, orechestral, advant gard, all of these would be interesting directions for the sound of the franchise and have been used in the 3d games namely games such as mario galaxy and 3d world but it seems koji Kondo and his fellow composers want to keep the 2d series music stale and forgettable which is a shame, even sonic superstars had some absolute bangers in there such as speed jungle, pinball carnival, lagoon city, even that game with as mixed bag a soundtrack had a different song each act and had some variety this just feels bland especially when compared to some of the better soundtracks this year such as pizza towers and tears of the kingdome both having fantastic music that fit each of their games respectivly. Also, this is a minor point and doesnt really affect my opinions on the game but the voice acting for mario and co is actually pretty good for the most part but their are times when mario sounds off especially his mama mia which is actually bad and the talking flowers fucking suck, they're not funny or charming just annoying with dialog just going 'woah that just happened, wow man that was crazy' which sucks, Im fine with voice acting in a mario game but the flower is just annoying and barely helpful. Also, I think the level themes are super uninspired and boring, I'm sick of seeing grass world, sand world, lava world, forest world. Why can't we see some truley weried shit like a level in a crystalised mosolium, or a level in a mario rendition of rome or paris, why can't we have level that takes place on a circuite board and the world map could be little city with each part of the circuite borad acting as a city in and of itself. Why can't we have something visually distinct and cool instead of the same themes regudated over and over again. The only one I can think of that was different was the dounut level that is something that has been done better in other games like sonic colours where it took the whole desert gimick and made it appart of the level instead of deligating it to the background.
In terms of gameplay I have some thoughts. Controls are fantastic and tight, super responsive and fun to use, I think its a testiment to how good this game controls that when using the invisibilty badge that despite not seeing mario on the screen I still have a very good idea as to where he is on the screen. Now in terms of level design, this is just bogstandard mario level design with very little done to evolve what a mario level can be in 2023 outside of the wonder flower abilities. Each level follows basic standars of level design that being showing a level mechanic in a safe enviroment, showing how the mechanic interacts with the enviroment and continuously evolving it until the level ends. This is not the problem, the problem is that mario wonder does a poor job of actually evolving the mechanics in each level making each level feel underwhelming and unsatfisfying to play through. I love that the game doesnt throw away the mechanic after one level like mario galaxy does and instead evolves the mechanics throughout the game but I still don't think it does a good enough job of doing that for example the game has these pulley ropes that are initally used for coins but later are used to show plaforms in the level and are used for two enemies, this is fine but it never goes beyond that, never showing anything I havent seen in different platformers and done more creatively. What about using the rope pulleys to unpeal different parts of the level and hiding secrets in those, this could be used in conjuction with the background and foregrounds, peeling away different parts of the level to go into the background or foreground and bouncing between them to complete the level, maybe using the pulleys to shift the level around playing with perspective. Maybe there could be a level that is tied to the pace of the music and the pulleys could be used to determine the pace of the song and therefore changing the level. These are just some ideas I came up with that, I think, really could've achieved the sense of wonder that I was really expecting from this title and had while playing mario growing up in both 3d and 2d games but sadly I don't think this game ever achieve this. I've seen a lot of people saying this feels like a 3d mario game but in 2d and while I can see they're coming from I don't because if this was a 3d mario game then the mechanics would be used in much more creative ways and would be used to their fullest but wonder is fine with not trying this and instead using its selling gimick to fill that void. The wonder flower is the part that is supposed to make the game feel as if it full of wonders and it does this... Ocassionally since the many times the wonder flower is used it almost feels like a slight detour or its something thats completly seperate from the level making the game feel somewhat unfocused and divorced from the main part of the game, the level design. There are few times where I was pleased with the implementation such as the second to last level in the special world and the level with the ship in it, I also like the marching parade and the ninja hideout but even the music oriented ones get old as they are repeated constantly throughout the game, the first time was really cool and charming but after that it got kinda stale like it was treading old ground constantly which is a shame because there are really awesome ideas here such as the one where mario is walking on the background of the stage but even that is only a surface level of enjoyment because it only lasts a couple of seconds and before it really starts to feel like something really cool and awesome it ends which is unfortunate. I'm not saying the game is lacking ideas that are interesting becasue it definelty does not, this is probably the most creative mario game yet but I just wanted it to go further in its creativity. Reading an interview with the developers, it says they came up with over 2,000 ideas, that is staggering but it seems the ones that were the most wacky or funny were cut out such as the idea of having a sports commenting track while playing the level and having a Tsundere option or the idea for there to be a live action mario in the background whistling to the song playing. These are amazing ideas and I would've loved to have seen these and others like them in the game because they would've actually made me feel something which the game just didn't do much. When I finished wonder I felt kinda hollow, I didn't really feel much while playing if anything I was getting annoyed at how much better this game could've been and I'm so confused by the response to this game making me wonder if this is enough for most people, a standard mario game with a new visuals and the minute long detour, is this it, is this good enough when compared to incredibly creative and engaging plaformers out there such as pizza tower, sonic mania, celeste, donkey kong torpical freeze, rayman legends, shovel knight and many many more. Shouldn't we be expecting more from the face of gaming, the pinicle of the medium showing off how amazingly creative our medium is and can be. I don't know if I think this is good enough for mario when compared to the sea of more interesting platformers out there that push their gimicks and are branching and expirimenting with the form instead of settling for the stausque of game design. I was hoping mario was going to reinvent and shake up the platformer but instead it still feels like its trying to play catchup. Like I said there are cool ideas here but they kinda just come and go kinda like the new badge system, they're cool, offering a way for different playstyles in the levels but your probably only gonna stick with one or two because the levels don't offer enough expirimentation for you to want to play around with them and levels that are built with them in mind are some of the best in the game since they do push what they can do and it shows that they can be cool but why would I not use the one that gives you a double jump or why not use the one that makes water levels actually fun. Also, mario continues to have the most uninspired and boring bosses in gaming history with bowser junior bosses feeling increibly samey and lacking in difficulty and the final boss and general ending being incredibly underwhelming and honestly unintersting.
