Finally finished the main game, it's one of the best things i've ever experienced, and probably the best game out there/on par with. And that's without even going through reincarnation and requiem, both of which are supposed to be amazing.


The ranking as for now:

Door 7







Door 6 Door 5




Door 8


Door 1
Door 3
Door 4
Door 2

Octopath Traveler is one of my most favorite games, and somehow, this game surpassed it! It kept many of the same systems from the first game, but kept and expanded upon the good things and got rid of the bad things.

The best part of the first game was the art style, which they kept for this game as well. The best part of this game for me was hands down the music! Especially the 8 theme songs of each character and their unique battle music themes! There were times I would literally just sit still listening to the music playing and not even play the game...just listen. If you don't want to play the game, at least consider buying the soundtrack! Several of the character stories were amazingly written, and I just enjoyed getting to explore all the new places. I waited a long time for another Octopath Traveler game, and I was not disappointed!

Do I think Nukitashi 2 is good? Definitely. Do I think it's really good? Yes, potentially a top 10 VN. Do I think it's better than the original? Not quite, but I can absolutely see the hype though.

When NUKITASHI 2 is at It's best I would say definitely has a case of being better than the original in certain aspects.

The main positive I would give of Nukitashi 2 over 1 is that the comedy as a whole is somehow even funnier. Since there's a lot more slice of life, they just focus more on the jokes and they are even more over the top with more specific unique memorable moments than even the original which i already thought was really funny.

Pretty much anything related to NLNS (characters AND the routes) were consistently great for me. To me these characters and their interactions are the life blood and why I love the original so much. The personalities are as great as ever and a few even get more development than I expected.

One unique thing about NUKITASHI 2 is that it actually covered LGBT themes, all four letters, in a surprisingly kind of nuanced way, actually delving into the psychology of said characters, as opposed to just being lazy representation or Weeb pandering fetishism. The main issue that makes it just kind of nuanced is that all the deep dives into their personalities eventually devolves into eroge fan service. Still, it's the most that I got personally invested into fictional LGBT characters which is saying a lot.

I think the main thing people are hyped for is the main sequel portion. It's a kind of weird parallel world Isekai similar to Higurashi Rei, Steins Gate, ReZero, etc. This parallel world isekai takes place after the true route of NUKITASHI 1, with the possibility (so many potential alternate timelines now) that Junnosuke did NOT get with Fumino. I wasn't a fan of this Isekai being a bad excuse to almost overwrite the true end of the original. Many times throughout this route I just thought it was just a forced way to give the "Big Three" a reason to have routes. This sequel route isn't all bad though. In fact I would say "objectively" It's actually quite solid, having good buildup, serious themes, good comedy and fight scenes. I just think some of the enjoyment was brought down by the premise in how it relates to the first game as I just talked about.

Speaking of the big 3, I'm guessing another reason why people hype the sequel because they actually get routes. While I wasn't a fan of the Isekai premise, I do at least commend the effort of Junnosuke actually having camaraderie and interactions with these three in the sequel route so the big 3 routes could at least make sense.

Sadly, I was disappointed in the big three and their routes. Rei already had her backstory in the original so there's only so much they could do with her in the sequel. That said, Her route was certainly the best of the 3, with some very solid moments, but kinda felt like it won by default. Touka got a little more backstory and depth but they also added a few more comedy gimmicks to her which I thought were hit or miss, and I was kinda disappointed in how they developed her. I never liked Ikuko and outside of learning her backstory her and her route did not make me like her more. In fact My feelings on Ikuko are even more mixed after her route.

To go on a positive note, I will say that Junnosuke is at his absolute best in NUKITASHI 2. Since every timeline is after he gets major development he gets to have great influence in the main theme of "understanding", and can switch off between the humorous man and the straight man pretty well, and in general is much less of a douchebag than in the original.

But I also REALLY liked all the after story routes related to the NLNS girls. They were all really hilarious and/or wholesome and were easily the highlight of the VN for me. I also quite liked Asane's (unlockable) route since she's hilarious, probably my favorite little sister character in VNs now.

Overall I would say I still quite like NUKITASHI 2, but it has a bunch of inconsistent flaws that make me not like this much as the original. That said, I'd say it's definitely worth reading, especially if you like the comedy, want to see an alternate version on the original NUKITASHI's plot, want to see fandisc style after stories for the original 4 heroines, and/or you want to see routes for Touka, Rei, Ikuko, and/or Asane.

I would grade NUKITASHI 2 a 9/10, because it had wholesome and unique storytelling themes, fun action whenever it showed up, but most importantly might actually be the funniest visual novel I've read to date.

Especially Misaki, who might now be THE funniest character in visual novels for me, almost any time she was on screen I was guaranteed to be dying laughing.

Speaking of, Character Ranking:

Misaki >> Hinami > Asane > Fumino > Nanase >> Rei > Touka >> Ikuko

PS

I had the privilege of doing a full PAID software QA run of NUKITASHI 2. Heavily grateful I got to do it at least once for an official VN release, especially for the sequel to one of my top three favorite visual novels of all time.

