Aarooon
2015
I honestly don't have much to say about this game besides the fact that it was really addicting. Although I never really got that high up in terms of level (I think I was like Level 26), Turf War was my jam. I liked the abilities and the game conceptually, and the gameplay was so stupidly fun that I have been a fan since the very start of the series with this game. Although this game pales in comparison to Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3, the map variety and the hilariously broken abilities like the Kraken made me enjoy it a lot. I like the different types of main weapons, sub weapons, and special abilities, and its fun to choose a specific weapon type to main. I despise ranked modes in most games so I stay away from that, but from the few times I've played them, they're fun, especially Rainmaker. Storymode was alright, I don't really remember much from it except the DJ Octavio theme (that carried so hard let's be real). The ads for this game were fire as a kid at the time 'YOU'RE A KID, YOU'RE A SQUID!' Overall, a great game that propelled itself to one of my favourite Nintendo series.
EDIT: Now that I think about it, this game has so many memorable things like the victory theme, 'STAY FRESHHHH!', and WOOMY, kind of iconic for me. Also enjoyed the customisability with gear and accessories, but getting specific abilities on your gear was PAIN.
EDIT: Now that I think about it, this game has so many memorable things like the victory theme, 'STAY FRESHHHH!', and WOOMY, kind of iconic for me. Also enjoyed the customisability with gear and accessories, but getting specific abilities on your gear was PAIN.
Shin Megami Tensei IV was a great entry into the series for me. Although I played some of SMT V, I gave up on it early on, but I decided to give the series another chance with SMT IV, and I am thankful that I did. This game is great in all aspects. I've fallen in love with the battle system, the story, the characters, the demons, everything, and it has made me go on a binge through every SMT game.
I like how the story revolves around a Chaos and a Law route (there also being a Neutral route) with one character that is a symbol of each route. I will say that if Neutral wasn't such a pain to get (without a guide), I would've went with that, but I decided to go with Walter and Chaos, and I actually liked that route. Although a bit cliche, I enjoyed the story a lot, I liked the contrast of the above-ground Kingdom of Mikado, and then the underground city of Tokyo, separated by the bane of my existence, Naraku. The conflict between the Ashura-kai and the Ring of Gaea was interesting. I will say that I was somewhat confused during both the Blasted and Infernal Tokyo segments, but they were enjoyable enough. The final boss being against either Merkabah or Lucifer was also enjoyable, even if it made me stay up until 2:30am because of how many game overs I was getting.
I enjoyed the main cast of characters for this game, with Walter and Isabeau being the highlights. Jonathan I have no opinions on because I just didn't agree with his path alignment, and Navarre can suck it. Characters like Skins and Fujiwara are confusing because they just appear out of nowhere and I just don't care about them. It was fairly obvious how the game was going to handle Issachard after he failed to become a Samurai, so no surprises there. Hikaru was interesting because I did not think she was going to turn out to be Lucifer out of all things, and thought she was just another random character. Also, Burroughs is so annoying after a really intense conversation she's like 'You've completed this mission.'
As for the gameplay, I like how this series uses the Press Turn system to encourage striking weakness, while also encouraging the use of buffs like Sukukaja to make enemies lose their press turns. I need to talk about why this game doesn't have a 5 star rating, and that is because of Naraku. I think I almost wanted to ragequit in Naraku and that made me turn the difficulty down to the lowest difficulty (I turned it back up later). The amount of gameovers I had in Naraku was unbelievable and I wanted to cry because of it. Other then that, I enjoyed how the game made me utilise buffs more than I have ever had to in Persona. I also found it enjoyable fusing a bunch of different demons in the Cathedral of Shadows. A very rewarding system which was one of the reasons why I fell in love with the series.
While I enjoyed getting to walk around Tokyo on a map, it was so annoying not knowing where to go sometimes. Coupled by the fact that I decided to stop doing sidequests because of how pissed off the random encounters on the world map was making me, and I never got the levitating function so the world map remained an annoyance for me. I did do most of the quests and they were quite enjoyable, involving different demons, and some were unique, such as running away from Seth in Naraku.
