gangwarily
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37 reviews liked by gangwarily
This game is so full of heart and charm. It's so clear to me that the team that worked on it understands not only how to make a fun platformer, but also definitely have a grasp on what makes something a souls-like.
The combat is challenging until you get a solid grasp on it. The use of a skill tree that helps expand the basic combat loop was great. The general stats were a bit bare bones, and you can just power level Attack/Strength/Damage and just hit like a truck. The creativity of the shell system was so fun to explore and find what works for you.
I had an absolute blast from beginning to end. I truly wish there was more to explore because I just had so much fun running through this game and getting every shell.
My only complaints are the general lack of enemy and some music variety, but the unique bosses make up for that in my opinion. There were some performance issues during my playthrough, but it's clear that Aggro Crab is working on releasing some fixes.
The combat is challenging until you get a solid grasp on it. The use of a skill tree that helps expand the basic combat loop was great. The general stats were a bit bare bones, and you can just power level Attack/Strength/Damage and just hit like a truck. The creativity of the shell system was so fun to explore and find what works for you.
I had an absolute blast from beginning to end. I truly wish there was more to explore because I just had so much fun running through this game and getting every shell.
My only complaints are the general lack of enemy and some music variety, but the unique bosses make up for that in my opinion. There were some performance issues during my playthrough, but it's clear that Aggro Crab is working on releasing some fixes.
Indika
2024
The premise for this game seemed pretty unique and it definitely had some arthouse kind of setup that I was intrigued by. Unfortunately though, this game loves to stutter and stutter hard. Almost every time I turned around in this game i was getting at least a half second stutter, usually in new areas it would lag and hang for a good 15-20 seconds and then I'd get constant minor stutters. I tried to load it onto my other SSD, but that didn't fix the issue either on top of fiddling with settings constantly. I guess I'll just watch someone play this one, really unfortunate.
This review contains spoilers
Holy shit, just completed a playthrough of just the story, world intel, and sidequests than ran me over 90 hours on Dynamic. This game is a remarkable feat and the open world on this scale with so many JRPG elements like encounters and ships and hidden treasures is unlike anything I’ve experienced in the HD era of RPGs save for parts of Lost Odyssey or Ni No Kuni on the 360 and PS3. If anyone has recs for more open world jrpgs like this please send them my way. The environments in this game feel like they shouldnt be possible, and the cartoony art style with a mix of realism and nomura-isms is really nailed down in this from the characters to the landscapes to the enemies.
With all that said. This is no way anyone should experience FF7 for the first time. This one is strictly for the fans it seems, with meta-narrative piled on(which is unsurprising but not less groan-inducing than it was when Remake introduced it in the ending). I’m withholding all the judgement I can for the finale, especially cause I kind of like the darker and darker tone they seem to be hinting at with all that’s going on with Cloud’s psyche. Since they already gave away so many of the reveals that the original has about Cloud’s path in the original, I’m curious to see where they’ll diverge with that. Regardless, I’m pleasantly surprised that they still went through with Aerith’s murder despite hinting to the contrary, though the way it’s directed as with everything in this game’s direction lacks all subtlety and weight of consequence. I did come to really care for Aerith more than I thought I would with her characterization, but had she not woken up about three times and continued on as a Lifestream ghost I think her death would have still had quite an impact. Once again, I’m still curious what they’ll do with it but it made me roll my eyes a little.
As a fan, and for what it is, there’s so much I was curious to see and happy to see and enjoy. On the otherhand, there are way too many minigames that demolish the pace of this game. (My two roommates both said they saw me playing way more minigames than any actual combat or exploration, and I felt it too). Dyne’s death scene is butchered, Cid’s character is gutted(maybe they had a hard time updating the plot with his wife, but still, this alternative Cid is so nothing). And really, you spliced up a 30 minute Zack scene throughout the entire game to make it feel like a plotline? But there are great additions to Yuffie, Cait Sith, and Vincent that I mostly enjoy.
