mikvsl
BACKER
2024
This is a solid game with a lack of depth. With time if this studio continues to make triple A games they will eventually make something that carries all the positives from this game and amplifies it.
Its combat is the strongest part of the game and found me heavily reminiscent of sekiro, all styles of parry & dodging brings flair to the combat which i thoroughly enjoyed, purple & blue dodges being my favourite.
With that being said, i was hoping that this game would have a great story to carry on its back but it does fall short in that area which is unfortunate but its not to say that its at least a average story that you can enjoy with the exciting combat set pieces. Having the youngest of the party be the one with the most personality shows the lack of depth in both EVE and Adam when big story beats and development moments are happening.
And can't deny what a great soundtrack it is that came with this game with both rebirth & this year ill be surprised if i don't see square enix not win for once. All boss themes, zone themes & specifically the resting area songs are complement the game and moments that are happening in the game.
The one big takeaway for me on this game is its evidence that giving the ability to unlock multiple costumes or search for new ones that you may have not found gives an idea into what life would be like if companies took this and put it into games where people have been begging for different appearances on characters without having some sort of paywall. I found myself having far too much enjoyment in finding a new costume and wearing it until finding the next one on my journey.
I think this is one of those games that has the ability to take its foundation and apply it to later titles that they may work on and improve towards making a game that reaches the standard of others in this category, this was a fresh approach and something different especially it being a Korean studio, the future seems bright for them.
Its combat is the strongest part of the game and found me heavily reminiscent of sekiro, all styles of parry & dodging brings flair to the combat which i thoroughly enjoyed, purple & blue dodges being my favourite.
With that being said, i was hoping that this game would have a great story to carry on its back but it does fall short in that area which is unfortunate but its not to say that its at least a average story that you can enjoy with the exciting combat set pieces. Having the youngest of the party be the one with the most personality shows the lack of depth in both EVE and Adam when big story beats and development moments are happening.
And can't deny what a great soundtrack it is that came with this game with both rebirth & this year ill be surprised if i don't see square enix not win for once. All boss themes, zone themes & specifically the resting area songs are complement the game and moments that are happening in the game.
The one big takeaway for me on this game is its evidence that giving the ability to unlock multiple costumes or search for new ones that you may have not found gives an idea into what life would be like if companies took this and put it into games where people have been begging for different appearances on characters without having some sort of paywall. I found myself having far too much enjoyment in finding a new costume and wearing it until finding the next one on my journey.
I think this is one of those games that has the ability to take its foundation and apply it to later titles that they may work on and improve towards making a game that reaches the standard of others in this category, this was a fresh approach and something different especially it being a Korean studio, the future seems bright for them.
This review contains spoilers
Here we are again.. reliving a story we once knew.
Let me start off by saying Final Fantasy 7 Trilogy is beginning to become something interesting and exciting, as a long loving fan of the original game, it came at no surprise that a lot of people would be turned off by the thought of remake not being a 1 to 1 make of the game. After such had been released to the public and people took remake for what it is the picture was being set and things were about to change for a beloved FF7 world, in a good way I would say. CBU1 knew that a lot was depending on this trilogy, they couldn't mess up this story and everything was depending on the integrity of what they produced in the past.
Before I get into the details of the game that people are fighting over and expecting the worse from the it all, I would love to speak about everything to do with the combat. Combat was one of the fundamentals I believed was almost near perfect in remake with minor defects (air combat). Coming into rebirth with the addition of Air Combat, Synergy Abilities, Ally abilities that use no gauge and are STRONG. It was the one thing that was going to sell this game if it was not the story and that's the combat. Rebirths combat is an improvement at an extreme level and we still have one more game to go, who knows whats possible. Maybe we will have advent children level fighting and the whole party can take part against are fight to save the world.
Character development and voice acting was at the top of its level in this game, characters that i believed fell a little flat in remake had their attempt to bring it back in rebirth and they did exactly that. The development on Barret and his story with Dyne and having to relive his trauma in the temple of the ancients. Yuffie being the bubbly and annoying materia stealer that she is, her personality excels in this game compared to what was given to us in the DLC. She can be annoying at times but thats truly who yuffie is, as cloud once said on that elevator 'can you just shut up'. Red XII, or must say my beloved Nanaki. Boy or boy do I love this damn rat dog in this game, while it was expected for this game to give the backstory to everyone. Nanaki's story sticks out to me especially from the OG and Rebirth with the extension of how he acts around bugenhagen and the party, I enjoyed the hidden aspect of Red speaking in his younger voice towards aerith in earlier parts of the game and it being given off as someone random... once again them giving their nods to people who have played through the original. Cait sith, what can i say about this little robot cat? He was actually great. For a lot of people cait sith was hated and seen as pointless in the original game when it came to choosing him to fight with or even in choices of story but with the way I felt towards him in the original i wanted to try to give him a new thought of care and at first i still didn't like him, especially when the betrayal came which they handled alot better than the original, however that point when cait comes back and trys to have the party forgive him and show that he cares about them, there was a new found love that had grown inside me for him and im glad that came to happen for a character that i had previously not shown much care towards.
Even for things when it comes to character dialogue and conversations during set pieces, the relationship between different characters that don't involve Cloud, Red & Barret, Tifa & Aerith, Aerith & Red, Yuffie & Barret. All the bonding moments around the world builds more love and care for these people that you're going to spend so much time with.
Now i believe these next few characters deserve a new paragraph. I want to start off specifically with the two characters who are unplayable in this game, Vincent and Cid. For those that were upset with them being unplayable, i was indeed upset when it was announced before the game came out but after completing this game i couldn't even care and im even more excited to see what is done coming into Part 3, Cid was charming and still had a new flair to him. I don't really have much that comes to mind on Cid since he was primarily the man to fly the tiny bronco, there will obviously be more from him due Part3. Now onto Vincent, at points i almost thought i was going to control him however they did a lot more with Vincent in terms of implementing him into side quests & the main story, almost in the same way they incorporated yuffie into the story, with good amounts of humour and the hilarious moments of him trying to speak while being muffled inside his coffin, the genuine excitement of finally seeing vincent on screen and being the loner that he is it was good to finally be able to see the whole gang together.
