lavabro
442 reviews liked by lavabro
i need to give chachamaru insane backshots please
worst game I've ever played
Fuck off, I’m not wasting 700 hours that I could have spent actually contributing something to society on the MCU for people who unironically use the word waifu
gameplay alone makes this the best game in the series. storywise its not but there is so much good that it outshines the flaws within the story
Repetitive ass gameplay and a fucking horrible story. The FF7 world would be better off without this game's story. The voice acting is cheeks also except for Cloud.
Persona 4
2008
This review contains spoilers
smarter than i thought — P4 has some genuinely insightful commentary on social isolation and burnout culture if you’re willing to look past the iffy writing of the main cast and its weaker plot beats.
what is a peaceful and calm setting for the protagonist and the investigation team becomes a living hell for someone like adachi, a guy slowly going nuts from hitting a complete dead end in his life.
the irony of the quiet, colorful setting is that it’s really a distraction from the larger issues that often fester in smaller towns with less social interaction — young kids and teens struggle with making clear their own feelings and struggle to come to terms with who they are, in a living space where the most exposure to the outside world they get is heavily filtered through the fog of TV.
nanako clings to a literal wal-mart stand-in brand because she has nothing else to really get excited for. all she really knows is what shows on TV and with dad not always at home, it becomes her new reliable.
saki konishi opens the game by dying a tragic death, forced to work for the massive, sprawling supermarket choking out local businesses, and chooses to put on a happy mask to hide how fucked things are at home. because in a town like inaba, being vocal about your own issues and reaching out breaks the peace.
somehow, persona 4 manages to understand the relationship kids have with media when thrown into isolating situations. you could make the argument that the way the casts’ insecurity boils over really isn’t all that different from pandemic teens only a couple years ago: slowly spiraling down into a worsening mental state and having all of their insecurities projected through nothing but social media.
inaba is beautiful on the surface, but peeling past the cheery music highlights a more uncomfortable narrative.
what is a peaceful and calm setting for the protagonist and the investigation team becomes a living hell for someone like adachi, a guy slowly going nuts from hitting a complete dead end in his life.
the irony of the quiet, colorful setting is that it’s really a distraction from the larger issues that often fester in smaller towns with less social interaction — young kids and teens struggle with making clear their own feelings and struggle to come to terms with who they are, in a living space where the most exposure to the outside world they get is heavily filtered through the fog of TV.
nanako clings to a literal wal-mart stand-in brand because she has nothing else to really get excited for. all she really knows is what shows on TV and with dad not always at home, it becomes her new reliable.
saki konishi opens the game by dying a tragic death, forced to work for the massive, sprawling supermarket choking out local businesses, and chooses to put on a happy mask to hide how fucked things are at home. because in a town like inaba, being vocal about your own issues and reaching out breaks the peace.
somehow, persona 4 manages to understand the relationship kids have with media when thrown into isolating situations. you could make the argument that the way the casts’ insecurity boils over really isn’t all that different from pandemic teens only a couple years ago: slowly spiraling down into a worsening mental state and having all of their insecurities projected through nothing but social media.
inaba is beautiful on the surface, but peeling past the cheery music highlights a more uncomfortable narrative.
Persona 3 FES
2007
while not perfect, persona 3 stands as an incredibly thematically focused game. mechanically, it's definitely the most prickly and hard to adjust to out of the three modern games, but most of this is to make very intentional statements about fighting against apathy and grappling with your own mortality.
"you don't need to save the world to find meaning in life. sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of."
"you don't need to save the world to find meaning in life. sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of."
