mrroidley
2022
I bought it on Steam after it was on a really good sale, not expecting much beyond a fun game. Never played the original.
I'm surprised! It's a really fun and charming game, being easy for newcomers yet having a challenge for those that want to 100%, but most importantly, it's a great reinvention of Pac-Man, from a maze game to a mascot 3D platformer, without losing its identity or feeling like just a cheap cash-in to get with the times (considering the original was released when 3D platformers were at the peak of popularity), it feels more like Namco following the trend paying attention how could Pac-Man make it unique. I recommend this one!
I'm surprised! It's a really fun and charming game, being easy for newcomers yet having a challenge for those that want to 100%, but most importantly, it's a great reinvention of Pac-Man, from a maze game to a mascot 3D platformer, without losing its identity or feeling like just a cheap cash-in to get with the times (considering the original was released when 3D platformers were at the peak of popularity), it feels more like Namco following the trend paying attention how could Pac-Man make it unique. I recommend this one!
I have a new favorite game of all time, surpassing the very first Xenoblade Chronicles game.
I can't put it into words how much I love this game, its story, its gameplay, and most importantly its message, and how it deals with the subject of life and death.
A beautiful game through and through. I have beaten the story but I still have a good amount of sidequests to do, plus the expansion. I'm far from done with this masterpiece!
I can't put it into words how much I love this game, its story, its gameplay, and most importantly its message, and how it deals with the subject of life and death.
A beautiful game through and through. I have beaten the story but I still have a good amount of sidequests to do, plus the expansion. I'm far from done with this masterpiece!
Wow, okay! I have really conflicting feelings about this one.
Let's start with the good: graphics and atmosphere are awesome. Trailers didn't make the game justice in that regard. The decision to make randomly-generated maps each dive was great, especially for a online game. There's also a wide variety of animals, even extinct ones, with detailed descriptions for them, for those curious. And most importantly, it really excels in being a relaxing, contemplative game.
But it stops there. Arika and Nintendo had this really interesting concept in their hands and did nothing else with it.
I played a bit of the first Endless Ocean to understand what I was into with Luminous prior to its release, and I gotta say, the only upper hand Luminous has are the controls (pointer controls on the original are BAD in 2024). But other than that... The original 2007 game has a more diverse soundtrack, more content (including a boat where it serves as your base and even has some land animals), and, most importantly, a better integrated story.
Luminous's story mode is a collection of cutscenes that are a GRIND to unlock. You gotta go in two, three dives just to unlock a chapter. And said chapters are often just 3 minutes long. A full dive is 1 HOUR long. The story isn't anything special, although it has a nice message. Also really ain't a fan of Sera, the AI character, voiced by AI. Feels a bit tonedeaf for a huge company like Nintendo to use AI voices in their games, when the AI in voice acting discussion is at its peak. At the very least, they used AI voices for a AI character, so it's not that awful. HOWEVER, why couldn't they translate the game for more languages if that's the case? The game is sadly not available at all in my home language, Brazilian Portuguese.
And although it's basically a multiplayer game, you always feel you're by yourself. Communication is basically through emojis and emotes you barely ever use. And because you're in the sea, you barely pay attention to other player's customized outfits. I don't think anybody ever noticed I patterned by diver's outfit to look like Samus, and that's a shame.
And I feel the game is further hindered by... The Switch's own shortcomings. Better yet, Nintendo's own dumb ideas. As in pricing such a simple light game for $50, and making such a multiplayer game without built-in voice chat. Since the Switch overall does not have voice chat.
But, despite all these shortcomings, Luminous is still... really addictive for some reason? Like, I know it's barebones but I still see myself going back to it. Still haven't finished the story, but I can see myself grinding my way to finishing it, because, after all, the core experience is fun... Even if Nintendo and Arika didn't do much with it. My 2.5 stars is just that: it's a good experience... halfway completed.
All I'm saying is that, at its current state, maybe if they had released it for $30 (or hell, made it Nintendo Switch Online-exclusive for "free"), and if it had somehow voice chat, it'd be the PERFECT game to relax and wind down chatting with friends if it was cheaper and it had voice chat. I could even see it becoming a hit.