Tifa Lockhart, with the addition of the new social mechanic where you're able to build bonds with characters it was quite enjoyable to have the control of who you're able to control and speak to in such manner. People who have played through the original and know of all FF7 material it is known that tifa is the one to save cloud with his delusion and its the ever ending eluding of that happening throughout this entire game. It continues to be prominent all the till credits roll. She is the pillar of bringing cloud back and she does just that as much as she can throughout the game. With of course the development of her not believing cloud because of the Nibelheim incident, the growth between Cloud & Tifa goes in a direction that i think we all expected it too and will continue to go in Part 3.
Cloud Strife, boy or boy cloud. its a homecoming. What a unbelievable way to make clouds mental illness, this game has made cloud schizophrenic. This isn't just mako poisoning anymore or him thinking he's someone else, this is genuinely a new point and approach to his mental illness and its something im scared but excited about, but this is a feeling I've been very much used to throughout this entire trilogy so far, Within the original game from the point of the Nibelheim flashback we know that cloud begins to lose himself to his mental illness and that becomes a problem for the party. With the approach that was taken in Rebirth, i was genuinely scared for anyone that stood in Clouds way. The influence of sephiroth and mental battle in this game is unbelievable, the constant reminder that every time those headaches begin something good dosen't come out of it. From points where cloud is quite literally spilling blood infront of his friends or him acting like sephiroth dodging bullets and slaughtering a whole platoon of shinra soldiers. Cloud is in a dark place right now, the trauma is building more and more and every moment seems to be getting worse the more Cloud is on screen. Big love to Cody Christian on his voice acting for Cloud, i genuinely had chills when it came to him speaking in that almost sephiroth/monotone talk. The presentation of cloud being someone completely different was done in a way i couldn't have expected but im thrilled to be experiencing.
Zack, im so sorry you had to relive having your heart broken to pieces for something that isn't your fault, he deserves all happiness in the world. And after all this he still cares and is selfless for others risking his life to protect them. No one deserved you zack
Aerith Gainsborough, alot of us were scared, alot of us are still scared. But let us embrace for what is to come, for what remake setup it seemed to be evident that aerith knew of things that she shouldn't know of, almost in the same that way that sephiroth's presentation was during remake. We knew that Sephiroth in remake was coming from Advent Children but what we didn't know is where Aerith gained any of the memories from. Throughout parts of remake aerith touched Red & Marlene and it showed no major plot points towards it, going into Rebirth it all began to make sense and things were starting to get out of control in things that we didn't expect. Aerith is 100% the staple of this game in which she has always been and im glad they stuck to that, She is constantly throughout the whole game giving hints and eluding to fate that is yet to come, From the point of her singing in the gold saucer it was set in stone that she was not going to make it at the end of this game. Cloud for what its worth with his poor mind pays no attention to any of it but for the viewer of this story, Aerith is trying her hardest to tell cloud and the viewer there is nothing thats going to stop what you know happening in this story so you must enjoy these moments and not feel bad for what will happen.
Onto the world of FF7, what we had all been wanting since the beginning. This game does everything for its world and it shows, this is what we all wanted. This is what i had been waiting for the most, remake was beautiful and Midgar was something i loved going through but for almost everyone when it came to the original the minute you stepped foot into the over-world the overall pacing of the game and the exploration that you experienced when it came to go visiting new places was beautiful, Rebirth keeps that exact feeling but for me amplifies it. Maybe that's because im able to see the game at a fidelity that's not the same as almost 30 years ago. It was hard to keep myself at not crying at every theme that played when going to a new area the music, the environments, the effort that went into making these places feel alive and full of life, this was nothing but amazing. Every zone held equally the same amount of effort and care and im sure as hell wondering what exactly could be done to push this even further going into Part 3.
I would love to point out as well when it came to NPCs the level of detail was a lot better than what was presented in Remake. It was evident that the only thing to be cared about in remake was everything centric around the story, going into Rebirth the team showed to put effort into all the things that lacked inside Remake. Side Quests, NPCs, Content outside of the story was nothing but amplified. Thank you SE for the amazing amount of black representation and effort into how everyone looks, Hairstyles and presentation, they did amazing.
As a mentioned before, the music. They had said 400 songs in a previous presentation before the games release and i didn't very much find that believable, was the game going to just have reused songs with the addition of what is new in remake? Yes. But its not the same, every song you believed was a reuse of what was in remake gained a new motiff, gained a new instrument, gained a new approach to the song that was different but somehow better than what was previously produced, Every song had a feeling inside it that i cannot explain. Once again amazing work towards to those behind the music of every FF game its something that is always evident for any game that comes out of SE, the music is always going to be some of the strongest parts of the game.
BOSS FIGHTS!!! WOW WOW WOW, Some of returning fights that got a touch of love and improvement from what it previously was, Some new faces too. Overall the amount of boss fights in this game and the way they're all constructed was nothing but fun, there genuinely wasn't a fight that i found irritating, annoying or down-right hard. I did get my ass beat quite alot of times when it came to doing the hard mode against fights that I believed we're easier when going through my first playthrough on Dynamic mode.
Onto something that I believe we all need to talk about and most likely what you're all wanting to read. The story.
I want to start off by saying, i like everything that this story has done. For alot of people right now going through the story, whether its someone watching or someone playing there is mixed reactions to what the ending sequence has come to. Going into rebirth, like many others we was ready to find out whether or not the death of Aerith will still happen. From start to finish the agenda of that happening is being pushed CONSISTENTLY especially when you get to the final set of chapters of the game it becomes more prominent. I was happily on the train of her still dying and im glad they stuck with it, the team behind the game know that they can't toy with the story to much to the point where people hate it for what it is. Everything leading up to that moment i believe was handled well, the usage of the PS5 triggers was probably some of the best choice for a moment like that. But let me not reminisce on those moments, lets talk about everything that happens after that. After which of course Aerith passes away and the world starts to go a little crazy with the whispers and it gives us a sort of hope that Aerith is alive, im still very much in acceptance that she is dead and won't know until the third game, what i did love from everything that happened with Aerith's death is the amplification it gave to Cloud's craziness which directly links into Cloud even worse in the final parts of the story but this time Cloud is quite literally the same as he is in Advent Children where he is the only one to see/sense Aerith. I don't believe aerith has cheated death or survived, maybe in a different timeline but im happily believing she's dead whether its a different timeline or not the main timeline that the game is following is what we should all follow on the basis if its not alive in this, its not alive anywhere else. The end of part 3 may have the same ending of Advent Children in which Zack & Aerith walk into the light after everything. The ending is messy i will say that, but its messy in a way that if a few scenes were taken out of swapped it would allow for a better development going into the 3rd game.
