As a fan of the Love Live series, I’ve finally convinced myself to play through Yohane the Parhelion after pondering for nearly a year after its release. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been really really into Love Live, but had no Love Live games to play since School Idol Festival is out of service, so I started playing Parhelion instead. While it is not a substitute for SIF, I’m proud to say that this isn’t a mobile gacha game, so I’m able to keep it forever without fearing it going away. The story was very cute, the only downside was that it didn’t go into depth for side characters much. I felt like I only knew much about the cast since I watched Love Live, and played their other games. Without other content, I’m afraid I wouldn’t know much about the cast.

Although this was my first Metroidvania game, I found the maps simple, with very few strong enemies. The fighting mechanics were fun. I loved kiting big enemies with explosive arrows, stunning with Chika, or nuking them with Maru. Mari’s and Riko’s utilities were also very fun to use. The whole cast’s abilities were very unique and suited them well. Boss battles were only as hard as you wanted them to be. Personally, I just stocked up on health potions and brute force most of the boss fights with ease.

I found the art very charming. Aside from Yohane, Chika and Mari’s designs were some of my favorites, yet the rest of the cast were gorgeous as well. The map designs were simple yet engaging, making it easier for people who are new to this genre to have a stress-free experience while navigating the levels. Some of my favorites were Coral Hill, Crystalline Grotto, and Aqours Memoria. Last but not least, the music was captivating, just like in the Love Live series. My personal favorites were the Sunken Temple theme and Deep Blue!! Deep Blue playing right after Yohane revived gave me so much serotonin. It made me feel as if I could power through whatever I was struggling with, even if it was just me spacing out against an enemy who wouldn’t be a threat to me otherwise. Overall, I had a happy time playing this game. If you are a fan of the Love Live franchise please play this game, it will not disappoint!

FF16’s overall story takes a more mature turn in comparison to the other mainline Final Fantasy games. Clive, the main protagonist, is born of royalty but is shunned by his mother for not being a Dominant–a person who inherits an immense amount of magical powers, enough to turn into fairytale like creatures, such as, Dragons or Giant beasts Clive is referred to as a bearer–someone who can use magic Since Bearers aren’t gifted like Dominants, they are essentially seen as less. Many times in the stories bearers are used as “fuel” until they meet their demise due to constant hard labor. Overusing magic can make the user very sick, which can often lead to their demise if they work without resting. Reoccuring themes are guiltiness, revenge, love, and war. While the cut scenes, plot, and story overall is great, something feels off about how the story is told. Many times there will be an epic fight, followed by a beautifully crafted cutscene only for it to stop, with dull drawn out dialogue and fetch quests. While the sidequests can be ignored, it doesn’t help that the story paddens out with dialogue that overstays its welcome. I find myself wanting to put the game down when there aren’t any cinematics or boss fights

I’ve seen many complaints about Clive not having a party. While I can understand the frustration of not being able to customize party members, or control them fully, FF16 does have a party system. I admit the party system is more barebones than ever, but Clive does have people who he fights with. In fact most of Clive’s battles include at least one party member or more. Most of the time Torgal is the party member, but depending on where you are in the story there is typically another companion, such as: Jill and Cid. Torgal has commands while the other party members move on their own. This party system sucks but at least Clive isn’t all alone. I was really hoping that it would be similar to FF15’s party system and customization, but oh well.

Lastly the Eikon fights are peak. I don’t have to say much, please play the game! The cut scenes, story, and characters are incredible! I highly recommend playing if story driven games are your cup of tea! This game won’t disappoint as long as you keep an open mind, and take small breaks!

Judge Eyes is essentially a Yakuza game with a few sprinkles of Ace Attorney. The combat in Judge Eyes is very similar to its Yakuza counterparts. Yagami's two fighting styles are similar to Majima’s Breaker and Kiriyu’s Brawler or Dragon’s stances. The cinematics are smooth and filled with tons of action scenes that can get over the top at times, similar to other Yakuza games. When the story slows down, that is where the Ace Attorney-esque side of the game shows. In this part, Yagami has to do investigations, sometimes presenting evidence, or even going into the courtroom as a defense attorney. I only wished this portion was more difficult rather than making the tailing missions long, since they felt redundant at times. Furthermore, Aside from other Yakuza games, doing substories doesn't feel pointless because Yagami is a broke detective looking for work, whether it be for cash or for justice. Substories/side cases don’t feel like a drag to do because there is a sense of purpose behind them. I found this very refreshing for a Yakuza game, because Side Cases didn’t isolate you too much from the story, they were relevant most of the time. Lastly, the casts were very fun this time. While most of the characters have their charm, I really enjoyed seeing Higashi’s character build up since it was easy for me to relate to him. For anyone questioning whether they should play this game or not, don’t give it a second thought, Play this game!!! <3
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