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Psycho666Soldier

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Posts posted by Psycho666Soldier

  2. Posted

    Zau was a great game. Just long enough to feel satisfying and ended before it became a drag. The movement and the platforming(and the boss fights) were definitely the highlights for me gameplay wise. I found the combat zones to be tedious, though

    • Like 1

  5. Posted

    1. :gba:Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

    2. :ps5:Disco Elysium

    3. :ps5:Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

    4. :ps1: Final Fantasy VIII

    5. :switch:Tales of Kenzera: Zau

    6. :ps5:Animal Well

    7. :ps5:Tunic

    8. :ps5:Dragon Ball Sparking Zero

    9. :ps2:Dark Cloud
    10. :pc:Pseudoregalia
    11. :switch:Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
    12. :ps5:Teslagrad 2

     

    Just rounding out the rest of the list I finished. I did my usual write-ups for Dark Cloud and Pseudoregalia on a different forum a while ago and just forgot to catch it up here.

     

    Dark Cloud

     

     


    I played this when I was a kid and I thought it was such a novel concept but felt sort of hollow and unfinished, and when Dark Cloud 2 came out, it seemed like such a strong improvement that I wrote off the original. But having gone back to this one, I got pretty hooked immediately. The dungeon grind starts feeling like a soothing ritual, and putting together the villages and rearranging to match everyone's needs and wishes ends up being so satisfying. The weapon system is definitely refined in the sequel, but I kind of like how this one forces you to be extra careful with your weapons and how you use them.

     

    I'll say I think the bosses are either underwhelming or tedious, and the final boss was just as much a victim of this. Ended up sapping more joy from this. The final dungeon in general felt a bit like a slog. But the story ended up being pretty engaging and a satisfying conclusion.

     

    Ya gotta be down for early PS2 jank and simpleness to really appreciate this, but the setting and gameplay loop does a lot to make this a really fun experience.

     

    7.5/10

     

    Pseudoregalia

    Spoiler

     

    Goddamn, this game is awesome. For those that don't know, it started as a project made for a one month game jam(meaning people just get together and whip up a game in a month), and the concept and formula was so good on its own that it ended up becoming a full Steam release. It's basically a 3D Metroidvania that's focused on platforming and exploration, but the player character gets upgrades that let them do maneuvers like Mario 64 platforming. So the game is designed for you to find your own path based on what upgrades you get first and how you manipulate them to get to areas that you maybe shouldn't be able to get to technically.

     

    I got really hooked on this right before the holiday. The exploration is infectious, and finding your own "shortcuts" or pulling off some ridiculous combo of maneuvers to reach a platform you thought impossible feels so rewarding. The game ultimately takes no more than 10 hours to explore and beat, but there are a lot of platforming challenges that give you unlockables that I have yet to beat. I did start a second playthrough just to see what weird path I could take instead, and I plan to use that as my 100% run.

     

    Excellent game. Only reason it's ranked as low as it is only because it could have been a bit longer for my tastes, but it really was fantastic.

    8.5/10

     

    Last two from the year. Pushed this off too long, so I'm not gonna go full review mode.

     

    TTYD is incredible and the remake does it wonderful justice. First time I beat it all the way through, absolutely love the story, the characters, the setting, the mechanics. This is peak Paper Mario. Peak Mario RPG tbh. Hoping it sold well and convinces Nintendo to make a proper faithful Paper Mario sequel with full RPG mechanics and FUCKING PARTNERS. 9/10

     

    Teslagrad 2 felt like it maybe could have been a bit longer, and I wasn't as immersed in the setting the way I was with the first one. The main campaign is definitely way too short. But if you take the time to go through and do all the extra challenges and find the extra upgrades, there are some awesome uses of platforming in this game. Honestly, the platforming feels really smooth and clean and is just fun to move around once you get a few key upgrades. Hope the dev team keeps working on stuff and maybe makes something just a bit bigger next time. 8/10

  6. Posted

    And Undead Unluck finished a couple Sundays ago.

