wotakutrash
I don't care what zoomers think, this is one of the best classic JRPGs that I've ever played. Every time I hear that menu theme, I am swept off my feet and transported to a realm of nightmarish terror. Just last month, I was determined to polish off a disgusting bottle of shochu; and by the end of the night, I had picked up a physical copy of this on the super famicom; the sight of Lucifer on the box art now haunts me.
Everything one would expect from a MegTen title with a few much needed quality of life additions. The atmosphere of this game is unrivaled. The demon compendium isn't overly bloated. The gameplay is brutal to those who are not willing to learn it. This is the most MegaTen that MegaTen has ever been.
Everything one would expect from a MegTen title with a few much needed quality of life additions. The atmosphere of this game is unrivaled. The demon compendium isn't overly bloated. The gameplay is brutal to those who are not willing to learn it. This is the most MegaTen that MegaTen has ever been.
No subtlety. No substance. Where is the Silent Hill I grew up with? Two stars because some of the logs were unintentionally funny to read.
2019
Split between a 3 and a 4 star review.
I felt frustrated by the game as a whole, but I also was immensely enjoyed by all the nostalgia and atmosphere. Everything I remember about the internet from my childhood is here. I love what this game represents. The frustration is real though. I hated scouring every page just to progress the story. I only wanted to explore to explore. The characters were great, and the evolution of different pages was fun to watch. The overarching plot, on the other hand, annoyed me in general. I didn't care for how certain people in the universe grew as people or how users were written out for plot reasons.
I would highly recommend this game to anyone interested in revisiting the internet of yesteryear or to any kids who missed out on the 90s and early 00s of the internet and want a taste of it.
I felt frustrated by the game as a whole, but I also was immensely enjoyed by all the nostalgia and atmosphere. Everything I remember about the internet from my childhood is here. I love what this game represents. The frustration is real though. I hated scouring every page just to progress the story. I only wanted to explore to explore. The characters were great, and the evolution of different pages was fun to watch. The overarching plot, on the other hand, annoyed me in general. I didn't care for how certain people in the universe grew as people or how users were written out for plot reasons.
I would highly recommend this game to anyone interested in revisiting the internet of yesteryear or to any kids who missed out on the 90s and early 00s of the internet and want a taste of it.
Harvest Moon really is never going to be what it once was again. Enjoyable enough but way too much focus on what makes Stardew great and not what made HM64 or Mineral Town great. Love a lot of the small modern touches, but I would rather a clunky outdated mess that feels perfectly comfortable than a slick modern game lacking charisma.
2008
Every part of this game is fun and solid. If literally any of them were expanded on, you would have a good game. As is, this game only exists to disappoint.
As a kid this was always my least favorite Harvest Moon. Time certainly did not help this game one bit. Too slow, over too quickly, feels too clunky, map is too small, etc. You can tell this series had some serious growing pains with the jump to 3D. Especially when the games previous to this are some of the best every made.
2010
This game had Kanye West which is based, but it also made me pay for Kanye West DLC which is highly not based. Guess we have to split the vote.
Great little platformer that's full of life. It's no Donkey Kong, but it's also not so easy that it becomes a slog to playthrough like Kirby Star Allies.
2018
Going to put this first because fuck it.
TL;DR - Game brimming with potential that just doesn't quite capture me like the games it emulates does.
I probably played about half of this game before I just felt burnt out on it. To be honest, I was kind of excited and interested in this before it came out; and I'm still super into the idea of the game in general. I just couldn't find the motivation to finish the game - I guess I'm glad I got it for "free" from PS+ for that reason. Maybe I'll come back to this at a later date, but the combat felt like it wanted to be Bloodborne but was too lacking and the RPG elements felt like they want to be New Vegas but were too shallow. If it had committed more fully to one side of the game, I think this could have been great. Maybe it deserves a 2 star for that reason to be honest, but I love the atmosphere and would love to see more games of this nature; so I guess I'll settle on calling this game mediocre. Hope the studio continues to do something similar; because even with my qualms with this game, I enjoy what I see so I plan to support any future endeavors - which is funny to say because I said the same thing after Remember Me too so here's to hoping Tell Me Why and Twin Mirror are better since I couldn't give less of a shit about Life is Strange after watching a friend play through the first one.
Side-Note: Setting an arbitrary date of completion for my own records even though I never actually beat the game.
TL;DR - Game brimming with potential that just doesn't quite capture me like the games it emulates does.
I probably played about half of this game before I just felt burnt out on it. To be honest, I was kind of excited and interested in this before it came out; and I'm still super into the idea of the game in general. I just couldn't find the motivation to finish the game - I guess I'm glad I got it for "free" from PS+ for that reason. Maybe I'll come back to this at a later date, but the combat felt like it wanted to be Bloodborne but was too lacking and the RPG elements felt like they want to be New Vegas but were too shallow. If it had committed more fully to one side of the game, I think this could have been great. Maybe it deserves a 2 star for that reason to be honest, but I love the atmosphere and would love to see more games of this nature; so I guess I'll settle on calling this game mediocre. Hope the studio continues to do something similar; because even with my qualms with this game, I enjoy what I see so I plan to support any future endeavors - which is funny to say because I said the same thing after Remember Me too so here's to hoping Tell Me Why and Twin Mirror are better since I couldn't give less of a shit about Life is Strange after watching a friend play through the first one.