It’s hard not to feel like they really game this IP the “Hobbit” treatment when it comes to adaptation. They probably shouldn’t have expanded a midpart into a game THIS long and expansive, but it still remains a technical wonder that they pulled it off. Combat is still great, and Gilgamesh is peak, but no way in hell will I invest in hard mode or mastering the piano game to beat this till completion. If you love these specific characters and this world to death and just want to spend time in it, there’s SO MUCH GAME here for you. I would still recommend any friend or young teen to get past the prejudice of turn based combat and play the original via emulation or ports with all the quality of life updates. That atmosphere and pacing can’t be matched.
With all that said. This is no way anyone should experience FF7 for the first time. This one is strictly for the fans it seems, with meta-narrative piled on(which is unsurprising but not less groan-inducing than it was when Remake introduced it in the ending). I’m withholding all the judgement I can for the finale, especially cause I kind of like the darker and darker tone they seem to be hinting at with all that’s going on with Cloud’s psyche. Since they already gave away so many of the reveals that the original has about Cloud’s path in the original, I’m curious to see where they’ll diverge with that. Regardless, I’m pleasantly surprised that they still went through with Aerith’s murder despite hinting to the contrary, though the way it’s directed as with everything in this game’s direction lacks all subtlety and weight of consequence. I did come to really care for Aerith more than I thought I would with her characterization, but had she not woken up about three times and continued on as a Lifestream ghost I think her death would have still had quite an impact. Once again, I’m still curious what they’ll do with it but it made me roll my eyes a little.
As a fan, and for what it is, there’s so much I was curious to see and happy to see and enjoy. On the otherhand, there are way too many minigames that demolish the pace of this game. (My two roommates both said they saw me playing way more minigames than any actual combat or exploration, and I felt it too). Dyne’s death scene is butchered, Cid’s character is gutted(maybe they had a hard time updating the plot with his wife, but still, this alternative Cid is so nothing). And really, you spliced up a 30 minute Zack scene throughout the entire game to make it feel like a plotline? But there are great additions to Yuffie, Cait Sith, and Vincent that I mostly enjoy.
It’s hard not to feel like they really game this IP the “Hobbit” treatment when it comes to adaptation. They probably shouldn’t have expanded a midpart into a game THIS long and expansive, but it still remains a technical wonder that they pulled it off. Combat is still great, and Gilgamesh is peak, but no way in hell will I invest in hard mode or mastering the piano game to beat this till completion. If you love these specific characters and this world to death and just want to spend time in it, there’s SO MUCH GAME here for you. I would still recommend any friend or young teen to get past the prejudice of turn based combat and play the original via emulation or ports with all the quality of life updates. That atmosphere and pacing can’t be matched.
Final Fantasy VII
1997
First time playing in 2024 while somehow dodging spoilers the whole time. Fantastic characters, writing, and combat system. The story is so sincere and hit such a range of emotions.
I can see the ambition behind the presentation and traversal, but moving around could be frustrating with it being unclear what can be walked on or not. This made for only a very minor detraction from a really fantastic game. This is one I will be thinking about for a long time.
I can see the ambition behind the presentation and traversal, but moving around could be frustrating with it being unclear what can be walked on or not. This made for only a very minor detraction from a really fantastic game. This is one I will be thinking about for a long time.
This review contains spoilers
Final Fantasy VII is a sensational RPG perhaps like no other JRPG in existence. Its acknowledgement has breached mainsteam pop-culture to a degree unseen by any other individual JRPG- let alone game in the Final Fantasy franchise. It should be no secret to anyone that loves FFVII that Square Enix milks the nostalgic love people have for this game until it results in the disappointing mess that is the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy.
Before I dive into what made me hurl about this game, I would like to note and stress that there are a number of things this game attempts to achieve and is tantalisingly close to getting right. For one, I think the exploration being more reliant on Chocobos is an excellent idea- they've been neglected as a means of traversal since Final Fantasy IX; though the sloppy execution in every area nix Junon and Nibel leaves the concept rather lacking in a number of aspects. To add onto this, I think the utilisation of the Tiny Bronco was a touch that was much needed towards the end of the game to actually make the regions feel connected in a way they largely did not before Chapter 12.
