rev
8 reviews liked by rev
Devil Blade Reboot
2024
Shootemups were a genre that earned a parody as scornful as bullet hell games. As the genre wore on, they became less games about shooting things and more games about collecting things, be they lives, powerups, medals, or whatever else. There was ambiguity about how to push the genre forward which left everything primed for Cave to come in and do what they did, making the shooting part of shootemups ancillary to tracing lines with a pen through prismatic fields of dots. And now, sitting at the opposite end of 20 years of that shit, we've come to a fork in the road. One side of the fork is Vampire Survivors and it's ilk: the full lobotomic removal of the agency of play, replaced by the stockpiling of slot machine assets to take you to deeper Nevada brigs. Devil Blade Reboot shines gloriously on the road less travelled.
I'm not going to claim Devil Blade is the best example of what directions are left to push shootemups. That is ZeroRanger. What Devil Blade is, is a punk rock volume reminder of The Point. It asks, "Do you know what's fun about flying a ship full of bullets and bombs on a progressive metal suicide mission?" And it answers before anyone can think of a joke or a denial: "EVERYTHING."
The fixation on The Point informs the whole task. The ship is called The Shining. No model number. No time for revisions. All that counts is that it kills, and there are kills to be done. The enemy talks back to you in terms of a God's punishment. You are to play the role of Resilience, the role you should've been playing this whole time. The ship is loaded with two guns, and describes them only by function: Narrow and Wide. You have bombs. You can also get shields. Bombs do what it sounds like: kill everything on screen. Shields do what they sound like: Protect you, once. Bombs also have the benefit of giving you a shield when you use them. All that matters is that everything dies, and Resilience demands they die first. If you kill absolutely everything in a stage, you get a bonus, because That Is The Point.
In wisdom, the developer understands that rewards stacked on top of rewards are amplified, and in desire of removing the baubles of old, the player increases the score simply by playing like a fucking lunatic. The closer The Shining is to its prey, the higher the multiplier, from 2x to 4x. And every #x adds up to a meter, shown as a raw digit. Once that digit crosses 100, a beast snarls and the word "BERSERK" lights up. Those 2x kills become 10x, the 3x become 15x, the 4x become 20x. A small white bar begins emptying, but once the bar empties, it doesnt end berserk mode: it simply takes 100 off the value. So, if you can push the value above 200, when the timer ticks over, surprise! It's still Berserk time. And the way you do that is to Kill, Recklessly, Constantly. That Is The Point.
Or, you can convert one of those bombs, rare and precious as they are, into a Boost by holding it. I like to believe I'm shoving the bomb into my fucking mouth and eating force. It shoves the meter to 500%, increases your damage, and puts a giant countdown clock around your ship that you couldn't ignore if you tried. You want to gamble? Here you go. Don't waste it. Waste THEM. THAT'S THE POINT.
A lot of interactive entertainment and digital toys are going to come out this year. Devil Blade Reboot is a Fucking Video Game. Maybe as those markets start crashlanding, love-fueled little ships like this will start launching their own suicide missions into hearts obsessed with the grotesque parodies of unloved gods. There is a point to being alive, and it's to Be Alive.
I'm not going to claim Devil Blade is the best example of what directions are left to push shootemups. That is ZeroRanger. What Devil Blade is, is a punk rock volume reminder of The Point. It asks, "Do you know what's fun about flying a ship full of bullets and bombs on a progressive metal suicide mission?" And it answers before anyone can think of a joke or a denial: "EVERYTHING."
The fixation on The Point informs the whole task. The ship is called The Shining. No model number. No time for revisions. All that counts is that it kills, and there are kills to be done. The enemy talks back to you in terms of a God's punishment. You are to play the role of Resilience, the role you should've been playing this whole time. The ship is loaded with two guns, and describes them only by function: Narrow and Wide. You have bombs. You can also get shields. Bombs do what it sounds like: kill everything on screen. Shields do what they sound like: Protect you, once. Bombs also have the benefit of giving you a shield when you use them. All that matters is that everything dies, and Resilience demands they die first. If you kill absolutely everything in a stage, you get a bonus, because That Is The Point.
In wisdom, the developer understands that rewards stacked on top of rewards are amplified, and in desire of removing the baubles of old, the player increases the score simply by playing like a fucking lunatic. The closer The Shining is to its prey, the higher the multiplier, from 2x to 4x. And every #x adds up to a meter, shown as a raw digit. Once that digit crosses 100, a beast snarls and the word "BERSERK" lights up. Those 2x kills become 10x, the 3x become 15x, the 4x become 20x. A small white bar begins emptying, but once the bar empties, it doesnt end berserk mode: it simply takes 100 off the value. So, if you can push the value above 200, when the timer ticks over, surprise! It's still Berserk time. And the way you do that is to Kill, Recklessly, Constantly. That Is The Point.
