AJRXC2
Tonnes of fanservice, all I'm really asking for.
2008
Broke constantly and barely ever worked but god damn if it wasn't fun as hell just smashing the shit out of whatever poor surface you placed the controller on with your friends/family.
2020
Still a fantastic game even 17 years later, arguably the only part of 3D all stars actually worth a damn since the changes made to pointer controls do SO MUCH to help with gameplay flow and reduce frustration.
Having not played in about 10ish years, it kinda surprised me just how simple the difficulty and level design was. Even the infamous bullshit segments like the trash cleaning, ball riding and bubble floating stars were EXTREMELY easy to complete, though this could easily just be the skill gap between me and myself from 10 years ago.
Level theming felt a lot more basic and "Mario-y" than I remembered, though that could just be levels from Galaxy and Galaxy 2 being blended together in my mind, but despite the space setting the Mario staple themes were still present with not much flair to them, typical Lava land, Ice Land, Desert, Spooky House, all that stuff, save a generic grasslands stage which was surprisingly absent.
Character control on switch feels great, it takes a while to get things down on the Switch controllers after being used to the Wiimote and Nunchuck but once everything clicks it feels great.
The biggest flaw with this release really was the terrible way in which it was sole, overpriced, with 2 lacking ports that you HAVE to get as well, barely any bonus features, no galaxy 2, and only available for a limited time. Sure in retrospect the limited time bs was completely pointless but for kids getting into these games that are at the age I was when I first played them, it's just a flawed experience, and for people who are JUST starting to get into gaming, finding a copy of it or even knowing it EXISTS with no eshop listing or acknowledgement just stings.
In summary, this port was amazing, but delivered in a terrible way, where the hell is Galaxy 2 fucks sake Nintendo.
Having not played in about 10ish years, it kinda surprised me just how simple the difficulty and level design was. Even the infamous bullshit segments like the trash cleaning, ball riding and bubble floating stars were EXTREMELY easy to complete, though this could easily just be the skill gap between me and myself from 10 years ago.
Level theming felt a lot more basic and "Mario-y" than I remembered, though that could just be levels from Galaxy and Galaxy 2 being blended together in my mind, but despite the space setting the Mario staple themes were still present with not much flair to them, typical Lava land, Ice Land, Desert, Spooky House, all that stuff, save a generic grasslands stage which was surprisingly absent.
Character control on switch feels great, it takes a while to get things down on the Switch controllers after being used to the Wiimote and Nunchuck but once everything clicks it feels great.
The biggest flaw with this release really was the terrible way in which it was sole, overpriced, with 2 lacking ports that you HAVE to get as well, barely any bonus features, no galaxy 2, and only available for a limited time. Sure in retrospect the limited time bs was completely pointless but for kids getting into these games that are at the age I was when I first played them, it's just a flawed experience, and for people who are JUST starting to get into gaming, finding a copy of it or even knowing it EXISTS with no eshop listing or acknowledgement just stings.
In summary, this port was amazing, but delivered in a terrible way, where the hell is Galaxy 2 fucks sake Nintendo.
2018
THE MOST FUN LOCAL MULTIPLAYER EXPERIENCE I'VE EVER HAD. Despite the simplicity of it's concept it's execution is SO well done that I can play this with friends for HOURS without getting bored. The sheer rush that can be felt while playing this game is a feeling unmatched by any other multiplayer experience I've ever had, and this will definitely become a multiplayer go to for future gatherings with friends and family.
This review contains spoilers
Absolutely fantastic return to 2D mario after 10 years with no new games, and almost 20 since the last change in formula. Not without it's growing pains of course, boss variety is terrible with Bowser Jr having 4 slightly varying but equally piss easy fights, the 3 Airships (if you even want to consider them as bosses) being some of the easiest in any Mario game, and Bowser himself having fantastic presentation, but also being extremely disappointing and lacking in terms of difficulty. Powerup variety is also a little disappointing, having only 4, though they're use within levels, as well as the Wonder seeds providing occasional transformation effects, more than makes up for that.
Level design was incredible, each one either providing some brand new concept to spice things up, or expanding an already fun concept to it's highest limit to make for some incredibly challenging and rewarding platforming. Collectables were just sorta ok, though I feel like this was done intentionally to ensure that veteran players could enjoy the tough challenging levels, while still making sure that kids and more casual players could beat the game in their own time, through each level granting a wonder seed at the very end, as well as all of the freebies, which I can definitely appreciate.