Side-Note: Setting an arbitrary date of completion for my own records even though I never actually beat the game.
I got a Japanese copy on release. I'll admit this port has plenty of issues, but I would say most of them are really not that bad. People are bashing on the game for no real reason. There was definitely some lag issues on PS4 before the 1.01 patch which has since been solved. Sure, Unity looks like a trashcan on fire; but I really don't give a shit when I just want to play Nocturne without hooking up my PS2. And yeah, I'll concede that the fusion system is outdated by modern SMT standards; but I also don't give a shit as that's part of the charm of replaying these old JRPGs for me. Otherwise, Nocturne is Nocturne. It's just a good game.
Ultimately, if you have never played Nocturne before and are just interested in checking it out but don't own a CRT or can't be assed to set up PCSX2 this is a decent way to play the game. I would skip the PS3 release as it's just emulated anyway and if you're going to emulate then just learn how to use PCSX2.
Ultimately, if you have never played Nocturne before and are just interested in checking it out but don't own a CRT or can't be assed to set up PCSX2 this is a decent way to play the game. I would skip the PS3 release as it's just emulated anyway and if you're going to emulate then just learn how to use PCSX2.
Fuck you Muff; I love motion blur.
2002
Another example of a game that is hated on for no good reason - not that my 2 star rating is helping. CT3 deserves way more love than it gets. It's so flawed, but it has such a heart of gold within.
Even though in my reviews of the other three games I decry them for their lack of speed, I want to say this game was way too fast from what I remember. Granted, I haven't played this game in probably a decade; but it went in the total opposite direction. Between enemies everywhere, boss fights, and a plot that jumps around like no one's business; this game just feels rushed to me. I love the atmosphere; I love the music; and I love the overall design. I just never feel like I got to enjoy any single part of this game long enough for a survival horror. I almost want to call this Rule of Rose if they did everything incorrectly. Maybe I'm also being too harsh on this game though?
All-in-all I would absolutely recommend this game to anyone in checking out PS2 games that flew under the radar of the greatest hits discussion. I just wouldn't come in expecting the world's greatest videogame let alone the best survival horror - maybe I'll review my darling gem Rule of Rose one day - but I would expect a good time none-the-less. Another game that I hopefully want to re-add to my collection one day - assuming I see it for a good price at Hard-Off.
Even though in my reviews of the other three games I decry them for their lack of speed, I want to say this game was way too fast from what I remember. Granted, I haven't played this game in probably a decade; but it went in the total opposite direction. Between enemies everywhere, boss fights, and a plot that jumps around like no one's business; this game just feels rushed to me. I love the atmosphere; I love the music; and I love the overall design. I just never feel like I got to enjoy any single part of this game long enough for a survival horror. I almost want to call this Rule of Rose if they did everything incorrectly. Maybe I'm also being too harsh on this game though?
All-in-all I would absolutely recommend this game to anyone in checking out PS2 games that flew under the radar of the greatest hits discussion. I just wouldn't come in expecting the world's greatest videogame let alone the best survival horror - maybe I'll review my darling gem Rule of Rose one day - but I would expect a good time none-the-less. Another game that I hopefully want to re-add to my collection one day - assuming I see it for a good price at Hard-Off.
After the time I spent with this game, I cannot decide if I was thoroughly underwhelmed or wholly impressed. FF7 is and always will be the black sheep of my interests in video games. I love everything about the setting of 7, and I love everything about the gameplay of both the original and this remake; yet I cannot say I love these games. The issues for me lie in a couple of different areas.
First, I want to just come out and say that the combat in this remake feels both more refined than 15 as if they really honed in on what they wanted with that game; but it's also worse than 15. Having had access to the 15 demo, I really thoroughly enjoyed the way that game felt before final release. It was everything I loved about Kingdom Hearts as a kid without nearly as much float. 7 definitely is a better game combat wise due to less float and more determinable ground action, but there are times when I felt almost a little too in control or focused on one aspect of ground based combat. I don't know that I can even verbally express what I want to criticize here without spending more time discussing combat than is required in a literature essay for a college class, but I do know that this game falls short for the same output of quality as 15 though for completely opposite reasons.
Second, the game is too damn slow. I get it; we all love the setting. We want to remember why we were wowed back in our childhood. I just do not give a shit to take 5 minutes out of my day to look at the pretty graphics that I cannot interact with. If the scene I am supposed to admire is in the horizon then move the fuck on.