The Combat system, just like Remake, is probably where this game shines best. Each character feels very distinct and is uniquely enjoyable to play as if you give them the time to unlock their weapon skills and abuse them to their fullest potential. Red XIII is their greatest accomplishment by far- I think Nanaki may just be the most powerful and ergo- the most enjoyable member to play as in the cast. In some ways I'm looking forward to how they portray Cid and Vincent in the final game.
Furthermore, when the game is trying to be Final Fantasy VII and not some half-assed attempt at creating a FFVII Compilation Omnibus, it captures the essence that I sorely want to see in an actual remake of this game. I think no scene better encompasses what I mean than Barret's Corel flashback. When this game is committed to getting its characters right, it really gets it right. Similarly said, I think that the focus on Cloud's SOLDIER cells degrading leading to his mental breakdown throughout the course of the story of the first disc.
Finally, the minigames. I'm so glad that they were here in abundance, and if the game featured more of them, I think I would genuinely bump up my rating to something higher than it currently sits at. Being homages to other FF games (such as "Gears & Gambits" taking the "Gambit" system from FFXII) was a real treat. Some don't hit quite as well (for example, I'm not an enormous fan of how the Chocobos control in Chocobo Racing,) but not all of them need to be amazing. Minigames- both good and bad, are a part of FFVII's identity. Queen's Blood especially was a real treat.
The negatives are where this game really gets to shine, though.
First and foremost I would like to come out swinging by stating that basing your overworld exploration on The Witcher III of all games was a terrible decision. That game itself has far too many side-objectives that take away from its core strength of compelling story-writing, which is what Rebirth also suffers from (except it also fumbles in the story-writing department, which I will dive into later.) Chadley commenting on every other small thing that you do was grating from the get-go and having no option to turn him off is frustrating beyond belief. He's a meaningless addition to the cast that feels forced and unnatural in the worst way- and their attempts to redeem his annoyance through glimpses into his real identity in the latter half of the game do no service towards how incessant comments. The objectives themselves are also repetitive after the first area. Painfully so. The Protorelics are the highlights of each area, except when they're just tied to combat. I couldn't even be bothered with the final Protorelic on Gilgamesh island because it was just more of the same detritus-- and as someone who generally loves completing games, this naturally leads myself onto the point that there are far too many objectives.
Nibel is by far the best area because it is not only the smallest, but also happens to have the Chocobo capable of the most efficient form of travel. If all areas were the size of Nibel and were easy to navigate as it is, I may have bothered completing the game. As it stands, though? Between Remake and Rebirth, stretching out the first disc to roughly 120 hours of content is an extreme test of one's patience, especially if you aren't fond of its design sensibilities, as I am.
No sugarcoating: the new storytelling is awful and they've completely butchered some of their most lovable characters. I think if you genuinely believe that the Remake trilogy is doing a better job at telling the stories of its entire cast, you need to seriously re-examine what they're doing. The worst offender in Remake was Sephiroth- and this carries over in Rebirth, though Cid and Aerith can also be added to that list quite easily.
The quest to make Sephiroth this less ambiguous villain is ultimately doing him no favours- and honestly, there is no real tension or menacing presence maintained by his on-screen presence because they're far too focused on either delivering the audience blockbuster-esque eye candy or feeding fanfic writers with toxic yaoi material by having him treat Cloud like a trained dog. Advent Children also made the mistake that has transferred over to Remake in changing Sephiroth's theme to One Winged Angel, as opposed to Those Chosen by The Planet. TCbTP is a track that is meant to emanate tension by its mere presence, whereas OWA was composed to serve as a boss theme. In many ways, the change of theme is symbolic of his transition from an ambiguous entity to an ever-present "boss" entity that the party has to face.