I wish they committed fully to an Aerith death scene or not. Doing both just emotionally jacked with me because now we have Cloud who thinks she’s alive with a team who thinks she’s dead, and he’s just oblivious. It also hurts so much that in chapter 13 and 14 he was pretty much a total asshole—especially to Tifa which really hurt after seeing their intimate scene on their date—and he never really fully owned it or made amends. Speaks volumes to the teams ability to love and forgive and accept him. And I understand why he was being that way. Sephiroth was hard fucking with his mind and using him, so it wasn’t fully Cloud. My first problem was going in hoping for a happy-ish ending but knew that wasn’t going to happen. What I got instead just hurts.
The same thing that happened with the Remake ending is happening with Rebirth, for those who genuinely love the story and want to know what happens will spend their next 3-4 years being psychopaths and building theories of nothing until we get actual information, others will have the same reaction to what they did with remake in which they hate it and say that it doesn't make sense and compare it to Kingdom Hearts. For people to always resort to Nomura being the butt of the joke whenever it comes to time travel has always been my least favourite thing to see, the approach of Rebirth with the culmination of CBU1 shouldn't be put all on Nomura's head because of him being Creative Director and i believe the way this story has been reimagined has been done in a way I've been happy experiencing and most likely many others.
I disagree that this game was written poorly. If you don’t like multiverse stuff, I can see it being considered poorly written. I don’t mind it, and the way they did it I thought was very good. The character development was phenomenal. Writing wise I do think Aerith’s end was just a lack of full commitment, and playing too much the “make everyone happy” thing. In one sense, it’s a great ending meaning it guts you and leaves you confused and frustrated and hopeful all at once. I did not come away from that ending unamused or outright angry only. In another sense, the ending just makes me hate Cloud for being a dick and insensitive. Again I understand why, I don’t need commenters ripping my post to shreds, just emotionally processing this game lol.
They delivered on the game, they delivered on the story and setup thoughts and speculations for the 3rd game as they did with the 1st, it is expected to be confused. All of us were confused when it came to the ending of remake and where the story will go and that exact moment is being relived through the ending of rebirth. Genuinely excited for what Part 3 holds, if done correctly and amplified for what this game has done in many ways it may end up as my favourite of the trilogy and one of the best reimagines of a story to be retold in a new era.
What I've noticed and find fascinating is the anger people show, but I don't think they understand why they are angry, the emotion they are feeling from the game is the frustration with how all that build up and they still failed. How the story is playing just like a 3 Act Play, this being their low point. It sucks for a story to end like that but you need the darkest moments in order for those brighter moments to shine and have more meaning.
The Finale has the potential to leave a big impact because the direness of the situation is in such a state that when the heroes are able to overcome it, and it's deserved, it will feel that much more rewarding to have been apart of that journey. Let us all rejoice for 4 years with theories until we get news on Part 3
No Promises Await At Journey's End.
Let me start off by saying Final Fantasy 7 Trilogy is beginning to become something interesting and exciting, as a long loving fan of the original game, it came at no surprise that a lot of people would be turned off by the thought of remake not being a 1 to 1 make of the game. After such had been released to the public and people took remake for what it is the picture was being set and things were about to change for a beloved FF7 world, in a good way I would say. CBU1 knew that a lot was depending on this trilogy, they couldn't mess up this story and everything was depending on the integrity of what they produced in the past.
Before I get into the details of the game that people are fighting over and expecting the worse from the it all, I would love to speak about everything to do with the combat. Combat was one of the fundamentals I believed was almost near perfect in remake with minor defects (air combat). Coming into rebirth with the addition of Air Combat, Synergy Abilities, Ally abilities that use no gauge and are STRONG. It was the one thing that was going to sell this game if it was not the story and that's the combat. Rebirths combat is an improvement at an extreme level and we still have one more game to go, who knows whats possible. Maybe we will have advent children level fighting and the whole party can take part against are fight to save the world.
Character development and voice acting was at the top of its level in this game, characters that i believed fell a little flat in remake had their attempt to bring it back in rebirth and they did exactly that. The development on Barret and his story with Dyne and having to relive his trauma in the temple of the ancients. Yuffie being the bubbly and annoying materia stealer that she is, her personality excels in this game compared to what was given to us in the DLC. She can be annoying at times but thats truly who yuffie is, as cloud once said on that elevator 'can you just shut up'. Red XII, or must say my beloved Nanaki. Boy or boy do I love this damn rat dog in this game, while it was expected for this game to give the backstory to everyone. Nanaki's story sticks out to me especially from the OG and Rebirth with the extension of how he acts around bugenhagen and the party, I enjoyed the hidden aspect of Red speaking in his younger voice towards aerith in earlier parts of the game and it being given off as someone random... once again them giving their nods to people who have played through the original. Cait sith, what can i say about this little robot cat? He was actually great. For a lot of people cait sith was hated and seen as pointless in the original game when it came to choosing him to fight with or even in choices of story but with the way I felt towards him in the original i wanted to try to give him a new thought of care and at first i still didn't like him, especially when the betrayal came which they handled alot better than the original, however that point when cait comes back and trys to have the party forgive him and show that he cares about them, there was a new found love that had grown inside me for him and im glad that came to happen for a character that i had previously not shown much care towards.
Even for things when it comes to character dialogue and conversations during set pieces, the relationship between different characters that don't involve Cloud, Red & Barret, Tifa & Aerith, Aerith & Red, Yuffie & Barret. All the bonding moments around the world builds more love and care for these people that you're going to spend so much time with.
Now i believe these next few characters deserve a new paragraph. I want to start off specifically with the two characters who are unplayable in this game, Vincent and Cid. For those that were upset with them being unplayable, i was indeed upset when it was announced before the game came out but after completing this game i couldn't even care and im even more excited to see what is done coming into Part 3, Cid was charming and still had a new flair to him. I don't really have much that comes to mind on Cid since he was primarily the man to fly the tiny bronco, there will obviously be more from him due Part3. Now onto Vincent, at points i almost thought i was going to control him however they did a lot more with Vincent in terms of implementing him into side quests & the main story, almost in the same way they incorporated yuffie into the story, with good amounts of humour and the hilarious moments of him trying to speak while being muffled inside his coffin, the genuine excitement of finally seeing vincent on screen and being the loner that he is it was good to finally be able to see the whole gang together.