     

    Very satisfying ending. Doesn't try to do too much or be too confusing, so arguably safe, but honestly, it just feels so right after everything that happens. Loved this manga so much. It's dripping with charm and just pulls you into the emotions of the characters. And they did such a great job with the last couple chapters.

     

    I can't wait to see the rest of it animated.

  8. Posted

    10 hours ago, Mera'din said:

    4.) :pc: Pocket Mirror ~ GoldenerTraum

    This is one I had started a while ago but had kind of fell of of playing when other stuff came out. Interesting little 2D gothic/psychological horror game. Doesn't give you a lot of info to work with and kind of have to stumble through figuring stuff out. Interesting story overall, but a little predictable. Nice variety to the endings and some decent replay value. I had actually picked this one up due to another game, Little Goody Two Shoes, releasing as it looked really interesting, but this one is part of the same series and released first (even though I think Little Goody Two Shoes is actually a prequel to it). It sounded interesting as well so decided to give it a go. All around solid experience. Glad I gave it a shot.

    I actually have been playing this very slowly with my girlfriend over the last couple months too for the EXACT same reason. We technically beat it, but I want to go through and get the different endings before moving on to Little Goodie Two Shoes, since I know the ending we got doesn't directly correlate it.

     

    I'm kinda with you where it's a fun experience if not a bit predictable and basic. Little Goodie Two Shoes seems like it's the more creative/original game. That said, I did really enjoy this and it was fun going along the journey of seeing how the protagonist and the other characters fit into the whole narrative.

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    Haven't seen b in a minute and not sure anyone else has been following, but Beat & Motion had it's last chapter last week. Honestly I expected it to end quite a few chapters ago and would have been satisfied as is, so I felt it ended at a good point. Wasn't much else to develop without making drama for the sake of drama. Really love the way they portrayed Nico and Tatsuhiko's relationship. The final chapter is absolutely stunning and gorgeous, and love that there's minimal dialogue.  Great work, I hope it gets animated some day, but honestly the manga format just captures such a unique beauty I'm not sure would hit the same as a cartoon.

  10. Posted

    1. :gba:Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

    2. :ps5:Disco Elysium

    3. :ps5:Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

    4. :ps1: Final Fantasy VIII

    5. :switch:Tales of Kenzera: Zau

    6. :ps5:Animal Well

    7. :ps5:Tunic

    8. :ps5:Dragon Ball Sparking Zero

     

    Well I've got like 7 more games I beat through the year, so let's get them up, shall we?

     

    Animal Well

     

     


    Animal Well was great. A game focused on avoidance, platforming, and obscure puzzle solving. There were some amazingly unique ability items in this game, and a lot of them made you think outside the box to solve some puzzles. The game doesn't hold your hand at all and pretty much all things you can do with the items you have to find out on your own by experimenting.

     

    The first 20 minutes or so had me thinking, "Is this it? What's all the hubbub?" And then I started unlocking more abilities and getting sucked in. It definitely consumed my life for a few weeks.  I did have to look up a couple things because some of the hints are so cryptic, and you can technically go even deeper with the game by getting involved in the ARG solving and stuff like that, but I stuck to getting all but two trophies, getting the true ending, and finding all the eggs.

     

    If you like puzzle platformers with captivating background lore and visuals, this is for you.
     

     

    9/10

     

    TUNIC

    The undies are out here killing it this year(or whatever previous year this game was made), because I absolutely loved this game. This has similar ARG elements to Animal Well but in a much more compelling way. The game comes off at first like an Isometric Zelda rip-off. But the core feature of the game is that you don't know how to play or what abilities you have, and you learn by trial and error OR understanding the game manual pages that you pick up throughout. So yes, you collect pieces of the game manual, which gives hints about how to play, where to go, and where to find the most secrets. What makes it even better? The manual is mostly in a fake language that you have to decode in order to get the most secret of secrets. The game is bearable without doing all that, though you have to still do some decent deciphering to get the true ending.