Aerith too is now suffering from a similar issue to Sephiroth, wherein she is being played as part of a meta-plot about timelines and alternate universes, rather than her original allegory as that of a Messiah. The final boss fight in particular reeked and soured my opinion even further regarding the portrayals of both of their characters, including and not limited to their choice in music excluding Birth of A God in favour of One Winged Angel.. again.
I ended up getting Red XIII on my second Gold Saucer date, and as soon as he seized the opportunity to talk about Aerith's oncoming death in the Skywheel, I audibly sighed.
Cid is shockingly one I'm not seeing people complain about, though. He's an entirely different character. Removing Rocket Town from disc one in favour of the Gongaga plot solely to wave Cissnei in the face of the audience... who largely probably doesn't even know who she is, is a choice I find shockingly baffling. At the minute, he's just being played as a "nice guy" that's helping out the party because he fights for the republic as an independent flyer. His pearly white teeth are reflective of his "reimagined" personality: he's been cleaned up to a degree I find completely unacceptable, and truth be told? I was genuinely looking forward to hearing him be the rudest person in the party. It's so sad.
In conclusion- between the release of this game and a far more genuinely faithful remake releasing earlier in the year in the form of Persona 3 Reload, I find myself wondering why I even bother with the FFVII Compilation anymore. It's poor attempt at creating a new story and playing its audience by baiting them with beloved characters is a charade I find most appalling; and I'd rather them take story-telling risks with a new cast of characters as FFXVI did than whatever this bloated mess of a game actually is.
Before I dive into what made me hurl about this game, I would like to note and stress that there are a number of things this game attempts to achieve and is tantalisingly close to getting right. For one, I think the exploration being more reliant on Chocobos is an excellent idea- they've been neglected as a means of traversal since Final Fantasy IX; though the sloppy execution in every area nix Junon and Nibel leaves the concept rather lacking in a number of aspects. To add onto this, I think the utilisation of the Tiny Bronco was a touch that was much needed towards the end of the game to actually make the regions feel connected in a way they largely did not before Chapter 12.
The Combat system, just like Remake, is probably where this game shines best. Each character feels very distinct and is uniquely enjoyable to play as if you give them the time to unlock their weapon skills and abuse them to their fullest potential. Red XIII is their greatest accomplishment by far- I think Nanaki may just be the most powerful and ergo- the most enjoyable member to play as in the cast. In some ways I'm looking forward to how they portray Cid and Vincent in the final game.
Furthermore, when the game is trying to be Final Fantasy VII and not some half-assed attempt at creating a FFVII Compilation Omnibus, it captures the essence that I sorely want to see in an actual remake of this game. I think no scene better encompasses what I mean than Barret's Corel flashback. When this game is committed to getting its characters right, it really gets it right. Similarly said, I think that the focus on Cloud's SOLDIER cells degrading leading to his mental breakdown throughout the course of the story of the first disc.
Finally, the minigames. I'm so glad that they were here in abundance, and if the game featured more of them, I think I would genuinely bump up my rating to something higher than it currently sits at. Being homages to other FF games (such as "Gears & Gambits" taking the "Gambit" system from FFXII) was a real treat. Some don't hit quite as well (for example, I'm not an enormous fan of how the Chocobos control in Chocobo Racing,) but not all of them need to be amazing. Minigames- both good and bad, are a part of FFVII's identity. Queen's Blood especially was a real treat.
The negatives are where this game really gets to shine, though.
First and foremost I would like to come out swinging by stating that basing your overworld exploration on The Witcher III of all games was a terrible decision. That game itself has far too many side-objectives that take away from its core strength of compelling story-writing, which is what Rebirth also suffers from (except it also fumbles in the story-writing department, which I will dive into later.) Chadley commenting on every other small thing that you do was grating from the get-go and having no option to turn him off is frustrating beyond belief. He's a meaningless addition to the cast that feels forced and unnatural in the worst way- and their attempts to redeem his annoyance through glimpses into his real identity in the latter half of the game do no service towards how incessant comments. The objectives themselves are also repetitive after the first area. Painfully so. The Protorelics are the highlights of each area, except when they're just tied to combat. I couldn't even be bothered with the final Protorelic on Gilgamesh island because it was just more of the same detritus-- and as someone who generally loves completing games, this naturally leads myself onto the point that there are far too many objectives.