.Hack//Quarantine
2003
Finally finished, so I can give my conclusive thoughts
This tetralogy is something you have to enjoy the vibe of. The gameplay isn't really amazing and the difficulty can get to be bullshit. However, I love it. It's easily one of the most soulful hidden gems I've ever played
The story is pretty solid. As someone who played G.U. first, I already knew what to expect. Players of The World go into comas because of a mysterious force. Kite goes along to befriend other players, a hacker, and an administrator to discover what went wrong after his own friend gets into a coma. The conclusion in Quarantine is epic, which made playing through a lot of the slow parts prior to this worth it
The gameplay - compared to G.U. (which is all I can really compare it to), I like it a lot more. This game is more about having the right equipment and items. You go into word generated fields. You enter dungeons and typically need to get to the bottom floor to advance the story or grab an item. Fighting enemies can get pretty annoying because you are locked into rooms when fighting them, so you can't run away. The best way to play these games is make Kite a spellcaster healer and just make sure your party is always buffed. Or just make sure you have a shit ton of healing and revival items stocked lol. Overall it's pretty enjoyable, it's definitely a more strategical action RPG which is most similar to the Mana games imo. Only bad thing I'll mention is the virus core grind which can get annoying sometimes
Now for the music - genuinely just peak. Chikayo Fukuda is too good. Not only are there really memorable town themes, all the area themes also have great tunes - and all of the regular area music dynamically transitions into a faster tempo battle version. A lot of them are perfect to sleep to. Can't complain at all here, and I already played G.U. so I knew how good the OST would be
Going to also mention that the art and sound design are right up my alley. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (who also did Evangelion art) worked on this. The character art is just perfect to me. The sound design is top notch, like all the menu and attack sounds, I just love it. If you're gonna make an RPG where I have to menu more than half the time, it better have good sound effects
I don't really have anything else to say. I'd pipe BlackRose. I'd pipe Gardenia. I'd pipe Mistral. I'd pipe Terajima Ryoko. I'd pipe Helba
Peak. Kite is the GOAT
This tetralogy is something you have to enjoy the vibe of. The gameplay isn't really amazing and the difficulty can get to be bullshit. However, I love it. It's easily one of the most soulful hidden gems I've ever played
The story is pretty solid. As someone who played G.U. first, I already knew what to expect. Players of The World go into comas because of a mysterious force. Kite goes along to befriend other players, a hacker, and an administrator to discover what went wrong after his own friend gets into a coma. The conclusion in Quarantine is epic, which made playing through a lot of the slow parts prior to this worth it
The gameplay - compared to G.U. (which is all I can really compare it to), I like it a lot more. This game is more about having the right equipment and items. You go into word generated fields. You enter dungeons and typically need to get to the bottom floor to advance the story or grab an item. Fighting enemies can get pretty annoying because you are locked into rooms when fighting them, so you can't run away. The best way to play these games is make Kite a spellcaster healer and just make sure your party is always buffed. Or just make sure you have a shit ton of healing and revival items stocked lol. Overall it's pretty enjoyable, it's definitely a more strategical action RPG which is most similar to the Mana games imo. Only bad thing I'll mention is the virus core grind which can get annoying sometimes
Now for the music - genuinely just peak. Chikayo Fukuda is too good. Not only are there really memorable town themes, all the area themes also have great tunes - and all of the regular area music dynamically transitions into a faster tempo battle version. A lot of them are perfect to sleep to. Can't complain at all here, and I already played G.U. so I knew how good the OST would be
Going to also mention that the art and sound design are right up my alley. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (who also did Evangelion art) worked on this. The character art is just perfect to me. The sound design is top notch, like all the menu and attack sounds, I just love it. If you're gonna make an RPG where I have to menu more than half the time, it better have good sound effects
I don't really have anything else to say. I'd pipe BlackRose. I'd pipe Gardenia. I'd pipe Mistral. I'd pipe Terajima Ryoko. I'd pipe Helba
Peak. Kite is the GOAT
Borderlands 3
2019
They gave me the gun that fired three Fat Man bombs at the same time and that made the game go on easy mode.
Street Fighter 6: Doesn't have Gold Ship and Special Week
God of Rock: Doesn't have Gold Ship and Special Week
Mortal Kombat 1: Has an Omni-Man voiced by JK Simmons BUT UNFORTUNATELY it still don't got Gold Ship and Special Week
NASB 2: Doesn't have Gold Ship and Week
Pocket Bravery: Doesn't have Gold Ship and Special Week
Tekken 8: Doesn't have Gold Ship and Special Week
UNI 2: Doesn't have Gold Ship and Special Week
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising: Has Gold Ship and Special Week
I think we all know what the real fighting game of the year is. See you on December 12 2024 Geoff Keighley.
God of Rock: Doesn't have Gold Ship and Special Week
Mortal Kombat 1: Has an Omni-Man voiced by JK Simmons BUT UNFORTUNATELY it still don't got Gold Ship and Special Week
NASB 2: Doesn't have Gold Ship and Week
Pocket Bravery: Doesn't have Gold Ship and Special Week
Tekken 8: Doesn't have Gold Ship and Special Week
UNI 2: Doesn't have Gold Ship and Special Week
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising: Has Gold Ship and Special Week
I think we all know what the real fighting game of the year is. See you on December 12 2024 Geoff Keighley.