It was sort of confusing that the game didn't lean more into it's musical theming, with so many levels having rhythm gimmicks, including the entire finale, and even the minor changes to rhythm blocks to make them more vibrant, makes me feel like there should've been a music powerup.
Overall I'm extremely happy with how this game ended out, especially with it's main gimmick, which basically guarantees that even if the formula is repeated a million times like NSMB was, at the very least we'll get a tonne of creative ideas out of it.
Level design was incredible, each one either providing some brand new concept to spice things up, or expanding an already fun concept to it's highest limit to make for some incredibly challenging and rewarding platforming. Collectables were just sorta ok, though I feel like this was done intentionally to ensure that veteran players could enjoy the tough challenging levels, while still making sure that kids and more casual players could beat the game in their own time, through each level granting a wonder seed at the very end, as well as all of the freebies, which I can definitely appreciate.
It was sort of confusing that the game didn't lean more into it's musical theming, with so many levels having rhythm gimmicks, including the entire finale, and even the minor changes to rhythm blocks to make them more vibrant, makes me feel like there should've been a music powerup.
Overall I'm extremely happy with how this game ended out, especially with it's main gimmick, which basically guarantees that even if the formula is repeated a million times like NSMB was, at the very least we'll get a tonne of creative ideas out of it.
2022
Still a fucking BANGER even 10 years later. Rockstars attention to gameplay and worldbuilding is insane. Story still isn't anything too special, but it's entertainment and VERY 2010s style of humor is more than enough to keep players engaged for a full run-through. Mechanics are simply just... fun, fucking around in this game endlessly will never not make for an entertaining afternoon. A landmark title that everyone needs to experience.
Felt the need to rethink and update my review, so here it is. I stand by gameplay being fairly fun, brainlessly taking out massive hordes of enemies after so many games of hellish gank fights is extremely satisfying, and the boss design is peak as far as brawlers go. It's ending is absolutely fantastic, and the Arena is also the best it has ever been, but as I reflected on my thoughts, as well as gained the context of Infinite Wealth, I came to realize just how undercooked this entry really is.
Speaking to Akane to initiate substories sucks, the actual story was already unnecessary but 8 has just solidified it as completely pointless, the upgrade system sucks ass, the story is under baked as hell, and the whole thing just ends up feeling meaningless. Unsure if I'm ever even gonna bother playing this one, and as is now I think only 4 falls flatter for me.
Speaking to Akane to initiate substories sucks, the actual story was already unnecessary but 8 has just solidified it as completely pointless, the upgrade system sucks ass, the story is under baked as hell, and the whole thing just ends up feeling meaningless. Unsure if I'm ever even gonna bother playing this one, and as is now I think only 4 falls flatter for me.
2015
Highest quality combat variety and minigames in the series, progression in the other games feels nowhere NEAR close to this satisfying and it's honestly SHOCKING how they went from this games progression to 6s which is HORRIFIC. Kind of unfortunate that it's the modern starting point, it definitely sets standards WAY too high, especially for Majima who yeah, is great, but REALLY isn't used to the extent that this game may give off. Notable difficulty spike as well which can easily catch new players off guard and cause a lot of frustration, encouraging techniques such as weapon and item spam which, while fun and viable within 0, REALLY sets up the wrong idea for the other entries.
Very tricky to discuss this one, on the one hand the story is fantastic and serves as a good (albeit very short) sendoff for Kiryu, and it has some of the best minigame variety and execution in the series. Onomichi is a very fun area to explore, the ocean setting is very nice and makes up for Okinawa somewhat lacking it, and it stands out a lot compared to the others as a result.
HOWEVER, there is one key fault that holds this game back from being among Yakuza's best, and it's its progression system. Most people would usually jump straight to the Yakuza engine and it's poor combat and physics, however the occasional jank keeps it somewhat entertaining. On the other hand, the games progression is fucking awful, easily one of the worst of any game I've ever played. Most games that provide upgrades that simply increase EXP are already somewhat flawed as a result, but the fact that even after maxing this you still get barely ANY exp for doing anything is extremely unfun, and makes the game way grindier than it should have been.
Overall, like the other Yakuza games, it's story alone is worth playing through for, and it's side content and map are spot on, but the games progression and combat is unfortunately too fundamentally flawed to keep it from being truly fantastic.
HOWEVER, there is one key fault that holds this game back from being among Yakuza's best, and it's its progression system. Most people would usually jump straight to the Yakuza engine and it's poor combat and physics, however the occasional jank keeps it somewhat entertaining. On the other hand, the games progression is fucking awful, easily one of the worst of any game I've ever played. Most games that provide upgrades that simply increase EXP are already somewhat flawed as a result, but the fact that even after maxing this you still get barely ANY exp for doing anything is extremely unfun, and makes the game way grindier than it should have been.
