farawaytimes
2022
A miserable slog to play, 20+ hours of running around boring fields doing busywork to collect a billion different progression tokens. When it was announced I joked it looked like they dropped sonic in an unreal demo, and then that's exactly what it feels like. I like a lot of the character writing and if the story had fully landed for me I'd probably like the game anyway, but then the climax is a big wet fart. The "final boss fight" is a joke; it's very transparent that the devs played NieR Automata, thought they could pull off something similar, and did NOT have the story chops for it. Please just go play one of the many good platinum games (or sonic adventure 1+2 which are miles better than this).
1998
Loved this to bits -- it's solid and excellent, in a subtle way. A few notes:
- This isn't Final Fantasy VII -- dungeons are numerous, mazey, long, and chock-full of random encounters. Multiple times the main story pauses until you go to two or three dungeons (in any order) to get the required plot tokens. This is bad if you see rpg dungeons as an unpleasant obstacle in the way of progressing the rpg story. But I loved the combat system, and I was in the mood for a classic, dungeon-y, meat-and-potatoes jrpg, so I had a really fun time.
- Small cast sizes are good! There are only six playable characters, and they all get plenty of time to shine throughout the story. I semi-recently played FF9 and Xenogears for the first time; both those games have much bigger casts, and both drop the ball with many of their characters. There are no Ricos or Freyas here, characters with a couple good scenes early on that have nothing to do otherwise. The skits, added in the PSX remake, obviously go a long way in helping me further connect with the characters. Their ending resolutions, and the extended pre-final dungeon scene in Early, cemented them in my heart as an all-time favorite rpg cast. (The excellent, playful writing in the Phantasian Productions patch also definitely helped.)
- The main villain is introduced in the first seconds of the game, and he stays the main villain for the entire story. There's no bait-and-switch, no big twist. There are two main act break setpieces, one about three hours in and one about twenty hours in, that each further establish the villain and develop your relationship with him. When I got to the finale and the full arc of his story was revealed to me, I was really moved. A big part of that is that they didn't pull a new villain out of their ass for the final boss -- this is Dhaos's story from start to finish as much as it is Cress and co.'s, and that's a rare feat for an RPG story.
The only other Tales game I've played is Vesperia, and it frustrated me because of its extremely long, sloppy story full of dropped threads and its very easy fighting. Phantasia was the perfect antidote -- it's more tightly focused, and the dramatic fights kicked my ass. I have a lot of friends that adore Tales; I'm really happy I found the right game to invite me into the series.
- This isn't Final Fantasy VII -- dungeons are numerous, mazey, long, and chock-full of random encounters. Multiple times the main story pauses until you go to two or three dungeons (in any order) to get the required plot tokens. This is bad if you see rpg dungeons as an unpleasant obstacle in the way of progressing the rpg story. But I loved the combat system, and I was in the mood for a classic, dungeon-y, meat-and-potatoes jrpg, so I had a really fun time.
- Small cast sizes are good! There are only six playable characters, and they all get plenty of time to shine throughout the story. I semi-recently played FF9 and Xenogears for the first time; both those games have much bigger casts, and both drop the ball with many of their characters. There are no Ricos or Freyas here, characters with a couple good scenes early on that have nothing to do otherwise. The skits, added in the PSX remake, obviously go a long way in helping me further connect with the characters. Their ending resolutions, and the extended pre-final dungeon scene in Early, cemented them in my heart as an all-time favorite rpg cast. (The excellent, playful writing in the Phantasian Productions patch also definitely helped.)
- The main villain is introduced in the first seconds of the game, and he stays the main villain for the entire story. There's no bait-and-switch, no big twist. There are two main act break setpieces, one about three hours in and one about twenty hours in, that each further establish the villain and develop your relationship with him. When I got to the finale and the full arc of his story was revealed to me, I was really moved. A big part of that is that they didn't pull a new villain out of their ass for the final boss -- this is Dhaos's story from start to finish as much as it is Cress and co.'s, and that's a rare feat for an RPG story.
