Despite my initial cautiousness about the game after finding out it was given to Marvelous while SHIFT was doing Code Vein, I still had quite the positive impressions with it when I started out. But as I kept on playing, it felt like every step forward the game took it also took a slightly bigger step back. This might be the only time I'll do this style of review coz I can't really think of any other way to do it better but here goes:

+ Graphics look great and so do the overall aesthetic of the game.
- Action cutscenes are quite underwhelming with their choreography and they look really stiff compared to how god tier they were in previous games.

+ Melee combat faithfully keeps all the quirks of the old games that made it really unique and the 2 new weapons are really fun to play, I even mained Heavy Moon.
- Ranged combat was absolutely butchered. No Blood Bullets or similar system, Railguns are super boring especially as a replacement for Blast Guns, and limiting custom bullet ladout is a HUGE hit to guns fun factor overall. Only Sniper felt somewhat okay to use and I just stuck to this after intially playing with the other types.

+ Burst Arts are quite nice especially as a way to balance Blood Arts and being able to equip 3 (Attack, Jump, Step) really lets you have a personal loadout to your tastes.
- 90% of them are locked behind mastering other Arts and it just feels like a chore rather than something very natural like Blood Arts did in 2 trying to unlock and try them all. Some Arts also entirely alter the style too much that it just feels better to not equip them at all like I did with Step Arts for Charge Spear. Also BA Effects feel so lame and often feels like visual clutter more than anything.

+ New Aragami are quite fun especially the Ashborne. The game is really on the easier side overall which I don't mind but there's some crazy stuff in there to not make it like a total cakewalk.
- Mission lineup is very bland. Feels like you fight the old gen Aragami about 1-3 times the whole game and the new ones every 2 missions which can get quite boring but they weren't able to port over a lot of the old gen Aragami in general making for a very limited Aragami lineup as well.

+ New maps are pretty good especially some of the later ones which look absolutely gorgeous.
- The OST feels very unmemorable with it being mostly orchestral tracks with a lot of references to GE1-2 main themes like No Way Back.

+ The overall story is quite okay but I really really liked the very end of the main story. Characters are also pretty okay overall.
- The game is only about 25-30 hours long but it still felt like a slog to me and it feels like it never really hits any good and really memorable high points like GE1 did with the Burst arc and pretty much all of GE2 especially the Rage Burst arc. A lot of stuff also feel really unresolved or just closed out very early before anything could really happen.

I honestly have a lot of gripes with the game but it's definitely pretty okay but I'd really recommend people just play Resurrection or better yet, skip to Rage Burst if they really want a taste of what the franchise is really all about. Overall, it really was quite disappointing for me even though I wanted to love the game so much. It really feels like them trying to start over and soft-reboot the franchise while feeling like GE1 again just really doesn't work. I might add my thoughts on the rest of the postgame and the DLC story after I finish them but I kinda doubt it'd turn my opinion on it around much.

an essential classic which often goes underappreciated by gamers nowadays.

if you've ever enjoyed basically any video game cutscene, story, or character arc, you probably owe this game a thank you. obviously video game stories and characters existed before final fantasy 4, but only in the loosest sense of the terms. brand mascots and general sequences of events. in comes final fantasy 4 with shakespearean themes of love, jealousy, betrayal, grief, redemption etc coupled with sweeping digital orchestra and tight cutscenes, all of a sudden video games are a medium for storytelling.

besides the historical importance, final fantasy iv is still a killer game. gorgeous music, fun and fast-paced gameplay, memorable locations and bosses, pretty much still defines gamers expectations of what a jrpg ought to be.

the story has some obvious poorly aged pitfalls like the fake-out character deaths and a certain last-second reveal, but even these shortcomings have come to be characteristic of the genre because of this game.

this version of the game in particular deserves some bonus points for being quite possibly the most difficult mainline final fantasy game, with very punishing and involved boss encounters, at least moreso than what you usually expect in games like 6 and 7.

tldr; final fantasy iv is required reading for fans of the genre and for my money, the 3d version is still the best way to play it.

I never thought I would return to 3 Hopes after completing 1 route. Since I was so burned out after finishing one path. But here I am after completing the other two and I have to say, 3 Hopes is a welcome return to the continent of Fodlan, seeing familiar and new faces among the Three Houses crowd.

Battling enemies in the usual turn-based engagements? Nope! 3 Hopes operates as a hack-and-slash RPG. More specifically, the musuo-like kind. You also control a new protagonist. Shez. A run-of-the-mill mercenary with strange abilities. It will be up to you to choose which house to ally with. Like in the previous game, 3 Hopes also features 3 main routes to play through. This review was only possible after I finished all three routes. Since I felt making a review when I had only beaten one path, didn't sit well with me.

Anyway, let's begin.