Maybe Arika would have a hit in their hands if they ditched their relationship with Nintendo with the franchise and released it on PC on something. In case you don't know, before Endless Ocean, Arika released two games on a franchise called "Everblue" on the PS2, that played similarly. The first Endless Ocean even reused assets from Everblue. Maybe it's time for a another sucessor on another platform?
Let's start with the good: graphics and atmosphere are awesome. Trailers didn't make the game justice in that regard. The decision to make randomly-generated maps each dive was great, especially for a online game. There's also a wide variety of animals, even extinct ones, with detailed descriptions for them, for those curious. And most importantly, it really excels in being a relaxing, contemplative game.
But it stops there. Arika and Nintendo had this really interesting concept in their hands and did nothing else with it.
I played a bit of the first Endless Ocean to understand what I was into with Luminous prior to its release, and I gotta say, the only upper hand Luminous has are the controls (pointer controls on the original are BAD in 2024). But other than that... The original 2007 game has a more diverse soundtrack, more content (including a boat where it serves as your base and even has some land animals), and, most importantly, a better integrated story.
Luminous's story mode is a collection of cutscenes that are a GRIND to unlock. You gotta go in two, three dives just to unlock a chapter. And said chapters are often just 3 minutes long. A full dive is 1 HOUR long. The story isn't anything special, although it has a nice message. Also really ain't a fan of Sera, the AI character, voiced by AI. Feels a bit tonedeaf for a huge company like Nintendo to use AI voices in their games, when the AI in voice acting discussion is at its peak. At the very least, they used AI voices for a AI character, so it's not that awful. HOWEVER, why couldn't they translate the game for more languages if that's the case? The game is sadly not available at all in my home language, Brazilian Portuguese.
And although it's basically a multiplayer game, you always feel you're by yourself. Communication is basically through emojis and emotes you barely ever use. And because you're in the sea, you barely pay attention to other player's customized outfits. I don't think anybody ever noticed I patterned by diver's outfit to look like Samus, and that's a shame.
And I feel the game is further hindered by... The Switch's own shortcomings. Better yet, Nintendo's own dumb ideas. As in pricing such a simple light game for $50, and making such a multiplayer game without built-in voice chat. Since the Switch overall does not have voice chat.
But, despite all these shortcomings, Luminous is still... really addictive for some reason? Like, I know it's barebones but I still see myself going back to it. Still haven't finished the story, but I can see myself grinding my way to finishing it, because, after all, the core experience is fun... Even if Nintendo and Arika didn't do much with it. My 2.5 stars is just that: it's a good experience... halfway completed.
All I'm saying is that, at its current state, maybe if they had released it for $30 (or hell, made it Nintendo Switch Online-exclusive for "free"), and if it had somehow voice chat, it'd be the PERFECT game to relax and wind down chatting with friends if it was cheaper and it had voice chat. I could even see it becoming a hit.
Maybe Arika would have a hit in their hands if they ditched their relationship with Nintendo with the franchise and released it on PC on something. In case you don't know, before Endless Ocean, Arika released two games on a franchise called "Everblue" on the PS2, that played similarly. The first Endless Ocean even reused assets from Everblue. Maybe it's time for a another sucessor on another platform?
2008
I know this is not exactly a good game and it's really silly, but I have so much nostalgic attachment to it that I can't not give it 5 stars. As a musician nowadays, this was my very first contact with music arrangement in some way, where I would mix and match different instruments and try to play songs in a different way. It's a bit of a dumb game, the controls barely work, but damn, I can't help but love it.
First of all, just the fact these games were chosen for a remake is already a good surprise by itself.
About the change from the original to the remake, I can't speak much on Another Code R since I never played it on the Wii (I fully intend to though!), but I did play the first game a few years ago. But I can say that this is no mere remake: it's a whole reimagination of both stories, with original gameplay, new puzzles and some changes in how the stories are told. I read in a wiki that Another Code R actually had some plot point changes, so I guess there's that as well.
It sucks a bit that the ingeniosity of the DS version with the puzzles that really took advantage of the touch screen and two screens was lost in Recollection, and I imagine losing the Wii pointer controls from R had similar effects. Makes the games feel somewhat more of a "standard" adventure game, you know? Which is not inherently a bad thing, but a huge change of pace of the Cing games from that era, that were driven by the unique features of the consoles they were on.