The only other Tales game I've played is Vesperia, and it frustrated me because of its extremely long, sloppy story full of dropped threads and its very easy fighting. Phantasia was the perfect antidote -- it's more tightly focused, and the dramatic fights kicked my ass. I have a lot of friends that adore Tales; I'm really happy I found the right game to invite me into the series.
Yeah, I'm completely checked out. First 3/4s of the tea party was maybe the most hyped I've ever been playing umineko but the sappy way it resolves ruins it, and the rest of the episode's a snoozefest.
Gonna play ep 8 of course but this is a huge step down from higurashi. Ryukishi focused so much on the pointlessly reader-adversarial mystery that he forgot to tell a good story.
Gonna play ep 8 of course but this is a huge step down from higurashi. Ryukishi focused so much on the pointlessly reader-adversarial mystery that he forgot to tell a good story.
2016
In terms of the intensity and depth of the emotional response it engendered in me, Seabed compares neatly with The House in Fata Morgana. It takes a completely different, much quieter and subtler path to get there, obviously. Fata Morgana gets there with the most hard hitting melodrama possible. Seabed gets there through countless quiet moments, all working in concert to slowly weave a spell over you without you even realizing.
As a text game dev, I deeply appreciate the presentation. The whole story is told through VA-less NVL-mode walls of text, borrowed royalty-free music, as few VN presentation tricks as humanly possible, and a combo of blurred photo and cheap blender backgrounds. The only major points of aesthetic interest are the beautiful character illustrations by hide38 (who also wrote the script).
And the story still hits like a truck. When you make your characters and their longings feel this real in the reader's heart, you don't need voice acting or a bunch of expensive one-off assets. Seabed does exactly what it needs to with the presentation to support the writing, then gets out of the way and lets the story speak for itself. I think that's really admirable, and speaks to a confidence that a lot of devs would benefit from.
If all this sounds back-handed, it shouldn't. Some of the most well-loved VNs in history are doujin games like Higurashi or Tsukihime, which used similar aesthetic shortcuts. I cherish many VNs with super-loved-on presentation. But my favorites will always be the ones that make me believe in their stories, and you get there first and foremost with strong writing.
Seabed is as affecting a story as any visual novel I've read. I don't have much to say beyond that that wouldn't spoil the shape of the story (hence why I spent three paragraphs soapboxing about VN direction). If you're up for the slowest of slow burns, and you appreciate VNs with grown-up theming that don't talk down to you, give this one a read.
As a text game dev, I deeply appreciate the presentation. The whole story is told through VA-less NVL-mode walls of text, borrowed royalty-free music, as few VN presentation tricks as humanly possible, and a combo of blurred photo and cheap blender backgrounds. The only major points of aesthetic interest are the beautiful character illustrations by hide38 (who also wrote the script).
And the story still hits like a truck. When you make your characters and their longings feel this real in the reader's heart, you don't need voice acting or a bunch of expensive one-off assets. Seabed does exactly what it needs to with the presentation to support the writing, then gets out of the way and lets the story speak for itself. I think that's really admirable, and speaks to a confidence that a lot of devs would benefit from.
If all this sounds back-handed, it shouldn't. Some of the most well-loved VNs in history are doujin games like Higurashi or Tsukihime, which used similar aesthetic shortcuts. I cherish many VNs with super-loved-on presentation. But my favorites will always be the ones that make me believe in their stories, and you get there first and foremost with strong writing.
Seabed is as affecting a story as any visual novel I've read. I don't have much to say beyond that that wouldn't spoil the shape of the story (hence why I spent three paragraphs soapboxing about VN direction). If you're up for the slowest of slow burns, and you appreciate VNs with grown-up theming that don't talk down to you, give this one a read.
Cleared on Hard, finished all side-quests. Finished it a while ago, but it's still stuck in my craw, so I feel like writing a review. I'm not going to spoil anything directly but I'm definitely giving impressions of the whole game, so if you're particularly sensitive to spoilers maybe dip now.
This was obviously lovely in a lot of ways, but I think this is where I get off the Trails train for a while. Trails has never been big on stakes, but the lack of lethality to anything in Zero and Azure is just devastating. There's no weight to this anymore. The big scary villains aren't scary because I know no one's ever ever going to die.