     

    This is up there with Rebirth as the game I was most obsessed with. By the time I got to the end, I had a notepad I was carrying around with me to try and solve the manual puzzles/riddles and decipher the language. I feel like I had SOME complaints, but thinking back on it, the only thing is dealing with some of the combat can be a bit tedious.

     

    This was an awesome game, and if you like adventure exploration games with some good puzzles, even if you don't go as hard as I did, you'll love this.

    9/10

     

    Dragon Ball Sparking Zero

     

    In some ways this game is everything I could ask for. In other ways it still leaves a lot to be desired.

     


     

    The Budokai Tenkaichi series is hands down my favorite Dragon Ball game franchise, with what is in my opinion the most Dragon Ball-like combat while still being a blast. In that sense, this game fucking nails it. It's everything I loved about the original games, with sharp engaging combat, and particularly when you're up against a human player, there are some incredibly epic moments you can have. The battle system is just so deep and allows you to engage in most DB cliches. And they've done a lot in this one to fine-tune the weaker characters like Master Roshi and make them more useful against god-level opponents.

     

    However, BT's biggest weakness was always its story mode, which had a decent structure but always had disappointing cutscenes(and a huge lack of them) to make it feel like a more tedious slog. But it WAS the main way to unlock characters. Sparking Zero arguably handles this worse. The game is now divided into choosing a character whose story you follow, which is a cool concept until you realize some characters get some vital and fun parts cut from their campaign. The cutscenes are even worse than before. It feels like there's less of them, and a lot of the "fancy" cutscenes are either less detailed or don't even cover the most iconic moments. There are actually a disappointing lack of iconic moments altogether. And what's worse is that there are only 2 characters you HAVE to play episode mode to unlock. The rest can be unlocked here, but are also purchasable on the store from the jump. And if you're like me who bought characters before realizing you could still unlock them in episode mode, you lose that thrill of getting a character for dealing with the tedium.

     

    What the episode mode DID do pretty well is the What If chapters, or "Sparking Chapters" as they're called. This definitely has some of the most in-depth what if scenarios ever.  And this is where they clearly put most of their effort into the cutscenes. The Piccolo and Gohan ones were particularly enjoyable for me, but Goku's alternate paths almost completely make up for how lackluster the main story path is. Only issue is some of these still felt too short or limiting, and the time limit challenges to unlock some of them are downright bullshit (there's a Piccolo one I think I STILL haven't beaten because I've technically done it tens of times, but the game says "actually, the timer ran out first").

     

    I think with a better structure, better cutscenes, and/or shifting way more focus onto the Sparking Chapters with more playable characters, the Episode Mode could have been awesome and made the game feel more worth it for the solo player. But as is, this still makes for a great game to play with your friends or challenge people online.

     

    So one way or another, I don't regret the purchase.

     

    7.5/10

     

    Will probably add more tomorrow.

    • Like 1

  11. Posted

    That's really dumb about the Crunchyroll uploads. I never actually watched Wolf's Rain myself, but I've always heard good things from various people I associate with, so maybe this is a sign to give it a shot 🤔

     

    What I'm liking about GT so far(only like 6 episodes in) is that it captures the spirit of the original Dragon Ball. Which is probably problematic for most kids who grew up on Z and wanted more action and less silliness. Though the action is still pretty fun. I know later it gets more action-oriented, but I also know that's kind of where opinions get more contentious, particularly with the Hell saga.  

     

    One thing I've really enjoyed is Pan's character. I don't know if the dub maybe ruined her or something, but all these years I was under the impression that Pan was some annoying, badly written character, and I've been severely misled this whole time.

  12. Posted

    I'm still alive, and I've read some stuff and haven't read others. I started teaching recently and it's consumed a lot of my energy lol.