I have so much love for this game, and coming off from Persona 3 Reload was no easy feet, but it did deliver a great game that I thoroughly enjoyed.
EDIT: What on earth did the devs do Lucifers sprite? Also, now I know what getting SMT’ed is now, pain.
I like how the story revolves around a Chaos and a Law route (there also being a Neutral route) with one character that is a symbol of each route. I will say that if Neutral wasn't such a pain to get (without a guide), I would've went with that, but I decided to go with Walter and Chaos, and I actually liked that route. Although a bit cliche, I enjoyed the story a lot, I liked the contrast of the above-ground Kingdom of Mikado, and then the underground city of Tokyo, separated by the bane of my existence, Naraku. The conflict between the Ashura-kai and the Ring of Gaea was interesting. I will say that I was somewhat confused during both the Blasted and Infernal Tokyo segments, but they were enjoyable enough. The final boss being against either Merkabah or Lucifer was also enjoyable, even if it made me stay up until 2:30am because of how many game overs I was getting.
I enjoyed the main cast of characters for this game, with Walter and Isabeau being the highlights. Jonathan I have no opinions on because I just didn't agree with his path alignment, and Navarre can suck it. Characters like Skins and Fujiwara are confusing because they just appear out of nowhere and I just don't care about them. It was fairly obvious how the game was going to handle Issachard after he failed to become a Samurai, so no surprises there. Hikaru was interesting because I did not think she was going to turn out to be Lucifer out of all things, and thought she was just another random character. Also, Burroughs is so annoying after a really intense conversation she's like 'You've completed this mission.'
As for the gameplay, I like how this series uses the Press Turn system to encourage striking weakness, while also encouraging the use of buffs like Sukukaja to make enemies lose their press turns. I need to talk about why this game doesn't have a 5 star rating, and that is because of Naraku. I think I almost wanted to ragequit in Naraku and that made me turn the difficulty down to the lowest difficulty (I turned it back up later). The amount of gameovers I had in Naraku was unbelievable and I wanted to cry because of it. Other then that, I enjoyed how the game made me utilise buffs more than I have ever had to in Persona. I also found it enjoyable fusing a bunch of different demons in the Cathedral of Shadows. A very rewarding system which was one of the reasons why I fell in love with the series.
While I enjoyed getting to walk around Tokyo on a map, it was so annoying not knowing where to go sometimes. Coupled by the fact that I decided to stop doing sidequests because of how pissed off the random encounters on the world map was making me, and I never got the levitating function so the world map remained an annoyance for me. I did do most of the quests and they were quite enjoyable, involving different demons, and some were unique, such as running away from Seth in Naraku.
I have so much love for this game, and coming off from Persona 3 Reload was no easy feet, but it did deliver a great game that I thoroughly enjoyed.
EDIT: What on earth did the devs do Lucifers sprite? Also, now I know what getting SMT’ed is now, pain.
Tatsuya is the GOAT (real review in the PSP version)
Eikichi my beloved (real review in the PSP version)
2021
Tales of Arise was able to quickly captivate me as my first Tales game, and I quite thoroughly enjoyed it, but I do have some glaring issues (some are more like skill issues on my part but whatever). The game has such a strong opening, and the concepts it introduces us to are great.
The first three regions: Calaglia, Cyslodia, and Elde Menancia are honestly perfect in my opinion. You get to see how each lord treat the enslaved Dahnans, and their differing ideologies. I enjoyed the story for each of these regions and they really had me invested in this game. However, I need to state that I utterly despised Mahag Saar and Ganath Haros, it felt like the game was starting to drag out. Mahag Saar I didn't mind as much, I enjoyed exploring Niez and the surroundings but I just started to get sick and tired of the game. Ganath Haros was probably my breaking point because I gave up after defeating the final lord, and it resulted in me dropping the game for 9 months. I came back 9 months later to tackle my enormous catalog, getting games out of the way that I had started but not finished, like Radiant Dawn, and Tales of Arise. I was not impressed with the ending, it was very meh, and the final boss felt extremely underwhelming.