It's especially weird because Zero gets most of its resonance from paying off an extremely dark character thread set up in 3rd. You'd think they'd realize it's good to have some edge every now and then in a massive fantasy epic. But if there was any edge left in Zero then it's completely gone in Azure; this is one of the most bloodless stories ostensibly about revolution I've ever seen. The new emphasis on light dating sim mechanics means we also don't get a strong core romance like in Sky. I didn't get to see any of the meager sparks between Elie and Lloyd pay off because I didn't buy her enough stuffed animals to put in her room, whoops.
It's a shame because the character writing is as lovely as ever. I finally upped the difficulty to Hard for this one and I should've done it sooner, it feels amazing and the bosses are super-chunky and fun to unravel. The music and art and setting texture are as gorgeous as always. But at this point Trails is a romance where nobody fucks and a war epic where nobody dies. I've lost my patience for that for the moment.
This was obviously lovely in a lot of ways, but I think this is where I get off the Trails train for a while. Trails has never been big on stakes, but the lack of lethality to anything in Zero and Azure is just devastating. There's no weight to this anymore. The big scary villains aren't scary because I know no one's ever ever going to die.
It's especially weird because Zero gets most of its resonance from paying off an extremely dark character thread set up in 3rd. You'd think they'd realize it's good to have some edge every now and then in a massive fantasy epic. But if there was any edge left in Zero then it's completely gone in Azure; this is one of the most bloodless stories ostensibly about revolution I've ever seen. The new emphasis on light dating sim mechanics means we also don't get a strong core romance like in Sky. I didn't get to see any of the meager sparks between Elie and Lloyd pay off because I didn't buy her enough stuffed animals to put in her room, whoops.
It's a shame because the character writing is as lovely as ever. I finally upped the difficulty to Hard for this one and I should've done it sooner, it feels amazing and the bosses are super-chunky and fun to unravel. The music and art and setting texture are as gorgeous as always. But at this point Trails is a romance where nobody fucks and a war epic where nobody dies. I've lost my patience for that for the moment.
I had measured but fairly high hopes going into this one. I'd just played Tales of Phantasia and absolutely adored it, and this game shares a lot of the same core creative team. It's actually a great meta-story -- after chafing under Namco's direction during Tales of Phantasia's development, the creatives left Wolfteam to form their own studio, Tri-Ace. So, Star Ocean was Tri-Ace's first game after its founders escaped from under the thumb of big daddy Namco. It's a great narrative about creatives thumbing their nose at big publishers and making the games -they- want to make.
So it's a shame Star Ocean sucks ass!!! I haven't played an rpg this devoid of charm and joy since Suikoden. It's easy to focus on the nakedly incompetent parts. A popular target is how the game essentially begins with a ninety minute cutscene dropping gallons of lore and exposition about its big sci-fi multi-planetary universe, only to drop you on a single generic fantasy planet for 90% of the game. I'd also mention how the entire last three hours comes out of nowhere and feels totally weak and unearned, and how we only meet each of the two main antagonists minutes before they're killed and exit the story. But there's so little here to latch onto that I don't think fixing the glaring unforced errors would help much, honestly. At least the big mistakes are funny.
I can't speak much to how the remake compares with the original. My partner and I compared scenes from the intro cutscenes with the remake, and the original seemed a little better directed. The remake will smash cut between scenes or music tracks in ways that feel amateurish and ridiculous, and the original at least seems to avoid that. The original's aesthetics feel a little nicer to me too. But I like the fighting in the remake (apparently borrowed from Star Ocean 2) a lot more, so it's all kind of a wash.
Ultimately the foundation here is so rotted through that I don't think it can matter much which version you play. Maybe the SNES version has stronger texture, but I don't think there's any iteration of Star Ocean that compares with the straightforward competence and resonance of Tales of Phantasia. Maybe some creatives benefit from a producer looking over their shoulder after all.