Tifa Lockhart, with the addition of the new social mechanic where you're able to build bonds with characters it was quite enjoyable to have the control of who you're able to control and speak to in such manner. People who have played through the original and know of all FF7 material it is known that tifa is the one to save cloud with his delusion and its the ever ending eluding of that happening throughout this entire game. It continues to be prominent all the till credits roll. She is the pillar of bringing cloud back and she does just that as much as she can throughout the game. With of course the development of her not believing cloud because of the Nibelheim incident, the growth between Cloud & Tifa goes in a direction that i think we all expected it too and will continue to go in Part 3.
Cloud Strife, boy or boy cloud. its a homecoming. What a unbelievable way to make clouds mental illness, this game has made cloud schizophrenic. This isn't just mako poisoning anymore or him thinking he's someone else, this is genuinely a new point and approach to his mental illness and its something im scared but excited about, but this is a feeling I've been very much used to throughout this entire trilogy so far, Within the original game from the point of the Nibelheim flashback we know that cloud begins to lose himself to his mental illness and that becomes a problem for the party. With the approach that was taken in Rebirth, i was genuinely scared for anyone that stood in Clouds way. The influence of sephiroth and mental battle in this game is unbelievable, the constant reminder that every time those headaches begin something good dosen't come out of it. From points where cloud is quite literally spilling blood infront of his friends or him acting like sephiroth dodging bullets and slaughtering a whole platoon of shinra soldiers. Cloud is in a dark place right now, the trauma is building more and more and every moment seems to be getting worse the more Cloud is on screen. Big love to Cody Christian on his voice acting for Cloud, i genuinely had chills when it came to him speaking in that almost sephiroth/monotone talk. The presentation of cloud being someone completely different was done in a way i couldn't have expected but im thrilled to be experiencing.
Zack, im so sorry you had to relive having your heart broken to pieces for something that isn't your fault, he deserves all happiness in the world. And after all this he still cares and is selfless for others risking his life to protect them. No one deserved you zack
Aerith Gainsborough, alot of us were scared, alot of us are still scared. But let us embrace for what is to come, for what remake setup it seemed to be evident that aerith knew of things that she shouldn't know of, almost in the same that way that sephiroth's presentation was during remake. We knew that Sephiroth in remake was coming from Advent Children but what we didn't know is where Aerith gained any of the memories from. Throughout parts of remake aerith touched Red & Marlene and it showed no major plot points towards it, going into Rebirth it all began to make sense and things were starting to get out of control in things that we didn't expect. Aerith is 100% the staple of this game in which she has always been and im glad they stuck to that, She is constantly throughout the whole game giving hints and eluding to fate that is yet to come, From the point of her singing in the gold saucer it was set in stone that she was not going to make it at the end of this game. Cloud for what its worth with his poor mind pays no attention to any of it but for the viewer of this story, Aerith is trying her hardest to tell cloud and the viewer there is nothing thats going to stop what you know happening in this story so you must enjoy these moments and not feel bad for what will happen.
Onto the world of FF7, what we had all been wanting since the beginning. This game does everything for its world and it shows, this is what we all wanted. This is what i had been waiting for the most, remake was beautiful and Midgar was something i loved going through but for almost everyone when it came to the original the minute you stepped foot into the over-world the overall pacing of the game and the exploration that you experienced when it came to go visiting new places was beautiful, Rebirth keeps that exact feeling but for me amplifies it. Maybe that's because im able to see the game at a fidelity that's not the same as almost 30 years ago. It was hard to keep myself at not crying at every theme that played when going to a new area the music, the environments, the effort that went into making these places feel alive and full of life, this was nothing but amazing. Every zone held equally the same amount of effort and care and im sure as hell wondering what exactly could be done to push this even further going into Part 3.
I would love to point out as well when it came to NPCs the level of detail was a lot better than what was presented in Remake. It was evident that the only thing to be cared about in remake was everything centric around the story, going into Rebirth the team showed to put effort into all the things that lacked inside Remake. Side Quests, NPCs, Content outside of the story was nothing but amplified. Thank you SE for the amazing amount of black representation and effort into how everyone looks, Hairstyles and presentation, they did amazing.
As a mentioned before, the music. They had said 400 songs in a previous presentation before the games release and i didn't very much find that believable, was the game going to just have reused songs with the addition of what is new in remake? Yes. But its not the same, every song you believed was a reuse of what was in remake gained a new motiff, gained a new instrument, gained a new approach to the song that was different but somehow better than what was previously produced, Every song had a feeling inside it that i cannot explain. Once again amazing work towards to those behind the music of every FF game its something that is always evident for any game that comes out of SE, the music is always going to be some of the strongest parts of the game.
BOSS FIGHTS!!! WOW WOW WOW, Some of returning fights that got a touch of love and improvement from what it previously was, Some new faces too. Overall the amount of boss fights in this game and the way they're all constructed was nothing but fun, there genuinely wasn't a fight that i found irritating, annoying or down-right hard. I did get my ass beat quite alot of times when it came to doing the hard mode against fights that I believed we're easier when going through my first playthrough on Dynamic mode.
Onto something that I believe we all need to talk about and most likely what you're all wanting to read. The story.
I want to start off by saying, i like everything that this story has done. For alot of people right now going through the story, whether its someone watching or someone playing there is mixed reactions to what the ending sequence has come to. Going into rebirth, like many others we was ready to find out whether or not the death of Aerith will still happen. From start to finish the agenda of that happening is being pushed CONSISTENTLY especially when you get to the final set of chapters of the game it becomes more prominent. I was happily on the train of her still dying and im glad they stuck with it, the team behind the game know that they can't toy with the story to much to the point where people hate it for what it is. Everything leading up to that moment i believe was handled well, the usage of the PS5 triggers was probably some of the best choice for a moment like that. But let me not reminisce on those moments, lets talk about everything that happens after that. After which of course Aerith passes away and the world starts to go a little crazy with the whispers and it gives us a sort of hope that Aerith is alive, im still very much in acceptance that she is dead and won't know until the third game, what i did love from everything that happened with Aerith's death is the amplification it gave to Cloud's craziness which directly links into Cloud even worse in the final parts of the story but this time Cloud is quite literally the same as he is in Advent Children where he is the only one to see/sense Aerith. I don't believe aerith has cheated death or survived, maybe in a different timeline but im happily believing she's dead whether its a different timeline or not the main timeline that the game is following is what we should all follow on the basis if its not alive in this, its not alive anywhere else. The end of part 3 may have the same ending of Advent Children in which Zack & Aerith walk into the light after everything. The ending is messy i will say that, but its messy in a way that if a few scenes were taken out of swapped it would allow for a better development going into the 3rd game.