Or, you can convert one of those bombs, rare and precious as they are, into a Boost by holding it. I like to believe I'm shoving the bomb into my fucking mouth and eating force. It shoves the meter to 500%, increases your damage, and puts a giant countdown clock around your ship that you couldn't ignore if you tried. You want to gamble? Here you go. Don't waste it. Waste THEM. THAT'S THE POINT.
A lot of interactive entertainment and digital toys are going to come out this year. Devil Blade Reboot is a Fucking Video Game. Maybe as those markets start crashlanding, love-fueled little ships like this will start launching their own suicide missions into hearts obsessed with the grotesque parodies of unloved gods. There is a point to being alive, and it's to Be Alive.
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
This review contains spoilers
I'm so sorry Xenoblade 2 fans. I don't mean it outside of pity, but I'm so sorry.
It's fine. I expected far worse from what looked (and is) mostly fanservice DLC but I enjoyed my time with it and didn't feel like I was sleighed.
More of that Xenoblade 3 goodness (unless you don't like 3, then oops). Though with some gameplay additions I'm mixed about. More Class (Now Ouroboros) Arts, Accessories, and Gems have to be upgraded by finding and obtaining respective kits in the world. Similarly, further upgrading your Arts and Skills also require kits. I kind of wish that wasn't the case, since at some points I found myself trying to prep for what's ahead by forcing myself to explore every cranny. I get it, it's an open world game, but it's the difference between reading what you enjoy and reading for an assignment.
That's not to say ALL the exploration incentives turned me off. The new Affinity Goals are great to help keep track of what's in the world. You can now pin items you need for certain things (but not crafting in the world for some reason), a Good Collectopedia is here, and the X-Radar eases the process. Mostly. Its beeping doesn't seem to concern itself with elevation which sucks as some of that can't be done until plot progresses further. Progression overall kind of stinks.
Plot wise. It exists. I'm no Xenosaga or Xenogears chad, not yet anyways, so I might've missed a lot. It's similar to Torna where I think these beats are kind of rushed because it isn't able to do much in it's now expected 20~ hours. I did have to actually turn to the internet to hopefully explain some of the visuals. I'm not the brightest but I tried. Though don't expect anything to answer a lot. I don't know why you would, you're this many games in and should pick up on hints or just massive shrug.
Character wise, Matthew and A are great. Shulk feels like what would happen if you got the Olds following everything. And then there's everyone else I feel weird about. Glimmer and Nikol often feel like they just exist, more often to help show how Rex and Shulk have grown through the years. They're the greatest victims of being in pivotal scenes and having nothing to add. At least Nikol and Shulk have great interactions being massive NEEEEEEEEEER-
And Rex... Oh Rex... I have no clue who you are. For context, I didn't like Rex before. Not because of his outfit or screaming, but it felt like 2 was telling me he was a good, heroic and inspiring guy when I didn't get that at all. But now this feels like someone else who only occasionally speaks of memories and references the real Rex would know. I know he was like 15 and is probably like ??? in current day but I just don't see how these are the same person. This is legally distinct Auron with legally distinct Fei. Though that's more of a fault with the original character not doing much for me in the first place.
I think it's greatest strength is the way references are done. Had the main game done this, I would've been disappointed. But since this is a paid expansion that you can just ignore and if you pitch in you better be emotionally manip- catered to. A lot of nods to series classics: Unique Monsters, NPCs, music. A lot of music reference. Literally just saying them. Damn Origin really does have EVERYTHING, doesn't it? Oh man and Yesterdale, greatest jumpscare in my life but I respected it. Though what's really shocking is the lack of equal treatment to Xenoblade 2. I don't think it's a good game, no, but you'd think with Rex right there you'd be right in the open about it. But all you get is Tantal (which isn't a very distinctive) and talking about Uraya. Compared to Colony 9 (the real one), Raguel Lake, Prison Island... y'all got NOTHING. And to be fair, kind of hard to do anything considering there wasn't a lot to work with in XC2's ending (to the point where base game has a Torna area instead). But man, lol. Lmao, even.
Music is okaaay. Not the best additions, but I guess the lifting was from all the returning tracks. Fogbeast my beloved. New Battle!!! is great (following Time to Fight! and Battle!!, I see you Monolith) but a mighty ear worm. I think the new "generic" area theme is alright when it isn't starting every few minutes and Black Mountains' OST... exists. It and Prison Island's OST are sinister but I expected to go full mile with the arrangements.
Overall it's like. Fine. I expected far worse hamfisted fanservice but this did a good amount of "if you know you know". More often the callbacks felt like characters reminiscing of years gone by rather than the game looking at me and going "LOOK ITS THE THING".
It's fine. I expected far worse from what looked (and is) mostly fanservice DLC but I enjoyed my time with it and didn't feel like I was sleighed.