So it's a shame Star Ocean sucks ass!!! I haven't played an rpg this devoid of charm and joy since Suikoden. It's easy to focus on the nakedly incompetent parts. A popular target is how the game essentially begins with a ninety minute cutscene dropping gallons of lore and exposition about its big sci-fi multi-planetary universe, only to drop you on a single generic fantasy planet for 90% of the game. I'd also mention how the entire last three hours comes out of nowhere and feels totally weak and unearned, and how we only meet each of the two main antagonists minutes before they're killed and exit the story. But there's so little here to latch onto that I don't think fixing the glaring unforced errors would help much, honestly. At least the big mistakes are funny.
I can't speak much to how the remake compares with the original. My partner and I compared scenes from the intro cutscenes with the remake, and the original seemed a little better directed. The remake will smash cut between scenes or music tracks in ways that feel amateurish and ridiculous, and the original at least seems to avoid that. The original's aesthetics feel a little nicer to me too. But I like the fighting in the remake (apparently borrowed from Star Ocean 2) a lot more, so it's all kind of a wash.
Ultimately the foundation here is so rotted through that I don't think it can matter much which version you play. Maybe the SNES version has stronger texture, but I don't think there's any iteration of Star Ocean that compares with the straightforward competence and resonance of Tales of Phantasia. Maybe some creatives benefit from a producer looking over their shoulder after all.
Kinda heartbreaking because I think the story here was like two more draft cycles away from being an all-time great. The more complex theming here is obviously very welcome; I loved playing the first game but thought the story was pretty slight. As is though II's just not incisive enough for me, it feels too adrift in its abstract Star Wars-isms. I get what the theming is going for, but you can't just have good ideas. You have to dramatize them, make me feel them in the pit of my gut. You know, like Planescape: Torment (by the same writer) was extremely good at doing.
It doesn't help that it's such a fuckin' bummer. I love tons of games that end on sad notes, but I dunno y'all, I finished it on my birthday and I was just like "cool, great, why did I put forty hours into this." Again, it could've been chef's kiss perfect if it had really come together for me, but even with the patch I just don't think the story's all the way there.
It doesn't help that it's such a fuckin' bummer. I love tons of games that end on sad notes, but I dunno y'all, I finished it on my birthday and I was just like "cool, great, why did I put forty hours into this." Again, it could've been chef's kiss perfect if it had really come together for me, but even with the patch I just don't think the story's all the way there.
Wound up loving this one. The beginning's very strong, the cast is wonderful, and the episodic stories throughout the middle are lovely (excepting the one with the inn owner/princess, it was apparently added to the console ports and you can feel it). But it's the climax/ending that really brought this one home for me. The lore bombs are honestly pretty ridiculous, but they still worked for me because they're grounded in Hakuowlo's journey, in the journies of the cast. Cried a whole lot multiple times through the concluding episodes.
I think where most folks will struggle is that there's very little urgency to most of the story; you really have to trust that it's taking you somewhere. It's a lot like Trails in that sense. But if you can give it that trust, if you're willing to luxuriate in the cast and world without real plot progression for long stretches, I think the game ultimately rewards you for your investment.
I think where most folks will struggle is that there's very little urgency to most of the story; you really have to trust that it's taking you somewhere. It's a lot like Trails in that sense. But if you can give it that trust, if you're willing to luxuriate in the cast and world without real plot progression for long stretches, I think the game ultimately rewards you for your investment.
2018
This game's a masterpiece and I adore it. I love shmups to bits, and from a pure action/aesthetic standpoint the game totally rules as a shmup. But what really puts it over the top for me is the storytelling -- the game has some super-clever structural quirks that help it build to a moving and unforgettable finale. I've seen a lot of folks compare it to NIER and Undertale; I love those games and I think the comparison's very appropriate.
The only other shmups I can think of that approach this kind of storytelling are Hellsinker and Siter Skain's RefleX, some of my favorite games ever. If you like those games deffo give this one a look, and vice versa.
Highest possible recommendation.
The only other shmups I can think of that approach this kind of storytelling are Hellsinker and Siter Skain's RefleX, some of my favorite games ever. If you like those games deffo give this one a look, and vice versa.
Highest possible recommendation.
2007
1cc with TLB, Dead Liar, Full Sequence Order. Both extra stages cleared.