Third, the game doesn't even have Yuffie. This point isn't even important because Yuffie was a few hours after Midgar anyway, but I don't care because Aerith is shit and Tifa is just "look at the boobs" tier nonsense for high school incels. At least we got to see my boy Cait Sith in a cutscene but what the goddamn fuck where is Yuffie?
Four, I am so happy beyond belief they included a chapter specific replay option in the game; but am I insane for disliking that I still need to replay through all the stop and go nonsense just to get to one fucking part of the chapter? All I want is a quicker skip feature for cutscenes and scripted sequences, but I am really asking for checkpoints that I can directly jump to in a chapter. Stuff like jumping directly to the point of the chapter when you are in the town or directly to the point after the side quests. You don't need much; you just need like one or two quick jump points per chapter.
Five, I still love JRPGs and anime nonsense; but the older I get I find that my tolerance for both is becoming a little more selective. FF7Remake Part 1 takes a little too much of the atmosphere from post-Midgar for the story beats. See my point about not being able to adequately describe my frustration without extending writing in the combat point on this, but I am, needless to say, mad.
All this said, I rather enjoyed my time with this game. I am collecting what few trophies I have the patience to sit down and get are, and I will gladly check out the second outing when it arrives - I am not skipping a game with my girl Yuffie in it. And honestly, I may even check out the PS5 port when it drops just because. But to say this is a good game would make my blood boil.
FF8 is and always will be the best mainline FF as of the time in which I wrote this - 16 is looking kind of tight if it turns out to be anything like that teaser.
First, I want to just come out and say that the combat in this remake feels both more refined than 15 as if they really honed in on what they wanted with that game; but it's also worse than 15. Having had access to the 15 demo, I really thoroughly enjoyed the way that game felt before final release. It was everything I loved about Kingdom Hearts as a kid without nearly as much float. 7 definitely is a better game combat wise due to less float and more determinable ground action, but there are times when I felt almost a little too in control or focused on one aspect of ground based combat. I don't know that I can even verbally express what I want to criticize here without spending more time discussing combat than is required in a literature essay for a college class, but I do know that this game falls short for the same output of quality as 15 though for completely opposite reasons.
Second, the game is too damn slow. I get it; we all love the setting. We want to remember why we were wowed back in our childhood. I just do not give a shit to take 5 minutes out of my day to look at the pretty graphics that I cannot interact with. If the scene I am supposed to admire is in the horizon then move the fuck on.
Third, the game doesn't even have Yuffie. This point isn't even important because Yuffie was a few hours after Midgar anyway, but I don't care because Aerith is shit and Tifa is just "look at the boobs" tier nonsense for high school incels. At least we got to see my boy Cait Sith in a cutscene but what the goddamn fuck where is Yuffie?
Four, I am so happy beyond belief they included a chapter specific replay option in the game; but am I insane for disliking that I still need to replay through all the stop and go nonsense just to get to one fucking part of the chapter? All I want is a quicker skip feature for cutscenes and scripted sequences, but I am really asking for checkpoints that I can directly jump to in a chapter. Stuff like jumping directly to the point of the chapter when you are in the town or directly to the point after the side quests. You don't need much; you just need like one or two quick jump points per chapter.
Five, I still love JRPGs and anime nonsense; but the older I get I find that my tolerance for both is becoming a little more selective. FF7Remake Part 1 takes a little too much of the atmosphere from post-Midgar for the story beats. See my point about not being able to adequately describe my frustration without extending writing in the combat point on this, but I am, needless to say, mad.
All this said, I rather enjoyed my time with this game. I am collecting what few trophies I have the patience to sit down and get are, and I will gladly check out the second outing when it arrives - I am not skipping a game with my girl Yuffie in it. And honestly, I may even check out the PS5 port when it drops just because. But to say this is a good game would make my blood boil.
FF8 is and always will be the best mainline FF as of the time in which I wrote this - 16 is looking kind of tight if it turns out to be anything like that teaser.
2020
Puppet Combo is easily one of the best indie devs out there right now. Everything they make just oozes charm. Huge shout outs to them for including filters for every type of television set up imaginable with resolutions to match. Really hits those memories of being a kid renting survival horror games for my PS1 from Blockbuster in the late 90s/early 00s.
Game itself is a simple premise. Serial killer killed kids. You're investigating his house. Things go wrong. You must survive. Resident Evil style save system, PS1 controls, and a creepy atmospheric soundtrack to keep you hooked around every corner.
Game itself is a simple premise. Serial killer killed kids. You're investigating his house. Things go wrong. You must survive. Resident Evil style save system, PS1 controls, and a creepy atmospheric soundtrack to keep you hooked around every corner.
Not going to lie, I remember enjoying the fuck out of this game when it came out. I honestly don't remember if it was as good as I remember it being or if I just had Wii U Day One buyer's regret.
I plan to find out one day, but regardless of whatever that ends up being; this half of the review will always stay the same. (02/01/2021; American)
I plan to find out one day, but regardless of whatever that ends up being; this half of the review will always stay the same. (02/01/2021; American)