Nibel is by far the best area because it is not only the smallest, but also happens to have the Chocobo capable of the most efficient form of travel. If all areas were the size of Nibel and were easy to navigate as it is, I may have bothered completing the game. As it stands, though? Between Remake and Rebirth, stretching out the first disc to roughly 120 hours of content is an extreme test of one's patience, especially if you aren't fond of its design sensibilities, as I am.
No sugarcoating: the new storytelling is awful and they've completely butchered some of their most lovable characters. I think if you genuinely believe that the Remake trilogy is doing a better job at telling the stories of its entire cast, you need to seriously re-examine what they're doing. The worst offender in Remake was Sephiroth- and this carries over in Rebirth, though Cid and Aerith can also be added to that list quite easily.
The quest to make Sephiroth this less ambiguous villain is ultimately doing him no favours- and honestly, there is no real tension or menacing presence maintained by his on-screen presence because they're far too focused on either delivering the audience blockbuster-esque eye candy or feeding fanfic writers with toxic yaoi material by having him treat Cloud like a trained dog. Advent Children also made the mistake that has transferred over to Remake in changing Sephiroth's theme to One Winged Angel, as opposed to Those Chosen by The Planet. TCbTP is a track that is meant to emanate tension by its mere presence, whereas OWA was composed to serve as a boss theme. In many ways, the change of theme is symbolic of his transition from an ambiguous entity to an ever-present "boss" entity that the party has to face.
Aerith too is now suffering from a similar issue to Sephiroth, wherein she is being played as part of a meta-plot about timelines and alternate universes, rather than her original allegory as that of a Messiah. The final boss fight in particular reeked and soured my opinion even further regarding the portrayals of both of their characters, including and not limited to their choice in music excluding Birth of A God in favour of One Winged Angel.. again.
I ended up getting Red XIII on my second Gold Saucer date, and as soon as he seized the opportunity to talk about Aerith's oncoming death in the Skywheel, I audibly sighed.
Cid is shockingly one I'm not seeing people complain about, though. He's an entirely different character. Removing Rocket Town from disc one in favour of the Gongaga plot solely to wave Cissnei in the face of the audience... who largely probably doesn't even know who she is, is a choice I find shockingly baffling. At the minute, he's just being played as a "nice guy" that's helping out the party because he fights for the republic as an independent flyer. His pearly white teeth are reflective of his "reimagined" personality: he's been cleaned up to a degree I find completely unacceptable, and truth be told? I was genuinely looking forward to hearing him be the rudest person in the party. It's so sad.
In conclusion- between the release of this game and a far more genuinely faithful remake releasing earlier in the year in the form of Persona 3 Reload, I find myself wondering why I even bother with the FFVII Compilation anymore. It's poor attempt at creating a new story and playing its audience by baiting them with beloved characters is a charade I find most appalling; and I'd rather them take story-telling risks with a new cast of characters as FFXVI did than whatever this bloated mess of a game actually is.
Rise of the Ronin
2024
I will start things off by saying this is Team Ninja's best story game, which is not saying much with the track record but they do let some characters really shine with their writing and backstories, there are also some who are forgettable.
In regards to gameplay this feels Team Ninja to the core and if you are familiar with their previous work, you will settle in pretty nice and easily with this one. This game features "allies" who you take along with your missions but as someone who likes to do things solo, the forced emphasis on the duo boss fights becomes a bit tedious after a while and becomes slightly discouraging when wanting to go about the game on your own.
The open world is exactly as I expected, the normal ubisoft formula but luckily it has its own twist with allowing your open world to become more open with the ties to the world you strengthen but it is still bogged down by repetitive activities which do kind of sully the experience.
Overall I enjoyed this outing but I do think I prefer the approach of the more linear Team Ninja games but I will applaud them for trying something out of their comfort zone even if they did not nail it.