Gameplay is a major shift from the turn-based nature of Fire Emblem. Here, you'll be fighting in a musuo-like gameplay of hack and slash. Elements from the franchise are integrated relatively well. Using terminology from the series and implementing different unit classes having a variety of different professions from lancer, ax, sword, bow, brawler, and mage. Each main weapon class leads to different classes and different abilities. There is even an element of base-building for your base camp. Which provides a nice way to upgrade your equipment. The game is pretty much what if Fire Emblem is a hack-and-slash? A weird thought, but strangely enough it works here, to some extent.

For the most part, I love the change in gameplay to an action hack-and-slash compared to a turn-based game. You get right into the thick of things by decimating countless mobs and eliminating your enemies up close and personally. Didn’t feel bored utilizing different abilities and units to keep the battles fresh. There is impact and it never gets old commanding your allied units for an all-out offensive. The feeling is euphoric and it is awesome watching your army mow down the baddies right alongside you.

However, the same objectives and S-rank requirements got old real quick since you cannot innovate much to keep the battles fresh constantly. Sidequests & paralogues, in particular, do try to reinvent the wheel in some way. Yet, they still conform back to the old formula of killing ‘x’ units within a time limit, Defeat ‘x’ unit, oh wait extra reinforcements, oh here complete this side-mission while you go into battle. Artillery firing at your units? Please eliminate. Enemy forces calling for reinforcements? Stop them from executing an action. Here are some new reinforcements to add to the battle for you to tackle and defend your bases. Oh, you thought the main story quest ends? No way! Here’s another enemy you have to defeat. This formula becomes tiresome to complete again and again. And when you thought you killed an enemy. Psyche. I'm going to retreat until the plot forces me to die. Sure there are several approaches in store for you like escorts, special-type monsters, conquering key strongholds to move closer to your map, etc. But it is not enough.

I feel the game could’ve been more innovative to keep the combat formula from being dull. It's fine in the beginning and middle acts, but once you do a lot of missions, the combat gets stale. And trust me, I’ve finished all paralogues in one route, every single thing I could fight on the map, extra sidequests, extra limited-time quests to completion. Skipped several in the end, due to realizing they offer no real benefit to me. But for the most part, I'd say 95-98% of all missions I completed for the Black Eagle route.

I skipped the filler battles in the other routes using a vanguard whistle which is an absolute godsend. You don’t need to fight every battle. Using the whistle allows the player to auto-complete the battle on the world map. Thereby, skipping the process instantly. Why the heck wasn’t this item available in your first route? Honestly would’ve helped lessen the tedium and rinse-and-repeat battles.

Granted I get it is a Musou Fire Emblem. So I can’t expect great expectations. But it would’ve been nice to have a stellar musou-like game that knocks all areas out of the ballpark. And for me, I feel the element of reusing the same objectives, some maps, and enemies being the same could have been done better. Two specific enemies, in particular, are reused more than several times. This becomes especially egregious when reinforcements are the same enemy types with no real distinct features to differentiate them. Same enemy combat class again and again.

Artificial intelligence, for comrades at least, is decent but could be better. Many times during a battle, I had to micromanage units to attack an enemy then once they were done. My ally will sit in that same spot. Even when I have them set to attack. Orders would’ve been nice for them to follow through. For example, after defeating an enemy, move to a nearby enemy commander. If a player-controlled unit falls below 50% health, tell the healer to heal them. Prioritize map objectives over killing a single enemy.

Continuing on with S rank requirements I feel there is a missed opportunity to do extra. Like erasing the whole concept of s-rank. And only set different requirements such as: Manage 500 hits. Use ‘x’ warrior specials. Cannot use a single healing item during battle. No dodging. No switching to a different unit. Female/Male characters only. Use a single unit only. Use certain classes only. Fight with only disadvantaged units. And so much more I could list. Heck, the handicap battles you fight in each chapter, the developers could’ve taken handicap battles and implemented some of those handicaps for S-rank requirements. Instead, we are left with killing “xxx’ units by ‘x’ time while taking “xx%” damage.

One thing that I immensely enjoyed was strategies. At the end of a chapter, you will have to face the final chapter battle and it is here and only in this battle can you implement strategies. Various parameters can weaken the enemy, from giving your army reinforcements, allies to heal, units to protect, or special units to advance on the enemy, magic bombardment, special formations, and unique types I won’t get into because that's spoiler territory. But suffice it to say, I was very satisfied with how the developers implemented strategies to work in favor to spice up every final story battle in a chapter. These parameters you can activate greatly turn the tide of battle and can lead to one of Fire Emblem’s aspects of making a unit join you. Some strategies can even be unlocked by completing filler battles on the world map. So it pays to finish everything on a map to unlock more strategies.