I absolutely adored this game. It's constantly, wildly inventive as an action game. It's pristinely paced and structured, taking advantage of its nature as a PC game without losing its arcade immediacy. It even works in some really out-there moving story beats.
If you like great shmups, hard recommend. If you're not too familiar with shmups at all, but you love weird edgy arty action games like NieR Automata or LUCAH: Born of a Dream, I think you'll find a whole lot to love here. And if you already love other shmups that aspire to tell moving stories within the context of great action -- games like RefleX or ZeroRanger -- absolute highest possible recommendation.
I absolutely adored this game. It's constantly, wildly inventive as an action game. It's pristinely paced and structured, taking advantage of its nature as a PC game without losing its arcade immediacy. It even works in some really out-there moving story beats.
If you like great shmups, hard recommend. If you're not too familiar with shmups at all, but you love weird edgy arty action games like NieR Automata or LUCAH: Born of a Dream, I think you'll find a whole lot to love here. And if you already love other shmups that aspire to tell moving stories within the context of great action -- games like RefleX or ZeroRanger -- absolute highest possible recommendation.
This review contains spoilers
I keep expecting Battler to become cool and then he never gets to be cool. I understand getting topped by witches forever is a big part of the appeal of Umineko but it's just bumming me out.
2020
Carrion does One Thing and does it really really well. I was worried at first it would get tedious as the game went on, but it introduces just enough little movement and puzzle mechanics to keep things fresh. I really appreciate the game's restraint; less confident games would have three times as many upgrades, ten times as many optional collectibles. But Carrion only does exactly what it needs to communicate its story. It knows it doesn't need to dangle keys in front of your face to keep you interested.
It was clearly play-tested to hell and back too. It takes a ton of work to make a game that feels this smooth and frictionless without also feeling patronizing. It reminded me of Valve games at their best honestly. The choice to not have an in-game map was inspired, and I'm sure it created a lot of extra work making sure players can stay on track without one, but it fit the tone perfectly.
I appreciate the inclusion of the containment units since it gave me an excuse to run around the game world at the end, see how things fit together. It took maybe an hour to find them all, which felt like exactly the right amount of time I wanted to be backtracking before going back and watching the perfect ending play out. The extra puzzle rooms were fun too, and I appreciate that none of the setpieces ever got hard enough that I got frustrated with the innate imprecision of the movement.
Making a commercial-scale game that's this quietly Rock Solid is a huge accomplishment. There isn't a single thing about it I'd want to add or take out. I can't remember the last game of this scope I could say that about.
It was clearly play-tested to hell and back too. It takes a ton of work to make a game that feels this smooth and frictionless without also feeling patronizing. It reminded me of Valve games at their best honestly. The choice to not have an in-game map was inspired, and I'm sure it created a lot of extra work making sure players can stay on track without one, but it fit the tone perfectly.
I appreciate the inclusion of the containment units since it gave me an excuse to run around the game world at the end, see how things fit together. It took maybe an hour to find them all, which felt like exactly the right amount of time I wanted to be backtracking before going back and watching the perfect ending play out. The extra puzzle rooms were fun too, and I appreciate that none of the setpieces ever got hard enough that I got frustrated with the innate imprecision of the movement.
Making a commercial-scale game that's this quietly Rock Solid is a huge accomplishment. There isn't a single thing about it I'd want to add or take out. I can't remember the last game of this scope I could say that about.
God I'm tired... pretty good ending though. I can see how folks got pissed off back when it released, but I was already Very Mad at the end of ep 6 and 7 and pretty checked out. A lot of this ep surprised and delighted me in comparison. Once I'd found my solid ground (a character I like is on the literal precipice of an important choice) I could finally just roll with the story and enjoy it, I found the stakes and could enjoy the magic finally.
It's a good ending to a different visual novel. I think he figured out too late what his story was REALLY about and couldn't go back to edit the earlier eps 'cause they were already released. Umi feels at war with itself on the mystery/truth stuff, I just don't think it's all the way there. But like, I ended eps 6 and 7 really pissed off and thinking this whole thing was a disaster, "not all the way there" is a big upgrade from that.