More of that Xenoblade 3 goodness (unless you don't like 3, then oops). Though with some gameplay additions I'm mixed about. More Class (Now Ouroboros) Arts, Accessories, and Gems have to be upgraded by finding and obtaining respective kits in the world. Similarly, further upgrading your Arts and Skills also require kits. I kind of wish that wasn't the case, since at some points I found myself trying to prep for what's ahead by forcing myself to explore every cranny. I get it, it's an open world game, but it's the difference between reading what you enjoy and reading for an assignment.
That's not to say ALL the exploration incentives turned me off. The new Affinity Goals are great to help keep track of what's in the world. You can now pin items you need for certain things (but not crafting in the world for some reason), a Good Collectopedia is here, and the X-Radar eases the process. Mostly. Its beeping doesn't seem to concern itself with elevation which sucks as some of that can't be done until plot progresses further. Progression overall kind of stinks.
Plot wise. It exists. I'm no Xenosaga or Xenogears chad, not yet anyways, so I might've missed a lot. It's similar to Torna where I think these beats are kind of rushed because it isn't able to do much in it's now expected 20~ hours. I did have to actually turn to the internet to hopefully explain some of the visuals. I'm not the brightest but I tried. Though don't expect anything to answer a lot. I don't know why you would, you're this many games in and should pick up on hints or just massive shrug.
Character wise, Matthew and A are great. Shulk feels like what would happen if you got the Olds following everything. And then there's everyone else I feel weird about. Glimmer and Nikol often feel like they just exist, more often to help show how Rex and Shulk have grown through the years. They're the greatest victims of being in pivotal scenes and having nothing to add. At least Nikol and Shulk have great interactions being massive NEEEEEEEEEER-
And Rex... Oh Rex... I have no clue who you are. For context, I didn't like Rex before. Not because of his outfit or screaming, but it felt like 2 was telling me he was a good, heroic and inspiring guy when I didn't get that at all. But now this feels like someone else who only occasionally speaks of memories and references the real Rex would know. I know he was like 15 and is probably like ??? in current day but I just don't see how these are the same person. This is legally distinct Auron with legally distinct Fei. Though that's more of a fault with the original character not doing much for me in the first place.
I think it's greatest strength is the way references are done. Had the main game done this, I would've been disappointed. But since this is a paid expansion that you can just ignore and if you pitch in you better be emotionally manip- catered to. A lot of nods to series classics: Unique Monsters, NPCs, music. A lot of music reference. Literally just saying them. Damn Origin really does have EVERYTHING, doesn't it? Oh man and Yesterdale, greatest jumpscare in my life but I respected it. Though what's really shocking is the lack of equal treatment to Xenoblade 2. I don't think it's a good game, no, but you'd think with Rex right there you'd be right in the open about it. But all you get is Tantal (which isn't a very distinctive) and talking about Uraya. Compared to Colony 9 (the real one), Raguel Lake, Prison Island... y'all got NOTHING. And to be fair, kind of hard to do anything considering there wasn't a lot to work with in XC2's ending (to the point where base game has a Torna area instead). But man, lol. Lmao, even.
Music is okaaay. Not the best additions, but I guess the lifting was from all the returning tracks. Fogbeast my beloved. New Battle!!! is great (following Time to Fight! and Battle!!, I see you Monolith) but a mighty ear worm. I think the new "generic" area theme is alright when it isn't starting every few minutes and Black Mountains' OST... exists. It and Prison Island's OST are sinister but I expected to go full mile with the arrangements.
Overall it's like. Fine. I expected far worse hamfisted fanservice but this did a good amount of "if you know you know". More often the callbacks felt like characters reminiscing of years gone by rather than the game looking at me and going "LOOK ITS THE THING".
Man this is just so good. One of the best VNs I've ever played. It's not perfect, no game ever really is, but the story and characters are just so good I can't give this less than a 5. This game actually made me feel pretty strong emotions and in a way that's earned and not cheap.
The only real criticism I have is with the tactical RPG section, it's at its best in the series here but still is ultimately not exceptional.
The only real criticism I have is with the tactical RPG section, it's at its best in the series here but still is ultimately not exceptional.
Xenogears
1998
now i am a zoomer at heart so if you told me that a game released before the 2000s would end up being one of my favorites ever i wouldve laughed at you fortunately takahashi was possessed by the spirit of jesus christ and ended up shitting out an absolute masterpiece and i can only kneel in admiration
Baroque
1998
Sorry EOPs but this is real life, the spanish community gets the Baroque translation.
https://www.romhacking.net/translations/6316/
https://www.romhacking.net/translations/6316/
ryuki route is GOATED but the game starts to fall apart in the latter half as it drops some very poorly thought-out twists and retcons, and you start to realize that almost every character and plot element is solely designed to service these twists without having much substance in their own right.
the charm from the first game still carries over though and it's a very fun ride, the big picture writing just isn't up to par for uchikoshi standards
the charm from the first game still carries over though and it's a very fun ride, the big picture writing just isn't up to par for uchikoshi standards
better than the actual game lmao