Overall, like the other Yakuza games, it's story alone is worth playing through for, and it's side content and map are spot on, but the games progression and combat is unfortunately too fundamentally flawed to keep it from being truly fantastic.
2024
To me, this game serves as the polar opposite to another remake I'm somewhat "mixed" on, being Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition. In that instance, the original was refined and improved to present the best possible way to experience it, while it's new additions to warrant it's existence fell fairly flat in most areas, while here all of the new content is absolutely fantastic, but the original experience is so far disconnected it can hardly be considered fairthful.
Social links being voiced has turned what I initially believed to be a fairly mixed bag of characters into a fucking fantastic roster that I can't get enough of (except for Nozomi he still sucks ass). Finally having direct commands in a version that isn't locked behind a light novel is great, all the new evening activities expand positively on the established characters while giving the player things to do that aren't going to sleep every night, the Shinjiro buff is AMAZING, and the new presentation of tartarus is fantastic. The new dub cast are FANTASTIC, and while some of the mid 2000s charm is lost, I feel fairly confident in saying that almost every major characters voice matches the original, if not IMPROVES it due to better direction and delivery. Pretty much every brand new feature lands the mark, HOWEVER there are unfortunately a handful of warped, if not flat out REMOVED, pieces of content that impact the game pretty severely.
The option to choose clubs for the Chariot and Fortune social links, the tiredness system which encouraged smarter routing for Tartarus trips, The Answer, pretty much everything new in Portable, multiple weapons for the protagonist, Monad block, the mp3 player featuring P1 and P2 tracks for tartarus, several of the party control options for commands, most of the protagonists fusion spells, tonnes of features and gameplay elements which were ESSENTIAL to making P3 FEEL like P3 are just... completely absent from this """faithful""" remake.
Despite all the new editions, there's still a lack of nighttime activities, the answer being delegated to DLC is disappointing though understanding given the games development struggles, which are mainly notable through all the P5 asset reuse as well as certain backgrounds in the life sim world looking like complete shit, mainly in the school, the surrounding environment on the roof and in the middle courtyard is horrendous, and the PS1 hedge outside of the school which is on full display during the games ending is downright embarrassing.
Even with the clear development (and probably also budget) struggles it is still downright APPAULING to make the answer DLC over $50 aud, since if this epilogue was AS IMPORTANT to the core P3 experience as the director CLAIMED it is, they should've just held back the game and worked to get the content added. This isn't even mentioning the complete removal of the female protagonist and all the unique content relating to their own route.
At the end of the day I don't know why I even bother complaining about all these things, ultimately Reload is still the most readily available, user friendly and inviting way to play through the best story the Persona series has to offer, and despite FES and Portable having their own issues that made me hold off from finally beating this game until Reload, I still think it's extremely unfair to hold back content that fans of the original love, in the name of a """faithful""" remake, which completely changes the flow and feeling of the game. It's also a huge shame that I know of all these cool options and pieces of content from prior versions, that I won't get to experience because said versions of the game aren't readily available, or in a state in which I find them fun.
It's a huge shame that, rather than being the MAJOR release that finally brings together all persona fans in unison, this game is just gonna spark several more decades of dipshit fighting over which version of P3 is the best, and as much as I want to rank this game higher, I cannot in good faith give it higher than an 8, since I know for a fact that, had I actually had the patience to get through FES or Portable first, I wouldn't like this game anywhere near as much. If ATLUS doesn't learn from these development struggles, and tries to pull this same shit with P4Gs extra content, I am going to lose my shit.
Social links being voiced has turned what I initially believed to be a fairly mixed bag of characters into a fucking fantastic roster that I can't get enough of (except for Nozomi he still sucks ass). Finally having direct commands in a version that isn't locked behind a light novel is great, all the new evening activities expand positively on the established characters while giving the player things to do that aren't going to sleep every night, the Shinjiro buff is AMAZING, and the new presentation of tartarus is fantastic. The new dub cast are FANTASTIC, and while some of the mid 2000s charm is lost, I feel fairly confident in saying that almost every major characters voice matches the original, if not IMPROVES it due to better direction and delivery. Pretty much every brand new feature lands the mark, HOWEVER there are unfortunately a handful of warped, if not flat out REMOVED, pieces of content that impact the game pretty severely.
