hamifihekrix
1997
pretty good! suffers a lot from its age but i can see how good this was for the time. the controls in the open areas are too stiff and it can be hard to turn around, especially when you need precision (like needing to rescue one of your teammates). if i had owned this as a kid i'm sure i would have played it over and over again, but as i am now, i am happy to just play through it once
2012
This review contains spoilers
reasons why i think cloud strife is a woman:
- the thing most people will think of is the cross-dressing section. this is not what makes me think that cloud is a woman. in the original game here, the section is at best played for laughs with a couple lines that hint at something deeper. this section in remake is maybe one of my favourite changes, in that it is much more complex. cloud is embarrassed by "cross-dressing", but never does cloud explicitly say that they hate it. rather, they avoid the situation entirely, being unable to look aerith in the eye, choosing to refuse to engage in conversation regarding the situation. i believe this is because they cannot admit to themselves that they maybe don't completely hate this entirely?
- the core themes of the original game especially (as this is something that pokes its head more towards the end - i'm very excited to see how this is adapted in the remake series), searching for your true identity, releasing that your assumptions about your own identity aren't true, learning to live as yourself rather than what you think you have to be, these are all things that will be extremely familiar to any trans person.
- sephiroth represents the Masculine Man (even if he's a bit of a pretty boy too) that multiple young boys in the game idolize and aspire to be like, including cloud - supposedly. i think cloud chases the idea of sephiroth so hard in their childhood, up until the nibelheim incident, because they believe they too need to be a Masculine Man.
- cloud's childhood relationship with tifa supports this also. how cloud thinks and acts towards tifa is different to how they think and interact with the boys, despite being an outsider to both. this can be interpreted as (and is likely intended to be) more about cloud having romantic feelings towards tifa, but i think it is a situation of confusing romantic attraction with dysphoric envy (though i also do think there is an attraction in there too - the cloud/aerith/tifa polycule is a delusion i love).
- it is only through the acceptance of their true identity that they are able to move forward, to be more honest, to truly connect with others unlike before. the party members act as cloud's support network. tifa would accept her immediately, maybe she even guessed that cloud's gender was more complex than meets the eye. maybe she even thinks more about her sexuality, having thought she couldn't be a lesbian because she seemingly liked a boy, even if she's never liked a "boy" other than cloud. barret hasn't met a trans person before, but he tries his best. maybe takes some time getting used to cloud's new pronouns, and maybe asks awkward questions, and maybe is just generally awkward at first. but he's always trying his best, and he'll get there in the end. cloud wishes she could have shared this moment with aerith, because she knows aerith would have had a lot of fun with it. doing each others makeup, going clothes shopping - aerith would have been the most affirming by far.
there's probably a dozen or two other more specific examples of text that support this idea that i could dig to get. but these are more the pillars that support this idea for me. i've never really been so convicted in regards to a trans headcanon before - usually it's just a fun idea to think about, how a character intended to be male exploring their gender. in the case of cloud, there is so much, narratively, that i feel supports this idea, that it actively enriches the game's narrative as a whole.
- the thing most people will think of is the cross-dressing section. this is not what makes me think that cloud is a woman. in the original game here, the section is at best played for laughs with a couple lines that hint at something deeper. this section in remake is maybe one of my favourite changes, in that it is much more complex. cloud is embarrassed by "cross-dressing", but never does cloud explicitly say that they hate it. rather, they avoid the situation entirely, being unable to look aerith in the eye, choosing to refuse to engage in conversation regarding the situation. i believe this is because they cannot admit to themselves that they maybe don't completely hate this entirely?
- the core themes of the original game especially (as this is something that pokes its head more towards the end - i'm very excited to see how this is adapted in the remake series), searching for your true identity, releasing that your assumptions about your own identity aren't true, learning to live as yourself rather than what you think you have to be, these are all things that will be extremely familiar to any trans person.
