mocca
2005
This review contains spoilers
Impressive first release. Maybe the most cinematic game I've played on the PS2 so far, even surpassing MGS. They wanted to create a crime drama but as a game and pretty much succeeded with flying colors on the drama front but the game parts need some work. I don't have any problem with playing the same brawler combat a million times but some encounters are pretty miserable, namely any encounter that includes two or more gun wielders. I just don't know what the thinking here was, getting juggled by bullets all the time was really annoying.
Side activities weren't really all that numerous but I did lose a fair chunk of time in the casino, gambling is fun. The batting minigame caused me suffering though, I have no idea how anyone could ever complete it. Maybe it's due to emulation but figuring out that timing was impossible on any difficulty beyond the beginner course...
The story and presentation is the reason to play this game. Though there are a lot of issues with the former... The last act just seems very rushed, a new villain just appears out of thin air complete with long exposition dumps to explain who he is and why he does what he does. It's a bit ridiculous. Another thing that bothered me was the way women were written... I get that this game is the ultimate masculine fantasy of the 2000s but does every major female character really need to be motivated solely by her love to a man? It's a bit ridiculous when this even extends to all the side stories... Also Kiryu's reaction to the Kazama reveal at the end was a bit hard to swallow. I hope this gets addressed in the future! Even if you love him, forgiving the murder of your parents like that seem a bit...I did really like all the Yakuza politics and masculine stand offs though. And the presentation of everything, even if I have some issues with the plot, is just incredible. The voice acting (I played with the undub), the physical mocap acting, the cinematography, the music, everything was peak and felt basically as if watching a real good crime drama film. That alone is worth playing the game for.
Side activities weren't really all that numerous but I did lose a fair chunk of time in the casino, gambling is fun. The batting minigame caused me suffering though, I have no idea how anyone could ever complete it. Maybe it's due to emulation but figuring out that timing was impossible on any difficulty beyond the beginner course...
The story and presentation is the reason to play this game. Though there are a lot of issues with the former... The last act just seems very rushed, a new villain just appears out of thin air complete with long exposition dumps to explain who he is and why he does what he does. It's a bit ridiculous. Another thing that bothered me was the way women were written... I get that this game is the ultimate masculine fantasy of the 2000s but does every major female character really need to be motivated solely by her love to a man? It's a bit ridiculous when this even extends to all the side stories... Also Kiryu's reaction to the Kazama reveal at the end was a bit hard to swallow. I hope this gets addressed in the future! Even if you love him, forgiving the murder of your parents like that seem a bit...I did really like all the Yakuza politics and masculine stand offs though. And the presentation of everything, even if I have some issues with the plot, is just incredible. The voice acting (I played with the undub), the physical mocap acting, the cinematography, the music, everything was peak and felt basically as if watching a real good crime drama film. That alone is worth playing the game for.
1993
DQ 1 is a masterpiece of simplicity. I'd give it 5 stars.
DQ 2 is a first attempt at increasing scope but they messed it up pretty much. Bigger just to be bigger, not better. 3 stars.
DQ 2 is a first attempt at increasing scope but they messed it up pretty much. Bigger just to be bigger, not better. 3 stars.
2009
Ys I is a great game with some balancing issues (4 stars)
Ys II is a very annoying game I could barely stand to finish because it's so mazey that it becomes absurd (2 stars)
Ys II is a very annoying game I could barely stand to finish because it's so mazey that it becomes absurd (2 stars)