The option to choose clubs for the Chariot and Fortune social links, the tiredness system which encouraged smarter routing for Tartarus trips, The Answer, pretty much everything new in Portable, multiple weapons for the protagonist, Monad block, the mp3 player featuring P1 and P2 tracks for tartarus, several of the party control options for commands, most of the protagonists fusion spells, tonnes of features and gameplay elements which were ESSENTIAL to making P3 FEEL like P3 are just... completely absent from this """faithful""" remake.
Despite all the new editions, there's still a lack of nighttime activities, the answer being delegated to DLC is disappointing though understanding given the games development struggles, which are mainly notable through all the P5 asset reuse as well as certain backgrounds in the life sim world looking like complete shit, mainly in the school, the surrounding environment on the roof and in the middle courtyard is horrendous, and the PS1 hedge outside of the school which is on full display during the games ending is downright embarrassing.
Even with the clear development (and probably also budget) struggles it is still downright APPAULING to make the answer DLC over $50 aud, since if this epilogue was AS IMPORTANT to the core P3 experience as the director CLAIMED it is, they should've just held back the game and worked to get the content added. This isn't even mentioning the complete removal of the female protagonist and all the unique content relating to their own route.
At the end of the day I don't know why I even bother complaining about all these things, ultimately Reload is still the most readily available, user friendly and inviting way to play through the best story the Persona series has to offer, and despite FES and Portable having their own issues that made me hold off from finally beating this game until Reload, I still think it's extremely unfair to hold back content that fans of the original love, in the name of a """faithful""" remake, which completely changes the flow and feeling of the game. It's also a huge shame that I know of all these cool options and pieces of content from prior versions, that I won't get to experience because said versions of the game aren't readily available, or in a state in which I find them fun.
It's a huge shame that, rather than being the MAJOR release that finally brings together all persona fans in unison, this game is just gonna spark several more decades of dipshit fighting over which version of P3 is the best, and as much as I want to rank this game higher, I cannot in good faith give it higher than an 8, since I know for a fact that, had I actually had the patience to get through FES or Portable first, I wouldn't like this game anywhere near as much. If ATLUS doesn't learn from these development struggles, and tries to pull this same shit with P4Gs extra content, I am going to lose my shit.
2021
Great game, amazing to see how the creativity and fantastic writing of the original was able to carry into a sequel released 15 years later.
Level concepts and ideas are fantastic, just like the first game. I'd argue there are no highs as high as the first (or lows as low, for that matter) though overall it provides a consistently great experience. The new psychic abilities allow for amazing level design, and are overall just really fun to use.
Story was great, followed the first game by expanding on the few story beats that were still unanswered while also providing it's own mystery that's very fun to follow, with some twists that I genuinely didn't see coming.
Not without it's issues, PS4 version running on a PS5 had DREADFUL loading times. A lot of areas in the game are far bigger than they need to be, somewhat hindering the fun of exploration as I realize I have to re-explore a MASSIVE map for a few hours just because I'm missing a single item, so I gave up on going for 100% fairly quickly (maybe someday when I have the patience). And while control of Raz is overall much more fluid and fun than the first game, psychic abilities are still locked behind damn control mapping instead of being on the fly through a scroll wheel, making certain situations a pain in the ass to deal with when you need to equip and unequip different powers constantly.
Psychonauts 2, much like the first, once again proves how the 3D platforming genre can be pushed to it's limits to provide truly charming and unique experiences. These games gave me such memorable experiences and I can't wait to revisit for a replay or 100% playthrough sometime down the line.
Level concepts and ideas are fantastic, just like the first game. I'd argue there are no highs as high as the first (or lows as low, for that matter) though overall it provides a consistently great experience. The new psychic abilities allow for amazing level design, and are overall just really fun to use.
Story was great, followed the first game by expanding on the few story beats that were still unanswered while also providing it's own mystery that's very fun to follow, with some twists that I genuinely didn't see coming.
Not without it's issues, PS4 version running on a PS5 had DREADFUL loading times. A lot of areas in the game are far bigger than they need to be, somewhat hindering the fun of exploration as I realize I have to re-explore a MASSIVE map for a few hours just because I'm missing a single item, so I gave up on going for 100% fairly quickly (maybe someday when I have the patience). And while control of Raz is overall much more fluid and fun than the first game, psychic abilities are still locked behind damn control mapping instead of being on the fly through a scroll wheel, making certain situations a pain in the ass to deal with when you need to equip and unequip different powers constantly.
Psychonauts 2, much like the first, once again proves how the 3D platforming genre can be pushed to it's limits to provide truly charming and unique experiences. These games gave me such memorable experiences and I can't wait to revisit for a replay or 100% playthrough sometime down the line.