I wish they committed fully to an Aerith death scene or not. Doing both just emotionally jacked with me because now we have Cloud who thinks she’s alive with a team who thinks she’s dead, and he’s just oblivious. It also hurts so much that in chapter 13 and 14 he was pretty much a total asshole—especially to Tifa which really hurt after seeing their intimate scene on their date—and he never really fully owned it or made amends. Speaks volumes to the teams ability to love and forgive and accept him. And I understand why he was being that way. Sephiroth was hard fucking with his mind and using him, so it wasn’t fully Cloud. My first problem was going in hoping for a happy-ish ending but knew that wasn’t going to happen. What I got instead just hurts.
The same thing that happened with the Remake ending is happening with Rebirth, for those who genuinely love the story and want to know what happens will spend their next 3-4 years being psychopaths and building theories of nothing until we get actual information, others will have the same reaction to what they did with remake in which they hate it and say that it doesn't make sense and compare it to Kingdom Hearts. For people to always resort to Nomura being the butt of the joke whenever it comes to time travel has always been my least favourite thing to see, the approach of Rebirth with the culmination of CBU1 shouldn't be put all on Nomura's head because of him being Creative Director and i believe the way this story has been reimagined has been done in a way I've been happy experiencing and most likely many others.
I disagree that this game was written poorly. If you don’t like multiverse stuff, I can see it being considered poorly written. I don’t mind it, and the way they did it I thought was very good. The character development was phenomenal. Writing wise I do think Aerith’s end was just a lack of full commitment, and playing too much the “make everyone happy” thing. In one sense, it’s a great ending meaning it guts you and leaves you confused and frustrated and hopeful all at once. I did not come away from that ending unamused or outright angry only. In another sense, the ending just makes me hate Cloud for being a dick and insensitive. Again I understand why, I don’t need commenters ripping my post to shreds, just emotionally processing this game lol.
They delivered on the game, they delivered on the story and setup thoughts and speculations for the 3rd game as they did with the 1st, it is expected to be confused. All of us were confused when it came to the ending of remake and where the story will go and that exact moment is being relived through the ending of rebirth. Genuinely excited for what Part 3 holds, if done correctly and amplified for what this game has done in many ways it may end up as my favourite of the trilogy and one of the best reimagines of a story to be retold in a new era.
What I've noticed and find fascinating is the anger people show, but I don't think they understand why they are angry, the emotion they are feeling from the game is the frustration with how all that build up and they still failed. How the story is playing just like a 3 Act Play, this being their low point. It sucks for a story to end like that but you need the darkest moments in order for those brighter moments to shine and have more meaning.
The Finale has the potential to leave a big impact because the direness of the situation is in such a state that when the heroes are able to overcome it, and it's deserved, it will feel that much more rewarding to have been apart of that journey. Let us all rejoice for 4 years with theories until we get news on Part 3
No Promises Await At Journey's End.
2024
Another great time to start off the amazing 2 months of 2024, its always great when a new horde shooter gets released and its a perfect experience to play with friends. One thing this does say is this that playstation should push to have their games released more day 1 on both PS & PC.
Of course a PC release is going to have its problems when the game has been built to play on PS5, ive seen not stop reviews of people having performance issues or crashes. I had a point where i was crashing for about 5minutes but the problem fixed itself, and my pc is less powerful than people reviewing with 30series/40series (im owning 1660ti / 2700X) and my game is running smooth and perfectly fine at a good 60-70fps.
Allegedly kernel level anti cheat (same tier as Vanguard level anti cheat) is something to consider, though it doesn't seem to have any impact on the game. you probably don't need to care about it.
Can't be that bad of a bad purchase at £35 when other studios are dropping a game at £70 at less quality than what this game released at. Its been given a update on what is to expected from the game, roadmap, free updates, new mobs, weapons etc. I think the game will be a major hit or major miss for most people, largely depending on if your hardware agrees with the game or not. The gameplay itself is extremely fun and challenging depending on your difficulty, with quite a lot of replayability with friends.
I expect alot of the problems people are encountering right now will be fixed as soon as possible (at the time of this post there's already been a hotfix)
If you love horde shooters and wanted something bat-shit crazy to play, this would be the game to play. With amazing sound design, a variety of missions and weapons, hilarious moments to share with friends & already confirmed updates to add towards the game with developers watching how everyone's reception is, there's only a good track record to where the game could end up.
Of course a PC release is going to have its problems when the game has been built to play on PS5, ive seen not stop reviews of people having performance issues or crashes. I had a point where i was crashing for about 5minutes but the problem fixed itself, and my pc is less powerful than people reviewing with 30series/40series (im owning 1660ti / 2700X) and my game is running smooth and perfectly fine at a good 60-70fps.
Allegedly kernel level anti cheat (same tier as Vanguard level anti cheat) is something to consider, though it doesn't seem to have any impact on the game. you probably don't need to care about it.
Can't be that bad of a bad purchase at £35 when other studios are dropping a game at £70 at less quality than what this game released at. Its been given a update on what is to expected from the game, roadmap, free updates, new mobs, weapons etc. I think the game will be a major hit or major miss for most people, largely depending on if your hardware agrees with the game or not. The gameplay itself is extremely fun and challenging depending on your difficulty, with quite a lot of replayability with friends.
I expect alot of the problems people are encountering right now will be fixed as soon as possible (at the time of this post there's already been a hotfix)
If you love horde shooters and wanted something bat-shit crazy to play, this would be the game to play. With amazing sound design, a variety of missions and weapons, hilarious moments to share with friends & already confirmed updates to add towards the game with developers watching how everyone's reception is, there's only a good track record to where the game could end up.