- sephiroth represents the Masculine Man (even if he's a bit of a pretty boy too) that multiple young boys in the game idolize and aspire to be like, including cloud - supposedly. i think cloud chases the idea of sephiroth so hard in their childhood, up until the nibelheim incident, because they believe they too need to be a Masculine Man.
- cloud's childhood relationship with tifa supports this also. how cloud thinks and acts towards tifa is different to how they think and interact with the boys, despite being an outsider to both. this can be interpreted as (and is likely intended to be) more about cloud having romantic feelings towards tifa, but i think it is a situation of confusing romantic attraction with dysphoric envy (though i also do think there is an attraction in there too - the cloud/aerith/tifa polycule is a delusion i love).
- it is only through the acceptance of their true identity that they are able to move forward, to be more honest, to truly connect with others unlike before. the party members act as cloud's support network. tifa would accept her immediately, maybe she even guessed that cloud's gender was more complex than meets the eye. maybe she even thinks more about her sexuality, having thought she couldn't be a lesbian because she seemingly liked a boy, even if she's never liked a "boy" other than cloud. barret hasn't met a trans person before, but he tries his best. maybe takes some time getting used to cloud's new pronouns, and maybe asks awkward questions, and maybe is just generally awkward at first. but he's always trying his best, and he'll get there in the end. cloud wishes she could have shared this moment with aerith, because she knows aerith would have had a lot of fun with it. doing each others makeup, going clothes shopping - aerith would have been the most affirming by far.
there's probably a dozen or two other more specific examples of text that support this idea that i could dig to get. but these are more the pillars that support this idea for me. i've never really been so convicted in regards to a trans headcanon before - usually it's just a fun idea to think about, how a character intended to be male exploring their gender. in the case of cloud, there is so much, narratively, that i feel supports this idea, that it actively enriches the game's narrative as a whole.
1987
i almost got softlocked because i had a slither of health and was surrounded by rooms with enemies that would float above obstacles and shoot at me while i couldn't shoot at them. later i had to backtrack for 15 minutes because i didn't have enough explosives to take down the final boss. not terrible but its not fun, and there's not much reason to play as the story is incredibly weak. i will try playing mg2 as i've heard its a massive improvement, but really i'm just excited to get to the mgs games.
wanted to revist the pokemon games because of nostalgia, but pokemon is boring so i did a randomized nuzlocke. despite everything, this was the first randomized nuzlocke i've completed! i started a bunch when i was a kid but i would always lose interest and restart when i came back.
lost my whole team to the rival's last pokemon in the elite four (level 61 metagross swept my level 53~ team lol) but i beat the elite four on my second try while only losing my flygon (which is still sad, because i love flygon)
the worst death though was skarmory, who i found super early on and carried me thorough most of the game by being strong both defensively and offensively. he died because i wasn't paying attention, which is on me
lost my whole team to the rival's last pokemon in the elite four (level 61 metagross swept my level 53~ team lol) but i beat the elite four on my second try while only losing my flygon (which is still sad, because i love flygon)
the worst death though was skarmory, who i found super early on and carried me thorough most of the game by being strong both defensively and offensively. he died because i wasn't paying attention, which is on me
a massive improvement over the first game in some areas, but somehow worse than the first game in others. the story is leagues better due to the fact that this game actually has a story, which the first didn't. the bosses were cooler, i guess. but my god this game was a slog to get through. its roughly double the length of the first game, and it has a shitload of backtracking. i've seen people say that this one is easier to play without a guide, but i didn't find that to be the case. but hey at least i can go onto the solid games now...
i feel like the last two thirds of this game is where this game is strongest. this game took me two months to finish just because the beginning third of the game was really fucking annoying. personally i found that it picked up after the boss fight against the fear - though its hard for me to judge how much of that was the game getting better vs me being better at the game. i will replay this game at some point (maybe on the hd collection on ps3?) and i'll see how much my opinion shifts.
