onyxshade
2021
2022
i love this game to death but im taking the star.5 off for even attempting all of the fantastic racism REALLY atrocious decision incredibly orientalist and ivalice has a lot to answer for. but as a tactics game and a political drama it is overall extremely engaging and a worthwhile successor to FFT and its brethren and i've played like 80 hours of it already
1996
Tit for tat with Marathon 2 in terms of gameplay experience, I could accuse the dream levels of being too difficult but what kind of idiot would do that, at this point I think I'm just knocking half a star off because we had all the opportunity in the world to hear from Leela again and we just didn't. Other than that this is still one my favorite series of games ever.
2015
2016
this was my first tales game and i'm not sure it's actually a good introduction to the franchise and velvet's design is a crime against god but i had a lot of fun and i loved the story and the crazy girls therein and after playing OTHER tales games i feel like it revisits some interesting stuff from other stories in its own including the age of lifeless beings and the ideas about malevolence revisited from zestiria from fresh perspectives. this is incoherent. funny clown magliacci is in town
1995
Still an early Bungie game by all accounts but the level design is now actually fun AND atmospheric instead of just the latter, the shotgun feels exquisite, the enemy variety is..a little better? And offset by the fact that you can, like, fight them in rooms other than hallways. Also armed BoBs were the best choice they ever made. Story is still a 10/10 but I don't have time to get into it. See you starside!
2016
1994
Technically played on Windows PC using the Aleph One source port. Despite being my second favorite of the trilogy I feel compelled to give it three stars because the level design is noneuclidean, the weaponfeel is amateurish, and it has the tendency to actually make you nauseous. That said, I'm in love with it and I will play it 300 times and the story is exactly as good as everyone says it is.
2023
2023