Support conversations are such a relief, and a delight to see the Three Houses cast again. Which expands and greatly answers some lingering questions I had in the past game. And while this entry is contained in an alternate timeline. Pretty much all support conversations I’ve seen are an extension of what occurred in Three Houses or some cases provide much-needed context into a character’s background or relationship with other characters. It's one of the biggest backbones the game has to offer. And I laughed so hard in one conversation. Amused in some, puzzled in others, gained much-needed insight into the relationships and backgrounds of characters I rarely use, and broke a smile during moments of wholesome and endearing moments. The game also had plenty of quality-of-life enhancements like fast traveling to any unit, location, and building making it easy to get to the unit you need. Along with seeing current support levels with any unit during any activity requiring the two of them. This feature is a godsend in particular due to not needing to go back and check which unit is currently at a certain rank and then back to the food hall in FE3H.

My playthrough lasted over 93 hours and to be frank without the support conversations, I feel that number could’ve been cut by more than half if I didn’t pay attention to grinding for these conversations between my units as much as I possibly can. A buddy of mine took over 130 hours to complete all paths in the game. So your times may vary depending on how much or little you do in your base.

Storywise. Each route felt distinct enough with cool cutscenes, sweet character development with each house leader, and more. And each path had enough content to interest you further. However, each route did use a bit of copy-paste formula. Leaving me a sense of samey vibes a bit. But this occurred mainly in the middle ground of each path. The game makes up for this by displaying scenes you wouldn't otherwise see in each route. So if a major event is glossed over in one route, you will see the full extent in another route. Which makes comparisons between each path easier to conjure the bigger picture. While I do have some reservations about each route, the final act is a pay-off, I looked forward to. Could it have been better? Certainly, but the game accomplishes this in a manner I find good enough.

Overall, I feel 3 Hopes is a decent FE spin-off game. Could be better regarding objectives, AI, map design and a bit on the plot of each route. Nonetheless, the excellent support conversations, adequate base-building, and character conversations hold the game up strong. The soundtrack is fantastic and I love the new arrangements and new tracks. Especially the leitmotif dropping here and there. I feel the game does justice in some ways to three houses in that if you’re looking for more of the world of Fodlan you’ll find that here. Some plot points which were left unanswered there are answered here. So. If you’re looking for more Fire Emblem Three Houses content. And don’t mind the shift to action rpg hack and slash. Look no further than Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. I hope you’ll like it just as I did. And if not, well that’s fine too.

8/10

the best ys game to date, its genuinely impressive that after all these years these games seem to only get better with every entry (aside from 7)
it takes everything from ys 8 and expands on it, while also giving new movement options that make the game feel just so much better
my only gripe is that the story can be too intrusive to the gameplay. its a great story with fantastic characters, but it just feels like it interrupts the game flow too frequently and takes its time telling it. maybe im just impatient.
looking forward to ys x

Well they can't all be winners I guess.

I tried, I really tried but The Caligula Effect Overdose, a PS4 port of its original release is just derivative. It's Persona but with the charming colourful aspects that make that enjoyable rinsed out until you get this bland white paste left over. It's not even that it's bad so to speak, I guess it isn't, it's technically functional but it's just utterly forgettable. I'll at least remember a bad game, I won't remember Caligula Effect Overdose excpt what I wrote here for posterity.

The start of this game is kind of a mess of disjointed scenes, poor pacing and clumsy exposition to find you're essentially in the Japanese High School version of the Matrix. You've seen the glitch though and know what you are. You join the Go Home Club, a group who realise they've had their memories tampered with and are trying to break out of this virtual world. Like the idea is fine, even pretty decent if not wholly unique but the execution following these stumbling story reveals is where the game falls on its sword and twists a bit for good measure.

I instantly disliked the cast, either bland or just fundamentally unlikeable. I played for 3 hours and just didn't form the slightest spark of interest in any of them or their issues. I can't even tell you one of their names, it just didn't matter. The reason it didn't matter is they are practically the same as every other white uniformed generic looking character walking around the school. I don't like to use the term but the game is so bizarely generic whilst trying not to be. Almost every NPC has a name, hobbies etc. You can talk to them 3 times in a row to make them your friend and then find out what's troubling them underneath their bland looking exteriors. There are over 500. Five hundred with maybe 6 character models. It's like they took the social link idea from Persona, applied it to every NPC whilst missing the point of personality, attachment and emotional investment.

The dungeon design is the same, I never beat the first one. It was a large sprawling school of the same one corridor, two rooms, and 6 NPC types wandering around. It was needlessly huge sending you from point A to point B. By the time I got to the 4th section and it still looked large and the same, I just couldn't deal with the idea of playing anymore.

If I had to be generous, the music seemed decent and has a cool idea that the track plays all the time but singing only kicks in during combat then transfers to instrumental while walking around and the character art seems nice?

My main take really though is that I may hate Unlimited Saga but at least I remember it and can talk about it passionately where as this I don't really want to talk about at all.