my only complaint outside of that is the controls. man, this is REALLY not fun to control. i am just not a fan of shooters that force you to stay locked in place while aiming, and on top of that you can't change the sensitivity while aiming, and on top of THAT there's no crosshair. i can't really blame the game for that stuff though because it is a ps2 game :')
my only complaint outside of that is the controls. man, this is REALLY not fun to control. i am just not a fan of shooters that force you to stay locked in place while aiming, and on top of that you can't change the sensitivity while aiming, and on top of THAT there's no crosshair. i can't really blame the game for that stuff though because it is a ps2 game :')
quite a fun challenge when you abuse save states, but i cannot imagine playing this game on the original hardware. losing all your abilities each time you die is bad enough, but your attacks being so tiny and only going in four directions makes for an annoying time
2002
pros:
- graphics look very vibrant, especially for the time
- some shines are fun to get
cons:
- movement is not good, especially in comparison to other mario games. fludd is stiff, you have no long jump and no backflip.
- due to the movement not being good, certain aspects of the level design will frequently be incredibly frustrating to deal with
- getting all 120 shines is nightmarish due to the blue coins, which are placed like the moons in odyssey except there is no way to keep track of which blue coins you have and don't have. i kept track on my own, and i still had trouble getting them all
despite all this, i couldn't give a super low rating. why? well, even a bad mario game is still not the end of the world. i only curse my need to 100% the game, because i think i would rate this higher if i did not force myself to get all the blue coins.
i also made heavy use of save states, which thankfully saved me from frustration where other more honest people struggled (especially levels like the pachinko and lily pad).
overall, i would say this is still worthwhile enough for mario fans or 3d platformer fans, but if you're just getting started either mario 64 or mario odyssey is leagues above as a starting point
- graphics look very vibrant, especially for the time
- some shines are fun to get
cons:
- movement is not good, especially in comparison to other mario games. fludd is stiff, you have no long jump and no backflip.
- due to the movement not being good, certain aspects of the level design will frequently be incredibly frustrating to deal with
- getting all 120 shines is nightmarish due to the blue coins, which are placed like the moons in odyssey except there is no way to keep track of which blue coins you have and don't have. i kept track on my own, and i still had trouble getting them all
despite all this, i couldn't give a super low rating. why? well, even a bad mario game is still not the end of the world. i only curse my need to 100% the game, because i think i would rate this higher if i did not force myself to get all the blue coins.
i also made heavy use of save states, which thankfully saved me from frustration where other more honest people struggled (especially levels like the pachinko and lily pad).
overall, i would say this is still worthwhile enough for mario fans or 3d platformer fans, but if you're just getting started either mario 64 or mario odyssey is leagues above as a starting point
pros:
- phenomenal story and characters basically all the way through
- most side quests are fun
- looks great (most of the time - i had frame rate issues in particularly crowded parts of the map)
- open world has a lot to do (though this has downsides)
cons:
- tries too hard to be realistic, which comes with a variety of problems - the most notable being the awful, awful physics and controls of both the character and your horse
- stupidly arduous to 100% (and its even worse to get the platinum trophy, which i gave up on)
- phenomenal story and characters basically all the way through
- most side quests are fun
- looks great (most of the time - i had frame rate issues in particularly crowded parts of the map)
- open world has a lot to do (though this has downsides)
cons:
- tries too hard to be realistic, which comes with a variety of problems - the most notable being the awful, awful physics and controls of both the character and your horse
- stupidly arduous to 100% (and its even worse to get the platinum trophy, which i gave up on)
2022
with a repetitive and predictable story, an endless wave of gameplay styles that are not fun, numerous poor writing decisions with an especially terrible ending and completely forgettable music, bayonetta 3 comes across as a spit in the face to fans who have been waiting for the next instalment in the previously phenomenal series. this game may be the most disappointing piece of media i have ever consumed in my entire life
2018
as someone who has not (yet) played the original god of war trilogy, i feel like i had a unique experience in comparison to someone who had. whenever kratos' past is referenced, it almost feels like it is building up a mystery. it is satisfying to hear kratos reveal little pieces of his past during the late game because it feels like a mystery is unravelling, which i think was really well done.
