peppypoppy
I don't know what depresses me more: the ending or the fate of this franchise. Klonoa deserved so much better...
This game is criminally adorable, especially in its first incarnation. I'm already an absolute sucker for 2D sprites in 3D backgrounds, but the character design and how everything sounds just melts me.
It definitely helps that the gameplay's good! It's mostly standard platforming presented wonderfully as the level wraps around itself through the 2.5D style. It even gets a little puzzly thanks to how Klonoa needs to carry around enemies to use his double jump. It's engaging enough to keep you entertained and gives you plenty of room to just appreciate the lovely world.
What will really stick with you, however, is the surprisingly emotional story? It all starts innocently enough, but constantly escalates and builds towards one the most poignant endings in any game I've ever played. It is genuinely heart wrenching.
I could absolutely recommend this to anyone, but mainly the ps1 version. The fully 3D graphics and voice-acting (at least in the Wii version) just don't do the game justice imo. Obviously a subjective thing and, really, any version is worth experiencing at least once!
This game is criminally adorable, especially in its first incarnation. I'm already an absolute sucker for 2D sprites in 3D backgrounds, but the character design and how everything sounds just melts me.
It definitely helps that the gameplay's good! It's mostly standard platforming presented wonderfully as the level wraps around itself through the 2.5D style. It even gets a little puzzly thanks to how Klonoa needs to carry around enemies to use his double jump. It's engaging enough to keep you entertained and gives you plenty of room to just appreciate the lovely world.
What will really stick with you, however, is the surprisingly emotional story? It all starts innocently enough, but constantly escalates and builds towards one the most poignant endings in any game I've ever played. It is genuinely heart wrenching.
I could absolutely recommend this to anyone, but mainly the ps1 version. The fully 3D graphics and voice-acting (at least in the Wii version) just don't do the game justice imo. Obviously a subjective thing and, really, any version is worth experiencing at least once!
Sometimes I just open a completed save data of this game and make the coolest looking mech I can.
I love first gen Armored core, and this is probably my fav entry in the whole series. The dark and grungy ps1 graphics do wonders in depicting the dismal future this game takes place in and the entry of Kota Hoshino as composer made way for one of my favorite videogame soundtracks.
One aspect this game has over the other 1st gens is the arsenal. All the powerful toys from the previous games are present and really easy to get your hands on, making experimentation and finding your dream mech even more fun than it already was. I've spent ungodly amounts of time in the garage and I can safety say I was engaged the whole time.
The arena itself is a lovely and stress-free place to put your walking war-crimes to the test. It's always been my favorite aspect of the series thanks in large part to the low stakes and quirky opponents. Seriously, I love reading their little bios so much and trying to see how much their fighting style matches their description. It's so oddly arcade-like, almost? Kinda like someone put a mecha fighting game in what was originally a pretty grounded mech simulator.
Also the battlegrounds in the arena are really cool. I especially love the wild-west one where the ac's start facing away from each other. And, of course, the music is fantastic.
While the first AC game focused on world building, this one focuses on a personal, revenge-thriller story. Lots of mystery and twists that I didn't expect but thoroughly enjoyed. It's still a very unique approach to story for this series. Also, 9-ball is such a cool villain!
My only gripe with this game is that I was still hungering for more missions outside the arena, especially since the ones in this game are especially strong for first gen Armored Core. Such a shame this entry has the lowest amount of them, but maybe wanting more is an empty complaint. For what it is, I heartily recommend this to anyone wanting a full and soulful mech experience. Good luck, Raven.
I love first gen Armored core, and this is probably my fav entry in the whole series. The dark and grungy ps1 graphics do wonders in depicting the dismal future this game takes place in and the entry of Kota Hoshino as composer made way for one of my favorite videogame soundtracks.
One aspect this game has over the other 1st gens is the arsenal. All the powerful toys from the previous games are present and really easy to get your hands on, making experimentation and finding your dream mech even more fun than it already was. I've spent ungodly amounts of time in the garage and I can safety say I was engaged the whole time.