I feel like I could write about this game forever and why it dissapointed me but with all this said I still recommend mario wonder. It's an above average game that I did enjoy playing but I never loved playing outside of a few examples. A game I wanted to love but ultimatly came up short. Who knew that my two favourite frachises would come out with games that ended up dissapointing me within the span of a week. I'm glad people are loving this game but I just couldn't. This may be the best 2D mario since super mario world but thats because nintendo tried to put the franchise in a state of perpertual staggnaiton until poeple started to complain. I'm happy nintendo is being more loose with mario but I don't expect them to let mario go crazy ever which is a shame. I'll say that if this game was filled with the type of stuff it gives you when 100%ing the game then I think it would've been better.
Final Fantasy III
1990
Have to say this is a step down from 2 and maybe like marginally better than FF1? It's mainly held up by a couple neat things like having some good jokes, some fun overworld design, and interesting job ideas.
I appreciate the expanded job system a lot actually but jesus does this game completely ruin it with how it forces your party into certain jobs for some dungeons to even be playable. I understand having it nudge you towards certain ones but a few dungeons are just a million times more difficult without doing this, and job levels mean that switching around can be way too punishing and force grinding. It's just really frustrating how much of the game revolves around this.
Also the rest of the game just kinda isn't good enough to justify it, the story is more akin to FF1 in just being a blank slate for adventuring. I will give it credit in that it doesn't waste too much time with the dungeon layouts compared to 1 and 2 but any of these games would have more enjoyable dungeons if other aspects of the gameplay were more fun.
It was definitely better than FF1 overall but also gave me some of the worst experiences I've had in this series so far.
I appreciate the expanded job system a lot actually but jesus does this game completely ruin it with how it forces your party into certain jobs for some dungeons to even be playable. I understand having it nudge you towards certain ones but a few dungeons are just a million times more difficult without doing this, and job levels mean that switching around can be way too punishing and force grinding. It's just really frustrating how much of the game revolves around this.
Also the rest of the game just kinda isn't good enough to justify it, the story is more akin to FF1 in just being a blank slate for adventuring. I will give it credit in that it doesn't waste too much time with the dungeon layouts compared to 1 and 2 but any of these games would have more enjoyable dungeons if other aspects of the gameplay were more fun.
It was definitely better than FF1 overall but also gave me some of the worst experiences I've had in this series so far.
This review contains spoilers
Metal Gear Solid 2 has a well written, tightly paced, and prescient story. It's full of social and meta commentary, my favorite being how Raiden's misunderstanding of his role due to the Patriots' control of information mirrors the players that expected a completely different game due to Konami's marketing. It must have been a really interesting experience for those who played it when it came out. I didn't like how much the codec calls interrupted the gameplay but these segments were generally interesting enough that I didn't think much of it. It was also funny how frequently characters would be standing next to each other and decide to talk over codec because "someone might be listening". I get why they did it though - every cutscene clearly had a lot of effort put into them so it was likely necessary in order to cut down on development time.
The gameplay innovates a lot over MGS1. The improved enemy AI actually makes them a formidable threat which is still impressive to me compared to all of the newer games I've played. MGS2 also makes full use of the pressure sensitive face buttons on the Dualshock 2 controller. I prefer how most games handle shooting with triggers but slowly raising your finger off of the square button to lower your weapon feels somewhat immersive. There are a lot of neat little things like how ice cubes melt, and differently sized pans make different noises when you shoot them. You can shoot the radio on an enemy's hip so they can't call for backup, which makes for an interesting fact but I doubt anybody made use of it since if you're shooting at somebody you might as well just knock them out, right?
The boss fights didn't really work for me. Fortune doesn't feel very engaging and I think it would be better suited as a cutscene since you don't really do much besides dodge. The Vamp, Harrier, and Rays fights are just tedious. The sword controls in the last encounter with Solidus are awkward. I did enjoy Fatman, I think because it doesn't feel like such a departure from the normal gameplay.
Overall it's a very good game and I can see why it has had such an enduring legacy.
The gameplay innovates a lot over MGS1. The improved enemy AI actually makes them a formidable threat which is still impressive to me compared to all of the newer games I've played. MGS2 also makes full use of the pressure sensitive face buttons on the Dualshock 2 controller. I prefer how most games handle shooting with triggers but slowly raising your finger off of the square button to lower your weapon feels somewhat immersive. There are a lot of neat little things like how ice cubes melt, and differently sized pans make different noises when you shoot them. You can shoot the radio on an enemy's hip so they can't call for backup, which makes for an interesting fact but I doubt anybody made use of it since if you're shooting at somebody you might as well just knock them out, right?
The boss fights didn't really work for me. Fortune doesn't feel very engaging and I think it would be better suited as a cutscene since you don't really do much besides dodge. The Vamp, Harrier, and Rays fights are just tedious. The sword controls in the last encounter with Solidus are awkward. I did enjoy Fatman, I think because it doesn't feel like such a departure from the normal gameplay.
Overall it's a very good game and I can see why it has had such an enduring legacy.