I have never actually finished Portal before, but this game has plagued my Steam library for years, so eventually I gave in this evening to see for myself why it's so universally loved. And now I can see the appeal!

It's a very straightforward puzzle game with the origin of one of the most iconic gimmicks in gaming - the Portal Gun. It's like the coolest thing you can have in a game besides grappling hook mechanics; sometimes I'd just shoot portals and walk through them continuously for fun or freefall for a bit. Portal also wastes no time with cutscenes, it's basically uninterrupted gameplay from start to finish (loading screens obviously excluded). In general, the puzzles are pretty clever and often require you to think out of the box (well, literally). A personal highlight for me were the snarky comments of GLaDOS - an AI assistant that accompanies you throughout the facility. I found the weakest part of the game to be like halfway through, where you have seen a bunch of mechanics a couple time already, but the game does little new to innovate them - before the ending segment, that is. The entire final sequence was a blast to play and felt fresh again after the tedium of some previous puzzles. That's the innovation I like to see.

If you're a puzzle fan or just need something you can beat in one sitting (if you're dedicated), Portal is a great time and I would very definitely recommend it for the low price you can get it on various Steam Sales. Really looking forward to playing Portal 2 soon!

Another World War II game, but wait this came out 7 years ago during the sub-genre’s peak. Why should I play this? It’s just another Call of Duty. Before you go making drastic decisions Call of Duty started out as a WWII series way before the Modern Warfare explosion. Call of Duty was known for great cinematic atmosphere, tight gun play, and excellent story telling. United Offensive is the expansion of the award-winning debut game in the series. Offensive is just superb and even hold up on all levels today.

The game has three campaigns that run between America, England, and Russia. You play as three different faceless soldiers, but the environment is the main character here. Each campaign has an amazing opening scene as well as some memorable moments like the escape on a Jeep in the American campaign, the gripping plane scene in the England campaign, and the tank scenes in the Russian campaign. There is never a dull moment in Offensive and everything from sound, great voice acting, and realistic sounding war effects bring together a riveting experience that I truly have not found in any other WWII game (even in later CoD games).


Instead of trying to pack every scenario into one game (including weapons) we get some long battles that feel challenging, but not terribly hard. Some scenes can last up to 20 minutes (like the plane scene in the British campaign), but it holds you out just enough to make you feel the terror of war and a little helpless. Some battles require waiting a certain amount of time before reinforcements arrive and then a wonderful orchestral soundtrack picks up and makes it that much more intense.


The gunplay is solid and feels great with favorite weapons like the MP40, M1 Garand, MP44, and the Springfield sniper rifle. We’ve used the weapons dozens of times but each weapon feels different which includes power, accuracy, and mechanics of the gun. I feel the grenades still have no weight, but there is a variety of them. Each level and scenario feel different and gripping, but you never get attached to any characters because the environment is the main attraction.


Multiplayer would keep you coming back, but due to the age, there is no one playing online ever so you have to stick to LAN. War games just aren’t like they used to be, and United Offensive shows how to put the feeling of war as well as realistic feeling weapons. United Offensive stands up graphically as well thanks to tiny details. The only thing dated is the low poly models, low-resolution textures up close, and some static lighting. Most of the time you won’t notice because you’re sucked into the experience too much. If a game from 2004 can suck you in after playing modern war games then that really shows how much a game stands up.

An Amazing Experience Marred by an Intentionally-Slow and Linear First-Half

Disclaimer: I played with HD Texture and Cutscene mods + Tweaked settings via Nvidia Profile Inspector + Reshade so I cannot comment on the performance. Only issue I had was 4 crashes through my 100+-hour playthrough

Final Fantasy XIII is an overall amazing game with an amazingly-written and grounded cast of characters. However, the first few chapters are slow by design and it definitely hampers the fun-factor of the game. It is also by far the least Final Fantasy-feeling game that I have played. Lack of towns/NPCs, an extremely-linear level design, auto-battle mechanic in combat, plot takes a backseat in exchange of developing the characters, etc. but In an era of open-world games, Final Fantasy XIII definitely stands out and feels refreshing in 2023. It is one of those games that unfortunately "gets better in xx chapters" but depending on your level of investment with the party and the world it portrays, it might give you a reason to play through the slog and have a surprisingly fun experience like it did for me.

Pros:
+ Interesting Lore and World-building. Datalog is fun to read through
+ Amazing character writing for the main party
+ Gorgeous Level Design and Animations
+ Fun and Complex Battle Mechanics by the end of the game

Cons:
- Horrible villains and underdeveloped side-characters
- Didn't care for the plot most of the time
- Extremely slow pacing in the first half of the game
- Voice audio can be low at times
- Combat takes a long time until it gets really fun and complex
- side-quests and crafting are extremely grindy and may require looking-up a guide to properly utilize it
- Personal Gripe: Vanille's constant moaning

Amidst all the cons listed above, the characters and the late-game combat are what really made me invested enough to go through all that and it paid off well. By the time I rolled credits, I am in love with Final Fantasy XIII and glad I gave it the second chance it deserves.

116 hours and 100% Achievement later, I give Final Fantasy XIII a 3.5/5