The arena itself is a lovely and stress-free place to put your walking war-crimes to the test. It's always been my favorite aspect of the series thanks in large part to the low stakes and quirky opponents. Seriously, I love reading their little bios so much and trying to see how much their fighting style matches their description. It's so oddly arcade-like, almost? Kinda like someone put a mecha fighting game in what was originally a pretty grounded mech simulator.
Also the battlegrounds in the arena are really cool. I especially love the wild-west one where the ac's start facing away from each other. And, of course, the music is fantastic.
While the first AC game focused on world building, this one focuses on a personal, revenge-thriller story. Lots of mystery and twists that I didn't expect but thoroughly enjoyed. It's still a very unique approach to story for this series. Also, 9-ball is such a cool villain!
My only gripe with this game is that I was still hungering for more missions outside the arena, especially since the ones in this game are especially strong for first gen Armored Core. Such a shame this entry has the lowest amount of them, but maybe wanting more is an empty complaint. For what it is, I heartily recommend this to anyone wanting a full and soulful mech experience. Good luck, Raven.
"I love being an Assassin!" I say, pelting the island of my target with cannon fire.
I'm not a huge fan of AC, let's just get that out of the way. But I do love pirates, so I was sold on this premise immediately. Fortunately, this game gives possibly the best pirate experience in gaming. The main thing holding it back is the series it comes from.
This is still very much an ubisoft open world and is annoyingly dotted with an excess of collectables and activities. Pursuing everything will surely burn a player out and cause resentment. I absolutely recommend only seriously pursuing templar keys, as they at least have missions and stories that are worth experiencing. I make it a point every playthrough to turn my back on the tutorial islands collectibles and sail away. If completionism is important to you, be cautious with this one.
Contrary to what you may hear, this game is also very much an AC game. That's honestly fine, the stealth in this game isn't very deep but it does have enough gadgets to stay interesting. What isn't fine is the shear amount of tailing missions in this game! They are everywhere! I let out an audible "Jesus fucking Christ" upon being told I had to stealthily tail a FUCKING GALLEON on my boat. I was absolutely flabbergasted. And then there are the modern day sections, which just strangle the pacing.
With that said, if you can look past these aspects, you will find a wonderful pirate adventure underneath. Watching your vessel bounce with the (visually great) waves as your crew sings sea shanties is absolutely whimsical and avoids the usual fatigue open-world travel typically bring. You move fast enough that making a bee-line towards your destination doesn't take much time at all. It's even faster to get distracted and start naval battles (or ending ones that have already started without you).
Thankfully, ship combat is very satisfying and has plenty of options to remain fresh throughout this games runtime. Ramming, mortars, a few flavors of cannon fire, and the reliable swivel cannon are all useful and fun tools. Enemy ships and forts also have and utilize these tools, and they are pretty aggressive with them. There's enough depth and challenge to ship combat to keep it from ever getting boring.
(I don't know where to put this, but the fact that you can bring your ship on assassination missions is fucking hilarious and I love that I can just mortar an entire island instead of being stealthy.)
Sword fighting is sadly a tad under baked. It can look and play really stylish, but that requires a lot more work from the player than the optimal strategy of killing anyone from a counter. Most enemies can die from two button presses, ruining any reason to experiment and find all the cool kill animations. Targeting enemies can also be rather buggy and make sword fighting a clumsy mess. Messy combat is very pirate, but also very annoying.
Lastly, the story is pleasant enough, with our protagonist meeting charming approximations of histories best sea dogs while on his desperate journey of chasing a treasure most don't believe in. Characters are well acted and fun to watch, but the overall journey is a tad long and awkwardly paced. Ending still hit me pretty hard though.
It is sad that we may never see a pirate game like this again, especially given how horrific Skull and Bones development has been. Even despite its foundations as an AC game holding it back, this is an absolutely lovely pirate adventure worth experiencing.
I'm not a huge fan of AC, let's just get that out of the way. But I do love pirates, so I was sold on this premise immediately. Fortunately, this game gives possibly the best pirate experience in gaming. The main thing holding it back is the series it comes from.
