velanova
2007
If "style over substance" was a game this would be it. Throughout the playthrough you'll be mowing down hundreds of about 3 enemy types reskinned in a barren ugly city to make money so that you can play the "real" story missions and mow down even more guys. These start off with a mansion, stadium, school etc, but about halfway through it feels like they ran out of ideas for interesting locations and became straight up hallways. You might think that the assassin boss fights would be its saving grace at the start, but those also devolve over time becoming jankfests with the most bullshit invincibility frames I've ever seen. Well, I kinda liked the humor of the game and it was sorta enjoyable in a mindless sort of way cleaving a load of dudes into pieces even if the combat system is very simplistic and as aforementioned, JANK. But you should just play God Hand instead. I just don't really fuck with games that are unfun "on purpose"... Shoutouts to the abysmal audio mixing which I'm surprised didn't blow out my Switch speakers
Fates is pretty flawed outside of the core gameplay but it's something I will always have a soft spot for... It's hard not to appreciate things like the character designs and music. This requires a lot more skill than Birthright does and I think the maps were great mostly, although they can feel annoyingly gimmicky at times I still had a lot of fun figuring them out. You will reset a lot
I really enjoyed my short time with this DMCvania. Movement was fun, the whip combos and perfect guards were really satisfying to use. Yamane's music is good as ever and creates a perfect atmosphere in the castle. But I felt like the game had potential to be so much more than it was. The level layouts are fairly repetitive, the "swinging" and platforming are unintuitive, bosses are mostly very simple and easy. Still, it's a good translation of the series to 3D.
2011
This is a decent game for people who really liked the Island Flyover mode in Wii Sports Resort (me), it's basically an expanded version of that made to show off the 3DS capabilities. I enjoyed it more than I expected especially in the harder final missions. For some reason there's still a time limit for the "free" flight around the island and it starts even shorter than it was in Resort. It's such a lame decision, it barely gives you any time to do anything and you can't mess around.
If this had been on the eShop at a much lower price point I would've loved it as a kid. As a full price cartridge game in 2011 it wasn't so appealing...
If this had been on the eShop at a much lower price point I would've loved it as a kid. As a full price cartridge game in 2011 it wasn't so appealing...
2011
Finally did what my 11 year old self could not and played through this whole game. DAMN the puzzles get complex towards the end but you feel like a genius figuring them out. Easily one of the best titles from the 3DS eShop days.