I've been patiently waiting for a game that is aRPG with the addition of being allowed to play with friends, after playing multiple aRPG games throughout the last 3-4 years, its been evident that the experience could be elevated by involving an aspect of multiplayer/co-op.
This game has proved that exact statement, its one of those games that was stuck in development hell for almost 7 years but comes out prevailed keeping the same fundamental ideas and grounded approach to what makes RPG games great. With the addition of co-op i find myself playing this game for endless hours and the additional announcements of new characters and content to be added in the coming months.
This would be one of those games that you would believe would surface from being live-service but that mode never usually works out for most games and im glad that this game isn't a live service, produce content every 4-5 months or have the same model as MH with big expansions giving you the incentive to come back to the game... I would find myself being more inclined to the later
Overall the game is great, it had its problems with the multiplayer region lock but it seems that the developers are doing their very best to improve the pc experience. I did bump into a few crashes in cutscenes that would have me restarting chapters because it was during a cutscene but it never deterred me from pushing through it so that i can continue enjoying the game.
This game has proved that exact statement, its one of those games that was stuck in development hell for almost 7 years but comes out prevailed keeping the same fundamental ideas and grounded approach to what makes RPG games great. With the addition of co-op i find myself playing this game for endless hours and the additional announcements of new characters and content to be added in the coming months.
This would be one of those games that you would believe would surface from being live-service but that mode never usually works out for most games and im glad that this game isn't a live service, produce content every 4-5 months or have the same model as MH with big expansions giving you the incentive to come back to the game... I would find myself being more inclined to the later
Overall the game is great, it had its problems with the multiplayer region lock but it seems that the developers are doing their very best to improve the pc experience. I did bump into a few crashes in cutscenes that would have me restarting chapters because it was during a cutscene but it never deterred me from pushing through it so that i can continue enjoying the game.
2024
Another big fighting title that has taken its time over the last 10 years to find ways to keep Tekken at the forefront of 3D fighters. Tekken wasn't always my preferred 3D fighter game but after soulcalibur and dead or alive have not found their reason to release a new entry I found myself indulging in T7 and now, Tekken 8.
This was always a series I've always known for its wonderful soundtracks and to give a shoutout the amazing jukebox addition they added to the game which allows me to back in time with previous tekken titles and use those songs onto stages instead of certain T8 tracks.
I would watch my older brother play or fight against on tekken becuase of the punishment and strategy of learning how to play a Tekken game, The story was truly exciting and genuinely one of my favourites, and im currently waiting on my fightstick to arrive after sadly my 10 year old breaking on me, Online will eventually see me and I can't wait to mess around and lab with certain characters
I would recommend this game to anyone that finds interest in fighting games, this is another wonderful entry into the series and involves large amounts of fun & customisation, if you're wanting to make your character look like drake..
5/5 mik review
4.5 mik critic
This was always a series I've always known for its wonderful soundtracks and to give a shoutout the amazing jukebox addition they added to the game which allows me to back in time with previous tekken titles and use those songs onto stages instead of certain T8 tracks.
I would watch my older brother play or fight against on tekken becuase of the punishment and strategy of learning how to play a Tekken game, The story was truly exciting and genuinely one of my favourites, and im currently waiting on my fightstick to arrive after sadly my 10 year old breaking on me, Online will eventually see me and I can't wait to mess around and lab with certain characters
I would recommend this game to anyone that finds interest in fighting games, this is another wonderful entry into the series and involves large amounts of fun & customisation, if you're wanting to make your character look like drake..
5/5 mik review
4.5 mik critic
They're not beating the FF14 allegations with this DLC
I just want to say this is one of my favourite fights, easily top 3 next to Bahamut & Titan. From the music to the overall chaos of this fight im glad I played it on 'Final Fantasy' Difficulty.
For me being a raider on FF14, experiencing both the omega raid & the omega ultimate. This was the icing on the cake for omega overall and how CB3 handles this monster. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it to be a great DLC for just £8, some may say others but for the 3 hours playing through the door bosses coming up to Omega itself it was a wonderful amount of fun.
For those expecting any extra amounts of new story elements there is not much to see in this expansion. They advertised it to be the shorter half out of the two, 'Rising tide' will be the expected longer expansion, This very much is an expansion to bring you back to the game and remind you about the great people who were behind this game and how well they construct fights.
Soken thank you for your work on the music.
I just want to say this is one of my favourite fights, easily top 3 next to Bahamut & Titan. From the music to the overall chaos of this fight im glad I played it on 'Final Fantasy' Difficulty.
For me being a raider on FF14, experiencing both the omega raid & the omega ultimate. This was the icing on the cake for omega overall and how CB3 handles this monster. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it to be a great DLC for just £8, some may say others but for the 3 hours playing through the door bosses coming up to Omega itself it was a wonderful amount of fun.
For those expecting any extra amounts of new story elements there is not much to see in this expansion. They advertised it to be the shorter half out of the two, 'Rising tide' will be the expected longer expansion, This very much is an expansion to bring you back to the game and remind you about the great people who were behind this game and how well they construct fights.
Soken thank you for your work on the music.
2023
Really neat gameplay concept that makes me realise gitaroo man should of received a sequel. The game does suffer from some boring writing, however i did enjoy the characters that you meet and join your group later on into the game.
As for the game itself, i enjoyed it. Im a big fan for action games and it was nice to see something involve a new style and put rhythm into the mix, as mentioned before one of my very beloved games gitaroo man which was a rhythm game back on the PS2 followed very similar ideas that this game shares, its almost as if the game was taken as inspiration at parts.
The whole style of this game, the vibrant and expressive characters, and the great level design make this a game a nod towards previous rhythm games that have come in the past that should be revisited. For an action game it doesn't equal to capcom or bayonetta level of combat but its enjoyable with the addition of trying to stay in sync with the music to reach higher score points and fun with staying in flow with the beat playing.
My least favourite part of the game being the platforming and that seemingly feeling a bit janky and weird at times where i would find myself overjudging or propelling myself in the complete wrong direction when trying to climb up to the next area.
So after all the hype this received earlier this year, It really commits to its core concept which is why I do like the game, and at the end of it all I was left wanting more. I'm not sure if I wanted the same thing but with faster, more intense music, or the same thing but with a more compelling narrative.
If the developers of gitaroo man ever find me, please take into consideration that more rhythm games should be made.