there were some moments where it they made atreus too much of an asshole, but other than that the story of the game was fantastic and i loved kratos and atreus' relationship. i adored the feelings i experienced during the final five to ten minutes of the story especially. the interpretation of norse mythology in this game is also very interesting (even though i'm more interested in greek mythology, which makes me excited to go back and play the original trilogy)
i obtained the platinum for the game, and that was... mostly fun, but there were a couple tedious elements. the collectibles were annoying because i had no way of knowing which ravens i had gotten and which ones i hadn't, for example. i wasn't a fan of the nilfheim section because it felt extraordinarily repetitive and took way too long. however, i don't really hold this against the game too heavily as i was the one who decided to 100% it - the main meat of the game is phenomenal.
the combat is very satisfying, as the game has a perfect difficult curve. you improve at roughly the same pace as the game gets more difficult, and some of the stuff you can do later in the game makes you feel really cool. the valkyries are a mostly great epitome of this, with only one fight that i thought was slightly unfair (though that may just be a skill issue)
overall great game, very excited for ragnarok
there were some moments where it they made atreus too much of an asshole, but other than that the story of the game was fantastic and i loved kratos and atreus' relationship. i adored the feelings i experienced during the final five to ten minutes of the story especially. the interpretation of norse mythology in this game is also very interesting (even though i'm more interested in greek mythology, which makes me excited to go back and play the original trilogy)
i obtained the platinum for the game, and that was... mostly fun, but there were a couple tedious elements. the collectibles were annoying because i had no way of knowing which ravens i had gotten and which ones i hadn't, for example. i wasn't a fan of the nilfheim section because it felt extraordinarily repetitive and took way too long. however, i don't really hold this against the game too heavily as i was the one who decided to 100% it - the main meat of the game is phenomenal.
the combat is very satisfying, as the game has a perfect difficult curve. you improve at roughly the same pace as the game gets more difficult, and some of the stuff you can do later in the game makes you feel really cool. the valkyries are a mostly great epitome of this, with only one fight that i thought was slightly unfair (though that may just be a skill issue)
overall great game, very excited for ragnarok
1996
was nobody going to tell me the master hand boss fight originated in a vaguely racist miniboss in a kirby game??
anyway it was fun! very repetitive though, i feel it would have benefited from merging elements from the other modes into milky way wishes and just having that alongside gourmet race and the great cave offensive
anyway it was fun! very repetitive though, i feel it would have benefited from merging elements from the other modes into milky way wishes and just having that alongside gourmet race and the great cave offensive
okay i played through hard mode to (finally!) get the platinum trophy so i decided to just watch all the cutscenes again to make it a proper replay and....... yeah this game fucking rules. i GET why some people don't click with it (especially people who really liked the og) but maaaan no game has ever made me as giddy and excited as this. the rhythm game minigame and the stuff around it alone makes this a 5 star experience (i have some THOUGHTS on cloud's gender that i will wait until i replay the original to share), but basically every character is expanded on in such interesting ways that i love how much time we spend with them. also really appreciated the gameplay more on hard difficulty surprisingly!! i did the pride and joy simulation thing before starting on hard so that definitely helped, but its very satisfying to jump around the characters doing different stuff... in my original playthrough i basically only played as tifa during combat and got really frustrated when she wasn't in the party lol. i should be finally buying a ps5 soon, and rebirth is 100% the main reason why
2021
finishing the epilogue and then thinking about one of the bad ends for the first game... anyway this is fantastic for what it is! it only took me two hours to get all the endings but i loved all the characters so much, i would play ten more of these games just exploring their lives. i've never really seen trans media that portrays the vague disconnect of being around friends who are cis girls... our experiences are so similar yet so different and that subtly sits in the back of your mind always. masterful!
1997
fuck this game. shitty water controls, shitty sand controls, shitty general controls, shitty powerups, shitty level design. this only took me a bit over 3 hours to beat but i did that across four sittings. i couldn't even bear to look at this piece of shit for an hour at a time. only one star because i respect the jumpscare spiders