This is still very much an ubisoft open world and is annoyingly dotted with an excess of collectables and activities. Pursuing everything will surely burn a player out and cause resentment. I absolutely recommend only seriously pursuing templar keys, as they at least have missions and stories that are worth experiencing. I make it a point every playthrough to turn my back on the tutorial islands collectibles and sail away. If completionism is important to you, be cautious with this one.
Contrary to what you may hear, this game is also very much an AC game. That's honestly fine, the stealth in this game isn't very deep but it does have enough gadgets to stay interesting. What isn't fine is the shear amount of tailing missions in this game! They are everywhere! I let out an audible "Jesus fucking Christ" upon being told I had to stealthily tail a FUCKING GALLEON on my boat. I was absolutely flabbergasted. And then there are the modern day sections, which just strangle the pacing.
With that said, if you can look past these aspects, you will find a wonderful pirate adventure underneath. Watching your vessel bounce with the (visually great) waves as your crew sings sea shanties is absolutely whimsical and avoids the usual fatigue open-world travel typically bring. You move fast enough that making a bee-line towards your destination doesn't take much time at all. It's even faster to get distracted and start naval battles (or ending ones that have already started without you).
Thankfully, ship combat is very satisfying and has plenty of options to remain fresh throughout this games runtime. Ramming, mortars, a few flavors of cannon fire, and the reliable swivel cannon are all useful and fun tools. Enemy ships and forts also have and utilize these tools, and they are pretty aggressive with them. There's enough depth and challenge to ship combat to keep it from ever getting boring.
(I don't know where to put this, but the fact that you can bring your ship on assassination missions is fucking hilarious and I love that I can just mortar an entire island instead of being stealthy.)
Sword fighting is sadly a tad under baked. It can look and play really stylish, but that requires a lot more work from the player than the optimal strategy of killing anyone from a counter. Most enemies can die from two button presses, ruining any reason to experiment and find all the cool kill animations. Targeting enemies can also be rather buggy and make sword fighting a clumsy mess. Messy combat is very pirate, but also very annoying.
Lastly, the story is pleasant enough, with our protagonist meeting charming approximations of histories best sea dogs while on his desperate journey of chasing a treasure most don't believe in. Characters are well acted and fun to watch, but the overall journey is a tad long and awkwardly paced. Ending still hit me pretty hard though.
It is sad that we may never see a pirate game like this again, especially given how horrific Skull and Bones development has been. Even despite its foundations as an AC game holding it back, this is an absolutely lovely pirate adventure worth experiencing.
The best Shantae game is the one where she isn't a genie. Huh?
The Shantae series always felt like if Zelda game fused with a 2D metroidvania. Heart-pieces, Dungeons, and variety of gadgets that open up new ways of interacting with the world are all present here. Instead of a huge map to explore, however, you instead get a few smaller maps that you can shift between. This removes a lot of the getting-lost and backtracking friction from the typical metroidvania experience at the expense of making the exploration less engrossing. It's still great fun though, especially since each island is very distinct in terms of design and the activities you participate in them (i.e. stealth in the desert island vs combatless platforming in the spooky island).
The greatest advantage this game has is the removal of the Shantae's most iconic feature: her genie powers. Instead of having to interrupt the gameplay with a belly dance and transform into a restrictive animal form, Shantae just uses a variety of pirate gear in the same way as any other metroidvania protagonist. Everything is integrated seamlessly into her moveset and this improves the flow so much, even if some of the series identity is lacking. And these gadgets are really fun. Whoever decided a cannon should be used to give the player a quadruple jump was a genius! Couple this with the best level design in the series and you have an incredibly solid game.
Presentation-wise, Wayforward's pixel art is still as gorgeous as ever and the music is an absolute delight. My only complaint here is that the music is constantly interrupted by cutscenes or pick-up fanfare and is forced to start from the beginning whenever this happens. Such a shame...
As for the story, I would liken it to something you would find off cartoon network. It never takes itself seriously and every character is an comedic idiot in their own way. I was definitely entertained, but never cared for where the story would go, only for where it took me.
If you're looking for a solid, charming platformer, absolutely give this game a try. It's the best entry in the Shantae series, and possibly Wayforward's best work. It showcases all their talent wonderfully.