But I guess it can't be helped: they couldn't force touch controls or pointer ones since they had to make the game properly playable whether you're playing docked or handheld, on a regular Switch or a Switch Lite, Pro Controller or Joy-Cons... With that said, I was already imagining it using solely the Joy-Cons and having crazy puzzles using the different Joy-Con positions as well the infrared reader... But anyways. It's not like the puzzles are bad, and some even used motion controls! I wish there were more of them though.
Presentation is spectacular. This is, genuinely, one of the best-looking games I ever saw on the Switch. it looks gorgeous. Music and voice acting are also great.
Story-wise, both parts are beautiful, poignant stories about facing your past, and, as a result, facing the truth. "Facing the truth can hurt, but in the end, it's for the best" is a phrase I'm taking with me for life.
I felt much more impacted by the first game's story this time around than I was in the DS version. Again, can't say much about Another Code R at this point.
Another Code Recollection is one of my favorite Switch games ever and I'm so glad that it was chosen for a remake. I really, really hope Hotel Dusk and Last Window are next in line, even if they have to be more standard games this time around (just keep the unique artsyle)!
About the change from the original to the remake, I can't speak much on Another Code R since I never played it on the Wii (I fully intend to though!), but I did play the first game a few years ago. But I can say that this is no mere remake: it's a whole reimagination of both stories, with original gameplay, new puzzles and some changes in how the stories are told. I read in a wiki that Another Code R actually had some plot point changes, so I guess there's that as well.
It sucks a bit that the ingeniosity of the DS version with the puzzles that really took advantage of the touch screen and two screens was lost in Recollection, and I imagine losing the Wii pointer controls from R had similar effects. Makes the games feel somewhat more of a "standard" adventure game, you know? Which is not inherently a bad thing, but a huge change of pace of the Cing games from that era, that were driven by the unique features of the consoles they were on.
But I guess it can't be helped: they couldn't force touch controls or pointer ones since they had to make the game properly playable whether you're playing docked or handheld, on a regular Switch or a Switch Lite, Pro Controller or Joy-Cons... With that said, I was already imagining it using solely the Joy-Cons and having crazy puzzles using the different Joy-Con positions as well the infrared reader... But anyways. It's not like the puzzles are bad, and some even used motion controls! I wish there were more of them though.
Presentation is spectacular. This is, genuinely, one of the best-looking games I ever saw on the Switch. it looks gorgeous. Music and voice acting are also great.
Story-wise, both parts are beautiful, poignant stories about facing your past, and, as a result, facing the truth. "Facing the truth can hurt, but in the end, it's for the best" is a phrase I'm taking with me for life.
I felt much more impacted by the first game's story this time around than I was in the DS version. Again, can't say much about Another Code R at this point.
Another Code Recollection is one of my favorite Switch games ever and I'm so glad that it was chosen for a remake. I really, really hope Hotel Dusk and Last Window are next in line, even if they have to be more standard games this time around (just keep the unique artsyle)!
This sole star is because of Desert Island Escape, which is surprisingly fun and carries the game, should be rereleased on the Switch, maybe as a eShop game. But the rest of the game is, as we all know it, pure garbage. Only bought it back in 2019 because I found it for cheap and I wanted the bundled amiibo.
Completed the Law ending for this playthrough. This one was in my backlog for a few... years lol, finally decided to start it. My very first main SMT game (although I played Persona, Devil Survivor and Tokyo Mirage Sessions before).
My biggest surprise is how this is not a very long RPG, which is a really good thing, especially since it's Atlus we're talking about (looking at YOU, Persona, which I also love btw). 30 hours long if you're just going for the main story and one of the endings, and it never drops the ball. It always throws stuff in your way for it to keep interesting.
Gameplay is fun, nothing too groundbreaking for a turn-based RPG but its Press Turn system never fails to be interesting, as well as finding and fusing demons.
Its story is good, the supporting characters are nothing to really write about (they are there more to represent the moral choices really), but the story, coupled with the AWESOME post-apocalyptic and brooding atmosphere really nails it to me, even under the massive graphical limitations for the 3DS (HD remaster Atlus, please!). The limitations however are apparent in overworld Tokyo, where you are represented by what looks like a weird board piece. It's not a major thing, but definitely a low point in an otherwise great presentation.