As for the game itself, i enjoyed it. Im a big fan for action games and it was nice to see something involve a new style and put rhythm into the mix, as mentioned before one of my very beloved games gitaroo man which was a rhythm game back on the PS2 followed very similar ideas that this game shares, its almost as if the game was taken as inspiration at parts.
The whole style of this game, the vibrant and expressive characters, and the great level design make this a game a nod towards previous rhythm games that have come in the past that should be revisited. For an action game it doesn't equal to capcom or bayonetta level of combat but its enjoyable with the addition of trying to stay in sync with the music to reach higher score points and fun with staying in flow with the beat playing.
My least favourite part of the game being the platforming and that seemingly feeling a bit janky and weird at times where i would find myself overjudging or propelling myself in the complete wrong direction when trying to climb up to the next area.
So after all the hype this received earlier this year, It really commits to its core concept which is why I do like the game, and at the end of it all I was left wanting more. I'm not sure if I wanted the same thing but with faster, more intense music, or the same thing but with a more compelling narrative.
If the developers of gitaroo man ever find me, please take into consideration that more rhythm games should be made.
2023
Something about this game shows how much fun can come from a game that is just built with very small fundamentals, I love everything about this game and heavily reminds me of SCP. I don't think ive found so much funny moments and genuine scares. For the price that this game is everyone should buy it and play with your friends. This is a level of survival horror every game should aspire for because nothing is better than watching your friend on proximity mic run down a hallway screaming while a giant spider is on his ass.
A wonderful remake allowing me to go back and play this game that I remember watching my siblings play on the PS3, Its nice to be able to relive the story however this time its me having a chance to play the game.
After the show I had been waiting for a reason to replay this part of the story and was reminded of how masterful Part 1 is and how well it transitions into part 2.
Whatever naughty dog decides to do with this IP going forward whether its a Part 3 or a multiplayer IP, I look forward to the boundaries they push with this beautiful engine and storytelling.
After the show I had been waiting for a reason to replay this part of the story and was reminded of how masterful Part 1 is and how well it transitions into part 2.
Whatever naughty dog decides to do with this IP going forward whether its a Part 3 or a multiplayer IP, I look forward to the boundaries they push with this beautiful engine and storytelling.
This review contains spoilers
What a wonderful time i had playing this game, lemme just start off with saying, spoilers will be in this review. 40 hours, platinumed the game is finished to the full extent. I will be going into everything possible that i believe should be spoke on
This game opens up with one of if not the best sequences yet this year, Its a heavy contender for how FF16 & TOTK opened but having sandman be the main introduction and none of that being shown in trailers was the perfect choice to engage me back into the spiderman story
I found myself spending alot of time exploring the world of spiderman 2 than i did playing it. This game took the world and environment to a whole new level and proved that insomniac knew how to expand with a sequel and give love to both miles and peter in the correct ways
With a select amount of side quests, all of them being engaging. I found myself being alot more indulged into miles side stories, 2 specific stories on two old men but one specfic telling you to fetch doves and you come back to find he passed away on the steps looking at the sea
I personally wouldn't have expected a side story of all things to get me as emotional as it did, but it gave a heartfelt feeling to being spiderman, the ability to make others happy and provide them with comfort in the world that they all live in
Moving onto the story, it was short for someone who would sit down and no life it but filling in everything provided in the game it builds up a great world and build up to the finale of the game. Kraven/Venom/Li/Yuriko all great additions to side & main story.
With lots of little nods to characters that will most likely be put into DLC, i look forward to where the story will eventually progress & end (Spiderman 3 / SM 2 DLC). The story of spiderman 2 was a great sequel and evidentially the part to push forward a hope for a 3rd
Venom was a perfect addition, my only gripe being i wanted MORE. I felt as if it was cut short with peter going through his downfall and harry becoming worse and mad at the world at a pace that could of probably been explored even further.
I thoroughly enjoyed peter's downfall, evidently one of my favourite things about the tobey films was the effective change in his demenor when gaining the symbiote, If there was just more time to adjust and understand what was happening to peter i would of sympathised more.
Harry once gaining the true symbiote form of venom was probably the best moment towards the end of the game. I verbally screamed once shown i had the ability to play as Venom and there being no remorse in showing how brutal Venoms move set can be (Why is it PG13)
Do i even need to say much on Kraven vs Venom? That fight speaks for itself, I very much expected Kraven to go out in a different way but with the whole build up of him wanting a true fight, He very much deserved the ending he was given.
The last 1-2 hours of the story was some of the best the game could get, Finally seeing scream, The alluding to Carnage entering the universe, Venom choosing to take over the world. Each segment was piling upon each other and all it did was build excitement.
The scenery, the set pieces, the boss fights. All in all the game showed up and it did exactly what everyone was hoping Insomniac would do. Now all we can do is wait and see what they have in store for us next whether its wolverine or spiderman 3, I will be there.
Spiderman 2 is masterpiece and easily a top 5 for games that come out this year so far, proof that there still good games coming out this year no matter the problems that others are having.
Mikreview - 10/10
Critic mik - 9/10
(miles is the goat)
This game opens up with one of if not the best sequences yet this year, Its a heavy contender for how FF16 & TOTK opened but having sandman be the main introduction and none of that being shown in trailers was the perfect choice to engage me back into the spiderman story
I found myself spending alot of time exploring the world of spiderman 2 than i did playing it. This game took the world and environment to a whole new level and proved that insomniac knew how to expand with a sequel and give love to both miles and peter in the correct ways
With a select amount of side quests, all of them being engaging. I found myself being alot more indulged into miles side stories, 2 specific stories on two old men but one specfic telling you to fetch doves and you come back to find he passed away on the steps looking at the sea
I personally wouldn't have expected a side story of all things to get me as emotional as it did, but it gave a heartfelt feeling to being spiderman, the ability to make others happy and provide them with comfort in the world that they all live in
Moving onto the story, it was short for someone who would sit down and no life it but filling in everything provided in the game it builds up a great world and build up to the finale of the game. Kraven/Venom/Li/Yuriko all great additions to side & main story.
With lots of little nods to characters that will most likely be put into DLC, i look forward to where the story will eventually progress & end (Spiderman 3 / SM 2 DLC). The story of spiderman 2 was a great sequel and evidentially the part to push forward a hope for a 3rd
Venom was a perfect addition, my only gripe being i wanted MORE. I felt as if it was cut short with peter going through his downfall and harry becoming worse and mad at the world at a pace that could of probably been explored even further.