The dungeons are fine, there's really nothing positive or negative I can say about them, but I enjoyed the variety of different areas we could explore. The combat was very satisfying for me, especially coming from someone who doesn't really play games with action-combat. Though I will admit that I did get tired using Alfyn's combos for the entire game, only to realise that you could switch characters at the end of Mahag Saar (skill issue), but I couldn't be bothered to learn another characters combos and skills so i decided to persist on with Alfyn. As for the characters, they were quite enjoyable, and I enjoyed the dynamics that perpetuated between the Danhans in the party and the Renans. I also enjoyed the little duos that would form within the party, it just felt neat.
I really enjoyed the skits, but I did start to get tired of them at the end of the game. I couldn't be bothered doing quests, especially because of my immense burnout near the end of the game. But I must say, the opening song really got stuck in my head. Overall, I experienced more positives than negatives in this game, and my dislike for the game only started to be prevalent after the 'main-story' had concluded. The setting and the characters carried this game hard for me, as I found the combat to be average. Even though half of my review might be negative, theres a reason why I've rated it at 7/10, I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the game. I do have Tales of Vesperia in my library because a friend got it for me, but I think it'll be a while before I'm ready to try another Tales game.
The first three regions: Calaglia, Cyslodia, and Elde Menancia are honestly perfect in my opinion. You get to see how each lord treat the enslaved Dahnans, and their differing ideologies. I enjoyed the story for each of these regions and they really had me invested in this game. However, I need to state that I utterly despised Mahag Saar and Ganath Haros, it felt like the game was starting to drag out. Mahag Saar I didn't mind as much, I enjoyed exploring Niez and the surroundings but I just started to get sick and tired of the game. Ganath Haros was probably my breaking point because I gave up after defeating the final lord, and it resulted in me dropping the game for 9 months. I came back 9 months later to tackle my enormous catalog, getting games out of the way that I had started but not finished, like Radiant Dawn, and Tales of Arise. I was not impressed with the ending, it was very meh, and the final boss felt extremely underwhelming.
The dungeons are fine, there's really nothing positive or negative I can say about them, but I enjoyed the variety of different areas we could explore. The combat was very satisfying for me, especially coming from someone who doesn't really play games with action-combat. Though I will admit that I did get tired using Alfyn's combos for the entire game, only to realise that you could switch characters at the end of Mahag Saar (skill issue), but I couldn't be bothered to learn another characters combos and skills so i decided to persist on with Alfyn. As for the characters, they were quite enjoyable, and I enjoyed the dynamics that perpetuated between the Danhans in the party and the Renans. I also enjoyed the little duos that would form within the party, it just felt neat.
I really enjoyed the skits, but I did start to get tired of them at the end of the game. I couldn't be bothered doing quests, especially because of my immense burnout near the end of the game. But I must say, the opening song really got stuck in my head. Overall, I experienced more positives than negatives in this game, and my dislike for the game only started to be prevalent after the 'main-story' had concluded. The setting and the characters carried this game hard for me, as I found the combat to be average. Even though half of my review might be negative, theres a reason why I've rated it at 7/10, I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the game. I do have Tales of Vesperia in my library because a friend got it for me, but I think it'll be a while before I'm ready to try another Tales game.
IT'S A LIE! - Kokichi Oma, 2017
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is an interesting game in the series. Not only does it have some amazing plot, it has one of the wildest Chapter 6s we have seen from any Danganronpa game. That Chapter is so powerful that it causes mass debates and splits the community in two on whether it was a good or a bad way to end the series. Personally, I enjoyed this game, but I still hold Goodbye Despair above it, as personally I believe the game just has a better overarching plot, and better characters, not to take anything away from this game.