On the graphics side, I remember being kind of turned off by seeing screenshots of the game and seeing the demons in battle were sprites and not 3D models unlike many Atlus games on the 3DS even, but watching them in motion is a whole different story, the sprite work is SPECTACULAR, by the screenshots it felt they were just reusing old sprites to save time and cut costs, but in-game you can clearly see it's a conscious and good stylistic choice. Character designs overall are great as usual. Atlus and Kazuma Kaneko never disappoint.
Music is awesome and fits the overall theme really well. Voice acting is also great and really sets the tone, despite it not having many animated cutscenes.
Shin Megami Tensei IV is amazing and it's kind of a shame it's stuck on the 3DS for the foreseeable future, although a rerelease of it is definitely a given in the not-so-near future. Although I only finished one of the endings, I want to get to know the other 3 endings at some point. But not now. I mean, Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse has also been sitting in my backlog for some years, so I'd rather try that one out first.
My biggest surprise is how this is not a very long RPG, which is a really good thing, especially since it's Atlus we're talking about (looking at YOU, Persona, which I also love btw). 30 hours long if you're just going for the main story and one of the endings, and it never drops the ball. It always throws stuff in your way for it to keep interesting.
Gameplay is fun, nothing too groundbreaking for a turn-based RPG but its Press Turn system never fails to be interesting, as well as finding and fusing demons.
Its story is good, the supporting characters are nothing to really write about (they are there more to represent the moral choices really), but the story, coupled with the AWESOME post-apocalyptic and brooding atmosphere really nails it to me, even under the massive graphical limitations for the 3DS (HD remaster Atlus, please!). The limitations however are apparent in overworld Tokyo, where you are represented by what looks like a weird board piece. It's not a major thing, but definitely a low point in an otherwise great presentation.
On the graphics side, I remember being kind of turned off by seeing screenshots of the game and seeing the demons in battle were sprites and not 3D models unlike many Atlus games on the 3DS even, but watching them in motion is a whole different story, the sprite work is SPECTACULAR, by the screenshots it felt they were just reusing old sprites to save time and cut costs, but in-game you can clearly see it's a conscious and good stylistic choice. Character designs overall are great as usual. Atlus and Kazuma Kaneko never disappoint.
Music is awesome and fits the overall theme really well. Voice acting is also great and really sets the tone, despite it not having many animated cutscenes.
Shin Megami Tensei IV is amazing and it's kind of a shame it's stuck on the 3DS for the foreseeable future, although a rerelease of it is definitely a given in the not-so-near future. Although I only finished one of the endings, I want to get to know the other 3 endings at some point. But not now. I mean, Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse has also been sitting in my backlog for some years, so I'd rather try that one out first.
Well, here it is! After so many years, Peach has finally her own game.
First of all, I absolutely love the theater theming of the game. As an actor myself, it really spoke to me, plus Good Feel worked with it really well. All gameplay styles work because they're overall simple and stay just the needed time in the game.
It is, however, a really boring crusade to 100% the game if you want to do so. I completely understand why you have to complete the entire level again and again if you miss just one collectable, there is no possibility to backtrack levels. I mean, you can't rewind theater plays as you watch them, right? So I wish they did another form of extras instead. Maybe some tasks that went through the entire act instead of collecting things?
Graphically the game looks really beautiful, but I really didn't mind much the soundtrack.
Overall, Princess Peach: Showtime is good, nothing mindblowing but good, I'm really happy I played it. Hopefully they do a sequel on Nintendo's next console, maybe even incorporating Daisy, Rosalina, Pauline and who knows, even Toadette and Birdo somehow!
First of all, I absolutely love the theater theming of the game. As an actor myself, it really spoke to me, plus Good Feel worked with it really well. All gameplay styles work because they're overall simple and stay just the needed time in the game.
It is, however, a really boring crusade to 100% the game if you want to do so. I completely understand why you have to complete the entire level again and again if you miss just one collectable, there is no possibility to backtrack levels. I mean, you can't rewind theater plays as you watch them, right? So I wish they did another form of extras instead. Maybe some tasks that went through the entire act instead of collecting things?
Graphically the game looks really beautiful, but I really didn't mind much the soundtrack.
Overall, Princess Peach: Showtime is good, nothing mindblowing but good, I'm really happy I played it. Hopefully they do a sequel on Nintendo's next console, maybe even incorporating Daisy, Rosalina, Pauline and who knows, even Toadette and Birdo somehow!