     

    I've been keeping up with Hakutaku. Has keeper potential for me at the moment. I finally read the last couple chapters of Dragon Ball Super. Beast Form is kind of an obnoxious design, but it was really cool and fun and surprisingly fresh to see Gohan spar with Goku, Vegeta, Broly, Goten, and Trunks. I assume we're probably only gonna get like one more arc with Black Frieza, but I'd love if they squeezed in one more that focused on Gohan et Al as the heroes, maybe even giving Vegeta the final victory, before we get the expected final showdown between Goku and Frieza. I guess we'll see. All I know is I hope the manga-only arcs get animated at some point.

     

    I've also caught up on Sakamoto Days. I'm curious to see if Shin goes through with killing the prison dude. It's kind of a shame but also such a nice change of pace from the usual "Villain turned Hero" character arc where they become squeaky clean after joining the hero.

     

      @dr. b have your been mostly up to date with everything?

  14. Posted

    I caved and started watching DanDaDan because I figured my girlfriend would like it. Looks I'll be roughly keeping up with it going forward. I love the OP. Everything else is incredible as well. Animation is other-wordly.

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    A little behind on some stuff. Might try to catch up a bit today. But I wanted to shout out one of the newest series Hakutaku. Third chapter dropped today, I really liked the first two chapters. It's about becoming a video game coder.

     

    Good art, very interesting characters, and it feels like it has the right level of charm and style as all the best anti-battle shonen. Hard to say if it'll hold up, but it hasn't disappointed yet.

     

    I think once I get caught up on the last couple rounds of the usual series, I'm finally gonna move to the second chapter of Kagurabachi and burn through that.

  16. Posted

    I already bought the first two volumes of Dandandan a good while back because I really liked the first couple chapters but didn't want to read on the website all the time. Of course, now there's an anime and the manga is available on the app, but I think I might still try to start by reading my volumes. We'll seez though.

    • Like 1

  17. Posted

    1. :gba:Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

    2. :ps5:Disco Elysium

    3. :ps5:Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

    4. :ps1: Final Fantasy VIII

    5. :switch:Tales of Kenzera: Zau

     

    This game had a lot of controversy on Twitter because it was made primarily by black creators who used African mythology to inspire their lore and world-building while saying they wanted to make a story everyone could relate to regardless. So naturally, when it was getting great reviews, a lot of idiots complained about it being a DEI game and the only reason the game was getting strong reviews(it was getting some 9s and 10s). It got so bad that one of the head creators made a video online explaining the vision(black people have spent years finding theirselves in white fictional characters, why can't it be the other way around sometimes?), and asked all platforms to discount the game so people could give it a fair shake.

     

    So I decided to give it a fair shake. And I thought it was really good. It's a classic Metroidvania in a mythical African fantasy world. Pretty compact game. Couldn't have taken me more than 15 hours to complete. It doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel, but the setting had me in awe, and the characters and story were touching and told in an interesting way. The game shined in its boss sequences(which were pretty epic and intense) and its movement. It felt very satisfying to maneuver the map, and the ability upgrades you get are neat. There are these platforming challenges you can do for extra items that were really good tests of your reflexes.

     

    Its biggest flaw is its combat. They've crafted an interesting system with some cool abilities and a flow that forces you to think. But the issue lies in the game's structure, where most of the combat you do is repeatedly getting in a trapped zone that's about one screens worth, where you have to fight X amount of waves of enemies which all have very specific ways to beat them. The result is the combat ends up feeling more tedious than enjoyable, and it slows down what is otherwise a really enjoyable experience.

     

    I don't think it's the 9-10 game that some were claiming. But the complaints were definitely coming from bad faith, because while mechanically it might not be changing the game, the game comes together in a fun and captivating package that is only marred by it's dodgy combat.