I thought ep 8 would reveal once and for all that the mystery box was empty, that the story really didn't have a heart; instead it did the opposite. I'm glad I stuck it out and read the last two eps. If you're willing to do a lot of the work yourself (too much IMO) and fill in the gaps I can see being really moved by it.
Ultimately still too little too late for me, sorry. I hate getting jerked around and umi Jerks You Around. And christ alive why is it 120 hours long. "In retrospect that holds together in a pretty neat way" isn't what I want out of an eight book series -- I want to fully enjoy it as I'm actually reading it, like I did with ryukishi's previous series.
It's never gonna be one of my faves but I can understand and appreciate why friends adore it now. If you tell people to skip higurashi and read umineko first then we're Eternal Enemies though.
It's a good ending to a different visual novel. I think he figured out too late what his story was REALLY about and couldn't go back to edit the earlier eps 'cause they were already released. Umi feels at war with itself on the mystery/truth stuff, I just don't think it's all the way there. But like, I ended eps 6 and 7 really pissed off and thinking this whole thing was a disaster, "not all the way there" is a big upgrade from that.
I thought ep 8 would reveal once and for all that the mystery box was empty, that the story really didn't have a heart; instead it did the opposite. I'm glad I stuck it out and read the last two eps. If you're willing to do a lot of the work yourself (too much IMO) and fill in the gaps I can see being really moved by it.
Ultimately still too little too late for me, sorry. I hate getting jerked around and umi Jerks You Around. And christ alive why is it 120 hours long. "In retrospect that holds together in a pretty neat way" isn't what I want out of an eight book series -- I want to fully enjoy it as I'm actually reading it, like I did with ryukishi's previous series.
It's never gonna be one of my faves but I can understand and appreciate why friends adore it now. If you tell people to skip higurashi and read umineko first then we're Eternal Enemies though.
2003
1CC All-Clear, Ageha, 23455360 Pts! Absolutely loved this game to bits, so rewarding and fun to learn. The other Cave shmups I've spent a lot of time with are Mushihimesama and DoDonPachi. Those games are excellent, but very stoic and restrained in terms of storytelling, so this one really surprised me with its extremely hype two part final stage plus three stage epic final boss fight. I didn't think Cave had that kind of storytelling gumption -- I'm extremely excited to dig into ESP Ra.De. down the line.
2016
Hyper 1CC All-Clear, Mae-Follow-Laser, 57,025,930 Pts
Really really adored Blue Revolver. Had a blast learning all the stages and bosses, and the intensity throughout is just fantastic. Stage 4 is a pristine jewel especially, and stage 5 is great boss rush with a KILLER last fight. Drop-dead gorgeous to look at of course. I loved the alternate soundtracks so I could change things up while learning the 1CC.
I've heard folks say this game's as good as ZeroRanger and I think that's honestly really fair. It doesn't have the big flashy structure or storytelling moments of ZeroRanger, but in exchange for that you get tighter, more intense pacing. It's just a really stellar gorgeously produced action game.
Only rub for me was that Power seemed very underpowered compared to Follow. With Power I felt forced to rely on the special weapon just to get through regular enemies; Follow let me chew through enemies faster and honestly just felt way better to me. Basically the game felt a little off to me for the first few hours while playing with Power, then felt perfect after switching to Follow.
Really really adored Blue Revolver. Had a blast learning all the stages and bosses, and the intensity throughout is just fantastic. Stage 4 is a pristine jewel especially, and stage 5 is great boss rush with a KILLER last fight. Drop-dead gorgeous to look at of course. I loved the alternate soundtracks so I could change things up while learning the 1CC.
I've heard folks say this game's as good as ZeroRanger and I think that's honestly really fair. It doesn't have the big flashy structure or storytelling moments of ZeroRanger, but in exchange for that you get tighter, more intense pacing. It's just a really stellar gorgeously produced action game.
Only rub for me was that Power seemed very underpowered compared to Follow. With Power I felt forced to rely on the special weapon just to get through regular enemies; Follow let me chew through enemies faster and honestly just felt way better to me. Basically the game felt a little off to me for the first few hours while playing with Power, then felt perfect after switching to Follow.