I thoroughly enjoyed peter's downfall, evidently one of my favourite things about the tobey films was the effective change in his demenor when gaining the symbiote, If there was just more time to adjust and understand what was happening to peter i would of sympathised more.
Harry once gaining the true symbiote form of venom was probably the best moment towards the end of the game. I verbally screamed once shown i had the ability to play as Venom and there being no remorse in showing how brutal Venoms move set can be (Why is it PG13)
Do i even need to say much on Kraven vs Venom? That fight speaks for itself, I very much expected Kraven to go out in a different way but with the whole build up of him wanting a true fight, He very much deserved the ending he was given.
The last 1-2 hours of the story was some of the best the game could get, Finally seeing scream, The alluding to Carnage entering the universe, Venom choosing to take over the world. Each segment was piling upon each other and all it did was build excitement.
The scenery, the set pieces, the boss fights. All in all the game showed up and it did exactly what everyone was hoping Insomniac would do. Now all we can do is wait and see what they have in store for us next whether its wolverine or spiderman 3, I will be there.
Spiderman 2 is masterpiece and easily a top 5 for games that come out this year so far, proof that there still good games coming out this year no matter the problems that others are having.
Mikreview - 10/10
Critic mik - 9/10
(miles is the goat)
2023
this might just be the best fighting game this year
Kena is a visually enchanting game with many commendable aspects, but it does have some notable shortcomings.
The story, although emotionally charged, can at times feel overly formulaic and predictable. It occasionally relies on clichés, making certain plot points seem both boring and trivial. While it has moments of genuine emotional depth, it doesn't consistently maintain that level of engagement throughout the entire journey.
On the combat front, Kena's abilities and spirit companions do offer a satisfying core experience. However, the combat system's diversity is lacking. The encounters tend to feel repetitive, as there aren't enough distinct enemy types or combat mechanics to keep things fresh and exciting. This can lead to some monotony in gameplay, particularly during extended sessions.
Boss fights, unfortunately, suffer from strange mechanics that can make them feel needlessly challenging. Rather than presenting a fair and enjoyable challenge, some of these encounters seem designed to artificially inflate the difficulty level, leading to moments of frustration instead of satisfaction.
Kena is a visually striking and emotionally resonant game with some gameplay issues. While the story has its moments, it occasionally falls into clichés, and the combat, while enjoyable initially, lacks diversity. The boss fights could benefit from more balanced mechanics. Despite these shortcomings, it still offers a beautiful world to explore and moments of genuine emotional connection, making it worth considering for fans of the genre.
The story, although emotionally charged, can at times feel overly formulaic and predictable. It occasionally relies on clichés, making certain plot points seem both boring and trivial. While it has moments of genuine emotional depth, it doesn't consistently maintain that level of engagement throughout the entire journey.
On the combat front, Kena's abilities and spirit companions do offer a satisfying core experience. However, the combat system's diversity is lacking. The encounters tend to feel repetitive, as there aren't enough distinct enemy types or combat mechanics to keep things fresh and exciting. This can lead to some monotony in gameplay, particularly during extended sessions.
Boss fights, unfortunately, suffer from strange mechanics that can make them feel needlessly challenging. Rather than presenting a fair and enjoyable challenge, some of these encounters seem designed to artificially inflate the difficulty level, leading to moments of frustration instead of satisfaction.
Kena is a visually striking and emotionally resonant game with some gameplay issues. While the story has its moments, it occasionally falls into clichés, and the combat, while enjoyable initially, lacks diversity. The boss fights could benefit from more balanced mechanics. Despite these shortcomings, it still offers a beautiful world to explore and moments of genuine emotional connection, making it worth considering for fans of the genre.
A chance to go back to RE4 that i won't turn down?
Not touching the game after being completely done with the story and my enjoyment on mercenaries, I was happy to know I had an excuse to go back and enjoy the story again from a different perspective.
A lot of mixed reviews on people being unhappy that this was cut from the original game and used as a purchasable DLC, I believe this is more than worth the price tag this has on it. no sort of filler, just a chance to go through all the major locations of the base game as someone new, while filling in and cleaning up the story.
Ada deservers her own game
Not touching the game after being completely done with the story and my enjoyment on mercenaries, I was happy to know I had an excuse to go back and enjoy the story again from a different perspective.
A lot of mixed reviews on people being unhappy that this was cut from the original game and used as a purchasable DLC, I believe this is more than worth the price tag this has on it. no sort of filler, just a chance to go through all the major locations of the base game as someone new, while filling in and cleaning up the story.
Ada deservers her own game
A absolute blast from the past.
The game retains the core essence of what made armored core great: intense mech battles, deep customization options, and a gritty, dystopian future setting. Fires of Rubicon adds modern graphics and improved gameplay mechanics, breathing new life into the franchise. The controls are intuitive, and the combat is as exhilarating as ever.
One of the standout features is the extensive customization system, allowing players to fine-tune every aspect of their mechs. The sense of ownership over your creation is deeply satisfying, and experimenting with different loadouts is a joy.
While the nostalgia factor is strong, fires of rubicon successfully combines old-school charm with modern improvements, making it a must-play for both fans of the series and newcomers alike. It's a thrilling return to the world of mechs and mayhem that we armored core fans have been waiting on.
The game retains the core essence of what made armored core great: intense mech battles, deep customization options, and a gritty, dystopian future setting. Fires of Rubicon adds modern graphics and improved gameplay mechanics, breathing new life into the franchise. The controls are intuitive, and the combat is as exhilarating as ever.
One of the standout features is the extensive customization system, allowing players to fine-tune every aspect of their mechs. The sense of ownership over your creation is deeply satisfying, and experimenting with different loadouts is a joy.
While the nostalgia factor is strong, fires of rubicon successfully combines old-school charm with modern improvements, making it a must-play for both fans of the series and newcomers alike. It's a thrilling return to the world of mechs and mayhem that we armored core fans have been waiting on.
2023
Thronefall is a diamond in the rough, a hidden gem of a game that may have a small player base currently, but it shows immense promise for future development. This fantasy RPG/Tower Defence has all the ingredients for greatness, look forward to what the developers have in store