     

    8/10 easily

  18. Posted

    20 minutes ago, MT said:

    1. :gba: Metroid: Zero Mission

      1a. :gba: Metroid Fusion

      1b. (SNES) Super Metroid

    2. :switch:  Metroid Dread

    3. :ps5: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

    4. (NES) Mega Man 2

    5. Super Mario World (96 Exits)

    6. Super Metroid (100%)

    7. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (100%)

    8. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

    9. :switch: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

     

    A great game from beginning to end, if a bit easy. It's cool to see the creative freedom given in the last 3D games carry over into the 2D ones. Loved the art style, glad it got used in more than just the Link's Awakening remake. I may go through it again on the harder difficulty.

    Super glad to hear this. I'll have to buy it soon

  19. Posted

    Also, Kaiju No. 8 was hype as usual.

     

    Akane-banashi #126 & 127

    Spoiler

    I honestly really enjoy these smaller moments in between the big events, especially when they're wrapped in these paramount character development moments. It felt really satisfying to hear Akane say she's already tightened the loincloth of her heart 

     

  20. Posted

    I've been digging the prison arc for Sakamoto Days so far. This chapter in particular was really cool, seeing how Shingo has developed both his powers and his compassion from the beginning do the series.

     

    Chainsaw Man #178

    Spoiler

    I know this manga isn't shy about Denji not exactly being a good guy and not really caring about things like avoiding casualties, but yeah, willing feeding knowing it will direct kill kids seems like a line he wouldn't cross, even in this pure Chainsaw form.

     

    What a collection of panels this week though, huh?

     

    Elusive Samurai #172 & 173

    Spoiler

    The color cover for 172 was insane. Had me kind of mesmerized for a minute.

     

    Was sad to see Yoshisada die, but holy shit did he go out with a a bang! His last ditch slaughter had some of the best panels I've seen in this comic, at least from a pure standpoint of violence.

     

    173 was mostly setup, but I'm very hyped for what might be the final showdown worth Mima.

     

    Also, kind of a random thought, but I would love a Dynasty Warriors-style Elusive Samurai game.

     

     

  21. Posted

    I do feel like VIII really is aesthetically just on another level than it's contemporaries. They managed to make things modern while feeling so fresh and inventive. Between the soundtrack, the visuals, the landscape design and the way it feels like all the locations are tied together geopolitically, it just pops so much.

  22. Posted

    1. :gba:Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

    2. :ps5:Disco Elysium

    3. :ps5:Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

    4. :ps1: Final Fantasy VIII

     

     

    FF8 is, like many from my childhood, a game that I've restarted countless times but never finished. Sadly enough, when it was next up for my "I'm finally playing all mainline FF's in order to completion" run that still isn't finished after 10+ years, it still didn't get finished despite getting farther than before. So I finally buckled down after Rebirth and made sure that it would happen, and I'm glad I did.

     

    FF8 gets a bad rap and is considered the worst by many alongside FF2 and FF13. But being it was my second Final Fantasy, I still have fond memories of it. While I think there's a lot to critique, I do think this game is far better than most give it credit for. And this completion run has only confirmed that for me.

     

    The presentation of this game is outstanding. The things they do with some of the models is jaw-dropping. The music is excellent, the cinematics are great. The thing that's mostly lacking is story and a bit more focus on the cast. It's very comparable to XVI for me where presentation wise, they nailed it, but they missed elsewhere. For XVI, it's a great story with mediocre gameplay. For FF8, it's amazing gameplay with an ok but sloppily executed story.

     

    The amount of background plot, lore, and extra cutscenes is nothing short of impressive, and gives a lot of purpose to backtracking and exploring more than most entries in the series. Also just the amount of side content in general gives me all the right tickles.

     

    I think one of the biggest public critiques of the game is the battle system, particularly the junction system. But honestly, I find the progression system to be inspired and mostly lacking some more clear intention being told to the players. If you're the kind of person that enjoys breaking games, this system is perfectly suited to it.

     

    I do wish weapons mattered more and it wasn't so easy to make it the Squall show. Despite putting the best magic on them, my secondary attacker could never do even half as much damage as Squall.