In regards to gameplay this feels Team Ninja to the core and if you are familiar with their previous work, you will settle in pretty nice and easily with this one. This game features "allies" who you take along with your missions but as someone who likes to do things solo, the forced emphasis on the duo boss fights becomes a bit tedious after a while and becomes slightly discouraging when wanting to go about the game on your own.
The open world is exactly as I expected, the normal ubisoft formula but luckily it has its own twist with allowing your open world to become more open with the ties to the world you strengthen but it is still bogged down by repetitive activities which do kind of sully the experience.
Overall I enjoyed this outing but I do think I prefer the approach of the more linear Team Ninja games but I will applaud them for trying something out of their comfort zone even if they did not nail it.
Persona 4 Golden
2012
Whoever said this game was 70 hours lied to my face this was way shorter than I thought it would be. Honestly probably my favorite cast in a Persona game so far (haven't touched 5 yet) for the sole reason that everyone is an idiot and stupid and I love them for that. Fun story but that true ending twist honestly got on my nerves pretty bad. Still! I love the murder mystery aspects of the plot and honestly didn't hate a single member in my party... except Teddie obviously.
Gameplay... well it's not great to be honest. It's my fault for playing P3R and then starting the older game, but point still stands. Some enemies and bosses are like the easiest thing ever, and then you can come across a group of enemies that manage to get the jump on Yu and instakill him forcing you to restart the whole floor again. It's super annoying! And man do I miss having the shift mechanic.
Overall I recommend, the 50 hours go by pretty quick if you ask me.
Gameplay... well it's not great to be honest. It's my fault for playing P3R and then starting the older game, but point still stands. Some enemies and bosses are like the easiest thing ever, and then you can come across a group of enemies that manage to get the jump on Yu and instakill him forcing you to restart the whole floor again. It's super annoying! And man do I miss having the shift mechanic.
Overall I recommend, the 50 hours go by pretty quick if you ask me.
Similarly to Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, I’m incredibly confused how this is the highest rated game of the series in recent memory.
When reaching the end of that game, I found myself thinking that the reason it was so well received was not because it was actually better than the last one (it absolutely wasn’t), but just because it was the MOST of one of those games yet.
I can’t shake the feeling that that’s the case here. While Remake drew a 4-8hr section of the original game up to about 35hrs, it felt relatively focused aside from a couple of dud chapters and boring side quests which feel like a series staple at this point.
Rebirth on the other hand feels lost; never able to balance the more sincere but serious tone established in Remake and the desired quirkiness of the ‘97 original. It also stumbles at nearly every hurdle with how they have chosen to implement the open world aspects. While promising in the open hours due to a seemingly more hands off approach, it’s quickly turned into another map clearing checklist. Only this time on top of this standard open world fair, you’re also treated to constant harassment from one of the worst characters in a video game; incessantly calling you to tell you that you just activated a tower right after you just activated a bloody tower. There’s this immense friction to the open world in this game; a constant stopping and starting which really kills any sense of momentum you might be gathering. By chapter 10, I was so checked out of the open world activities and how badly they felt just tacked on that I tried just mainlining the story. However, level requirements forced me to go back and do them just to eke out a few more levels.
As far as the story is concerned, there were at least a few moments where it felt relatively consistent. I hated that the game started in media res, with near to no setup dovetailing out of Remake. I felt compelled to continue at least.
As things progressed it became increasingly clear that while Remake only had to introduce the story and could play freely in that space up to the point of leaving Midgar, this one has to tackle a midpoint. It never feels like there’s clearly established stakes other than this aimless wandering; every few hours you are quickly told “the princess is in another castle” and it’s time for “next location” and ferried off to another open world map littered with banal activities and a litany of new mini games. It’s genuinely hard to shake the feeling that they realized this would be the same length as the last game for what should be a much bigger part of the story if they didn’t stuff it to the brim with side content. Unfortunately quantity over quality definitely beat out the alternative, but Queen’s Blood is good at the very least.