The Shantae series always felt like if Zelda game fused with a 2D metroidvania. Heart-pieces, Dungeons, and variety of gadgets that open up new ways of interacting with the world are all present here. Instead of a huge map to explore, however, you instead get a few smaller maps that you can shift between. This removes a lot of the getting-lost and backtracking friction from the typical metroidvania experience at the expense of making the exploration less engrossing. It's still great fun though, especially since each island is very distinct in terms of design and the activities you participate in them (i.e. stealth in the desert island vs combatless platforming in the spooky island).
The greatest advantage this game has is the removal of the Shantae's most iconic feature: her genie powers. Instead of having to interrupt the gameplay with a belly dance and transform into a restrictive animal form, Shantae just uses a variety of pirate gear in the same way as any other metroidvania protagonist. Everything is integrated seamlessly into her moveset and this improves the flow so much, even if some of the series identity is lacking. And these gadgets are really fun. Whoever decided a cannon should be used to give the player a quadruple jump was a genius! Couple this with the best level design in the series and you have an incredibly solid game.
Presentation-wise, Wayforward's pixel art is still as gorgeous as ever and the music is an absolute delight. My only complaint here is that the music is constantly interrupted by cutscenes or pick-up fanfare and is forced to start from the beginning whenever this happens. Such a shame...
As for the story, I would liken it to something you would find off cartoon network. It never takes itself seriously and every character is an comedic idiot in their own way. I was definitely entertained, but never cared for where the story would go, only for where it took me.
If you're looking for a solid, charming platformer, absolutely give this game a try. It's the best entry in the Shantae series, and possibly Wayforward's best work. It showcases all their talent wonderfully.
Honestly, nothing feels better than firing 3 rockets simultaneously at an enemy ai that just called you a bitch in voice chat.
Possibly the most meaty arena shooter on the market to this day! Several gamemodes including deathmatch, CTF, a horde mode, a mission-based attack and defend mode, and even a mode based off huge battlefields and wicked vehicles are present. Even more impressive is just how many maps are availiable for each game mode! Castles, egyptian tombs, dogfights in space, and even a train-heist await you!
Of course this quantity of content would mean nothing if it were not paired with Unreal's incredibly solid foundation. To this day, Unreal Tournament's weapon roster is incredibly unconventional yet incredibly charming and satisfying to use. Movement is also altered in a fun way with the addition of a teleportation frisbee gun and a quick (although unwieldy) dodge.
Absolutely everything in this game feels fresh even to this day and is very much worth experiencing. If the game starts getting dull, there's mutators! Or you could customize your a.i. opponents. Not enough? There is over a decade's worth of fan-made maps, weapons, and game modes (including an early version of killing floor!) out there if you want to get even more out of this amazing package. The a.i. is more than competent enough to experience this all with you!
My only mark against this game is the lack-luster campaign mode as you're honestly better off just making your own matches through freeplay. But other than that, this game is an all-you-can-eat-buffet for lovers of the genre.
Possibly the most meaty arena shooter on the market to this day! Several gamemodes including deathmatch, CTF, a horde mode, a mission-based attack and defend mode, and even a mode based off huge battlefields and wicked vehicles are present. Even more impressive is just how many maps are availiable for each game mode! Castles, egyptian tombs, dogfights in space, and even a train-heist await you!
Of course this quantity of content would mean nothing if it were not paired with Unreal's incredibly solid foundation. To this day, Unreal Tournament's weapon roster is incredibly unconventional yet incredibly charming and satisfying to use. Movement is also altered in a fun way with the addition of a teleportation frisbee gun and a quick (although unwieldy) dodge.
Absolutely everything in this game feels fresh even to this day and is very much worth experiencing. If the game starts getting dull, there's mutators! Or you could customize your a.i. opponents. Not enough? There is over a decade's worth of fan-made maps, weapons, and game modes (including an early version of killing floor!) out there if you want to get even more out of this amazing package. The a.i. is more than competent enough to experience this all with you!
My only mark against this game is the lack-luster campaign mode as you're honestly better off just making your own matches through freeplay. But other than that, this game is an all-you-can-eat-buffet for lovers of the genre.