     

    FF8 is a scenario tour de force. I think something missing from modern FF is the way parts of the game would involve almost mini-game-like gameplay to fit certain events. Having to manipulate the trains and avoid guards, needing to play missions a certain way to get better SeeD scores, trying to get the right band setup for the festival performance or even the big battle of the Gardens. There are so many moments like this that keep the gameplay fresh, exciting, and memorable. I think this is probably FF8's greatest strength, and I'd argue it's handled better than at least FF7, but probably on par with 9.

     

    The story is...definitely mixed. I think Squall's journey from edgy, standoffish teenager to passionate, empathic leader is great. And surprisingly, I actually like the romance between him and Rinoa. The moment when coming back from space and you find out Rinoa is going to be imprisoned due to becoming the sorceress is so fucking powerful, with Eyes on Me swelling in the background and nearly bringing me to tears. And while this game doesn't have my favorite character designs, I do find myself really enjoying the party.

     

    That said, the overall plot is a mess that I think is probably what drives many hardcore fans away. The orphanage reveal is handled so sloppily. No build, no plausible explanation for how Irvine was the only one to remember other than the GF making people lose memories which like...ok, it's a decent explanation, but feels so improperly set up. And the Ultimecia reveal dump from Edea feels very forced in and the scene doesn't have a lot of weight. It eventually becomes a thing where you're just along the ride and trying to power through it rather than actually being drawn into the plot. The action set pieces are great, and the interpersonal interactions are pretty top notch, but the why for it all is just lacking. The final boss battle feels fairly un-epic as a result, and while FF is no stranger to last second asspull demigod final bosses, it's particularly disappointing here when it felt like there could have been so much more.

     

    I will say the final dungeon is pretty awesome, and the care that went into giving the different bosses special death animations made the game feel very ahead of it's time.

     

     

    Overall, FF8 is a mess. Plot-wise, I think it sits just above the NES games where there was virtually no plot. Mechanically, I think it could have used a bit more balance in making characters other than Squall feel useful. But the messiness kind of adds to its charm for me. When the presentation is still impressive today, with one of the best soundtracks in the series, and when the world on general is just so fun and rewarding to explore...I can't help but feel it's a great game that just got saddled with a weak plot. And when it comes to games, I think missing the story mark while being fun to play is a better mistake than having a great story with shit gameplay.

     

    7.5/10 that would be an 8.5 with it's flaws ironed out.

     

     

    Oh, and of course Triple Triad is awesome. Though I think Queen's Blood has officially surpassed it.

    • Like 2

  23. Posted

    1. :gba: Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

    2. :ps5: Disco Elysium

    3. :ps5: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

     

    Ok, I've been pushing this off too long to the point where I'm forgetting my ridiculously detailed mental notes, so it's time I finally get this over with.

     

    I beat Rebirth months ago back when it first came out. Ultimately, I loved it.  I think from a gameplay perspective, it's the best Final Fantasy has felt in years. I know this is kind of a divisive topic online, but I think FF7R's battle system is the foundation to build the future on. Action RPG with strategical pausing allowed and the ability to switch to/control other party members. FF has always been about the party, and while I respect what FF16 had to offer, the combat falls flat for me when I have an artificial party that I have no control over and has no health management. Here, it feels freeing, and with most characters having usefulness, the switching on the fly just feels like such a playground that you can really manipulate with the materia. And the handling of open world and optional content is for the most part very engaging and an addicting structure, even if it's Ubisoft-isms take away some of the oomph.  



     

    Having played Remake a second/third time so close to Rebirth, I can see how other than the battle system and presentation, the strength of Remake is it's novelty: being in the old locales with new paint. And I gobbled that shit up. But Rebirth feels the closest to a return to form since the PS2 era in how it truly gives you a guided open world that has a myriad of content that is mostly worth it, whether it's a bit of enjoyable character development or worthwhile equipment.