Liked the combat for the most part, it feels like some good changes were introduced from the previous game. However party management is so atrocious in this game and at several points I felt like the game was actively screwing me over because it locks you into mandatory story sections with a few specific party members. If you’ve got one party member you’ve not paid attention to or not outfitted adequately, as I had, these sections are utterly unbearable (looking at you Chap 12, I’m sure most people will know what I mean).
Really don’t know how they’ll pad the next one to make it a “full length” game, but after this one I doubt I’ll be rushing to play it whenever it does come out.
When reaching the end of that game, I found myself thinking that the reason it was so well received was not because it was actually better than the last one (it absolutely wasn’t), but just because it was the MOST of one of those games yet.
I can’t shake the feeling that that’s the case here. While Remake drew a 4-8hr section of the original game up to about 35hrs, it felt relatively focused aside from a couple of dud chapters and boring side quests which feel like a series staple at this point.
Rebirth on the other hand feels lost; never able to balance the more sincere but serious tone established in Remake and the desired quirkiness of the ‘97 original. It also stumbles at nearly every hurdle with how they have chosen to implement the open world aspects. While promising in the open hours due to a seemingly more hands off approach, it’s quickly turned into another map clearing checklist. Only this time on top of this standard open world fair, you’re also treated to constant harassment from one of the worst characters in a video game; incessantly calling you to tell you that you just activated a tower right after you just activated a bloody tower. There’s this immense friction to the open world in this game; a constant stopping and starting which really kills any sense of momentum you might be gathering. By chapter 10, I was so checked out of the open world activities and how badly they felt just tacked on that I tried just mainlining the story. However, level requirements forced me to go back and do them just to eke out a few more levels.
As far as the story is concerned, there were at least a few moments where it felt relatively consistent. I hated that the game started in media res, with near to no setup dovetailing out of Remake. I felt compelled to continue at least.
As things progressed it became increasingly clear that while Remake only had to introduce the story and could play freely in that space up to the point of leaving Midgar, this one has to tackle a midpoint. It never feels like there’s clearly established stakes other than this aimless wandering; every few hours you are quickly told “the princess is in another castle” and it’s time for “next location” and ferried off to another open world map littered with banal activities and a litany of new mini games. It’s genuinely hard to shake the feeling that they realized this would be the same length as the last game for what should be a much bigger part of the story if they didn’t stuff it to the brim with side content. Unfortunately quantity over quality definitely beat out the alternative, but Queen’s Blood is good at the very least.
Liked the combat for the most part, it feels like some good changes were introduced from the previous game. However party management is so atrocious in this game and at several points I felt like the game was actively screwing me over because it locks you into mandatory story sections with a few specific party members. If you’ve got one party member you’ve not paid attention to or not outfitted adequately, as I had, these sections are utterly unbearable (looking at you Chap 12, I’m sure most people will know what I mean).
Really don’t know how they’ll pad the next one to make it a “full length” game, but after this one I doubt I’ll be rushing to play it whenever it does come out.
This game has some of my favourite moments in the series and helps add so much to the characters we are familiar with, and a finale that is truly a spectacle to witness. The game has many moments that remind me why I am a final fantasy fan but unfortunately everything surrounding that story feels like it was made to force me away from the game. The game features a typical open world Ubisoft design with its "towers" to unlock activities on the map and I do truly wonder how this game gets a free pass on such mediocrity where other games get criticized for it. It is fine in the first area of the game where it is all new but by the time it happens for the 5th time, it is purely eye rolling "oh...again" and I wish they could have come up with something much more creative for the world that deserves it.
Ultimately I enjoyed my time with the main story, even though there are slight areas of padding, I simply cannot give it a higher mark because of how much the open world aspects of the game ruined my overall enjoyment and at times made it hard to push through and see the story to the end.
Ultimately I enjoyed my time with the main story, even though there are slight areas of padding, I simply cannot give it a higher mark because of how much the open world aspects of the game ruined my overall enjoyment and at times made it hard to push through and see the story to the end.
Persona 3 Reload
2024
Wow… I need a minute to think about this