    I think where it's weakest on a gameplay perspective is that a good chunk of the discovery experience isn't well integrated with the world. The summons are the most prime example, being only attainable through the battle simulator and the shrines being blips from a tower that you do a simple mini game to power up your summon. Even with the blips, this game could have benefited strongly from allowing you to be rewarded with a summon/summon fight that you found by exploring the map. 

     

    Some people will argue that the game had too much to do or that the optional content wasn't always worth it. As far as the amount of content, the optional stuff is just that: optional. You don't have to do it and I don't think the game should be penalized for having too much unless you want to criticize the content itself. Not all mini-games are made the same, and in that sense, I don't think it's perfect. But generally, I found most of them to be enjoyable enough to at least slog through once for its rewards. That said, the cactuar mini game(particularly with Aerith) and the Gears and Gambits mini-games can fuck right off.  As far as the side quests, I found them all worth it for the character development and world building that is found in most of them. And as a huge FF5 and Gilgamesh fan, the Protorelic stuff was worth any of the tedium it involved. And compared to 16, I actually found the rewards mostly useful to where grinding through the less enjoyable parts didn't feel like completing purely for the sake of completion.

     

    The music, as usual, is absolutely incredible. I love what they did with MOST of the remixes, and I love that they leaned hard into creating so many original tracks that stand out. Sure, there's some silly techno tracks that feel a bit out of place, and the mixing with dialogue at times was obnoxious, but those are pretty small in comparison to what they did pull off.

     

    And, of course, we have the story and presentation, and that's where things get a bit more mixed for me. I think where this game absolutely shines in this respect is the character portrayals and the interpersonal relationships. Cid was maybe sanitized a bit too much(for the better but maybe at the expense of taking away his original aura?), but everyone else feels so much more realized and compelling. Aerith is maybe more flat in this game compared to Remake, but Tifa's characterization is so fucking engaging. A much needed upgrade from the original and Remake. And of course, the exploration of Cloud, his identity, and his fragile mentality is such a justice to the original. Seeing Yuffie properly integrated with the party and story, as the resident Yuffie fanboy, was so fulfilling, and I can't wait to see how that develops when we go to Wutai in the next game.

     

    I think anyone who cares to read this has probably already played, but if you care about SPOILERS, this is where I start getting into more specifics.

     

     

    I do think one of the things the Remake trilogy is missing the mark on is some of the more dark and unsettling elements of the original. In the first game, the moment when you wake up with your cell doors open and a mysterious trail of blood with a direct horror atmosphere is minimized. When you're on the Shinra Cruise Ship, you're unwelcome there and the music and plot tone keep you on edge, unaware of what to expect next. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE Queen's Blood and I was happy to do a tournament, but maybe you could have done it at Costa Del Sol or the Gold Saucer where it fits more with the original atmosphere and tone. And while I'm not too upset about them sanitizing Dyne's death, having that moment immediately followed up with a goofy ass boss battle with Palmer was the one spot where the tonal whiplash of the game felt like it was working against the final product. Dyne's death and Barrett's processing deserved a moment to breathe, or in the least to not be counteracted by a goofy villain. At least go straight into the car chase moment. It just felt disrespectful and spitefully unaware of the gravity of the moment.

     

    Everything is covered in this veneer of "fun." And while I think this isn't bad for the totality of the game(this section of the story is basically the ROAD TRIP moment with a lot of goofy distractions before shit gets heavy), I think choosing to use that tone to gloss over the grittier parts of the original is not doing a service to anyone. I had the same issue with the treatment of Wall Market, and that's still a stain on the original for me.

     

    And then we have the ending stretch. For starters, I feel they butchered the Temple of the Ancients. Paradoxical to my previous complaint, the original Temple had an unsettling, yet kooky air to it that is completely erased for this drab, overly serious tone. I could forgive this if that section at least carried some of the puzzle elements of the original. But between slaughtering the music tone, having an unappealing color palette, and just overall having a flat atmosphere that drags until the end, it felt like they got the Temple completely wrong and was the first moment where I was legitimately frustrated with their choice. I loved the climactic section where they all had to face their personal demons/hangups and what that meant for the party's development, but everything before that just felt kind of like a slap in the face.

     

     

    And while I don't mind that the end of the game was a bit of a mess story-wise, I think they handled the Aerith scene all wrong. Like I'm good with what the actual plot seems to be developing, but the execution robbed that moment of all of its gravity. It's less of a tonal thing as much as they tried too hard to confuse the player about what was happening. It's not made clear to the player whether Aerith died or Cloud actually saved her until after the final boss battle, and all of the emotion is completely sucked out because at best you're trying to understand what's happening with the converging timelines, and at worst you're angry that none of it gets a chance to hang and breathe and actually settle in that, yes, despite Cloud defying fate, he could not save Aerith in this timeline. Between this moment and the treatment of the Temple, a game that I was otherwise willing to overlook the flaws leaves a bad taste in your mouth that makes you question the time you spent with it.

     

    Yet, despite that...I still love the game. If nothing else purely from a gameplay perspective and getting to spend so much more time with these characters that I've grown to love more than probably any other piece of fiction. And while the execution for the ending was garbage, I do believe that what I think is the plot and what will be explored going forward will be compelling. I also will give grace that the lack of emotional weight of Aerith's death will be rectified in the final chapter until proven otherwise. And I also have a feeling that they chose to make this entry so fun because the last entry will be way more depressing and downtrodden with the theme of both Meteor looming and whatever the Tear in the Sky means for the converging timelines. And I'll admit, the amount of discomfort I got from Cloud acting like everything's fine while the rest of the party is clearly mourning Aerith's death in the ending cutscene has me so hooked to see how that's explored in the next one.

     

    So yeah, as a complete package I think it missed the mark some when it comes to story and presentation.  But as far as structure, gameplay, the way the story is generally presented, and basically everything else, I think this is the foundation the rest of the FF mainline series should be built on. Because were it not for the ending stretch and comparison to the original, this damn near would have been a perfect game for me. Also an almost complete improvement on the first installment.

     

    8.5/10

     

     

    I've beaten some other games since then, but in the case anyone actually cares to read all that, I'm gonna add them over the next couple days to give some room to breathe.

  24. Posted

    2 hours ago, dr. b said:

    I find “Fooey!” kind of charming, and I think it fits fairly well with how juvenile the sense of humour is in DB. I guess it’s kinda funny juxtaposed against all the panels of naked Goku :lol: (“Damn!” or “Shit!” would not have been so bad really.) But even the other maybe-not-so-kid-friendly things like the sex jokes, naked Goku, etc. are all relatively tame and childish. I think it works to keep the language clean in the translation. 
     

    I don’t know if I’ll continue on with DBZ. Maybe just the Saiyan saga, which is low-key maybe my favorite arc of DBZ overall. I’m well into the Piccolo arc now in DB because I couldn’t sleep last night, so it won’t take long to finish. 

    It honestly wasn't too bad until near the end where they say it more frequently. But I agree it does fit the general aura of that part of the story.

     

    I'm mostly going through Z because I've never read the manga all the way through, so I wanna see how it plays out in that form. Plus, just watching Toriyama's art continue to evolve. 

  25. Posted

    12 hours ago, dr. b said:

    I’ve been reading loads of Dragon Ball the last few days. Just finished the Red Ribbon and Fortuneteller Baba arcs. Goddamn I love the original DB. Time to get into the next tournament!

    It's so good, dude. I ended up finishing about a week ago and I've moved on into Z territory now.

     

    The Red Ribbon was originally as far as I got with the anime a long time ago because the files I downloaded had corrupted subtitles around the episode where he's training with Karin, and I checked and every episode after that had the same issue. So it was nice to finally see the Fortune Teller Baba arc. 

     

    It's really funny that out of all the things the manga has, they feel the need to censor the cusswords. Every time they say, "Fooey!" I have to laugh.

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