The story. First off, the monokuma kubs were so annoying to introduce in like the first ten minutes of the game. I swear they were only introduced to serve as a replacement for Monomi. This game definitely felt amiss with the introduction of Flashback Lights and then the whacky plot points, such as the Cospox moment, so it makes me understand the ending just a tiny bit more. I also enjoy the mistrust between the group in the first few chapters because of them believing there is a 'Mastermind' among them, I think that just made the group dynamics that much more interesting. The motives in this game are probably the most creative out of the three mainlines, and I especially enjoyed the mess that was the Time Limit with the special video on the monitors, that was so insanely weird, but fit a Danganronpa game. I enjoy Case 1, 4, and 5 the most, and I think that aligns with the majority, because each have their own set of unique plot twists that just make each case that much more intriguing. I want to talk about the ending. I actually don't have much problems with the ending as I mostly make memes out of it because this whole game felt like one big meme, but I do lean more to the 'I don't like it' category, and that's probably because I just wanted the series to continue, but I do understand it somewhat more years after playing the game.
Characters. Let's continue the tradition and continue the tropes! We got the shy boy, the emo girl, the misandrist girl, the horny girl, the robot, the shit-stirrer, the dumb muscle man, the overly optimistic protagonist, the bro side-kick, and the somewhat unstable girl. I will say that my opinions are DEFINITELY in the minority as my favourite characters are Angie (don't ask why it just became that way) and Rantaro. As much as I hated Kokichi at first, I just like the shit-stirrers and he probably resides in my top 5. There are some misses, but like Danganronpa 2, I don't actively hate any character, there's just some I have no opinions on whatsoever.
This game has the best artstyle and gameplay in the series. It's a visual novel, sure, but this game has a side-scrolling adventure minigame reminiscient of the 2D platformer Mario games. It also just builds on top of the Class Trial system and makes lying during a debate a feature, psyche taxi is also a great change of pace, and the mass-panic debate being a great addition to the list of minigames during a class trial. I will say that Hangman's Gambit has a third version, and mind mine is a thing, which I really have zero opinions about it. The big addition is definitely the Scrum Debate, and I wish they used it more than once a chapter, I just liked seeing what side of a debate each student would take. I also just feel like the eerie music, and music in general that plays throughout the game just makes class trials, and exploration around the academy that much more enjoyable. This game has officially ruined Clair de Lune forever, I will never hear it the same way ever again.
Also the deaths and executions in this game are brutal wtf? Did they get a psychopath to write this shit because who the hell came up with the Chapter 2 Execution, my god. Completely convinced every character in this game is a complete lunatic.
While not my favourite game in the series, I do enjoy it (though I doubt I'll ever replay it unless I want to replay the entire series for some odd reason). There are some misses, this game definitely has more highs than it does lows. In the very wise words of someone, IT'S ALL FICTION and IT'S A LIE!
UPDATE: I lied, I forgot about one character that had the weirdest arc oh my god Korekiyo why do you even exist. Even with, there's 15 characters that I either love, like, or deal with, and then there's Korekiyo, it's fine.
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is an interesting game in the series. Not only does it have some amazing plot, it has one of the wildest Chapter 6s we have seen from any Danganronpa game. That Chapter is so powerful that it causes mass debates and splits the community in two on whether it was a good or a bad way to end the series. Personally, I enjoyed this game, but I still hold Goodbye Despair above it, as personally I believe the game just has a better overarching plot, and better characters, not to take anything away from this game.
The story. First off, the monokuma kubs were so annoying to introduce in like the first ten minutes of the game. I swear they were only introduced to serve as a replacement for Monomi. This game definitely felt amiss with the introduction of Flashback Lights and then the whacky plot points, such as the Cospox moment, so it makes me understand the ending just a tiny bit more. I also enjoy the mistrust between the group in the first few chapters because of them believing there is a 'Mastermind' among them, I think that just made the group dynamics that much more interesting. The motives in this game are probably the most creative out of the three mainlines, and I especially enjoyed the mess that was the Time Limit with the special video on the monitors, that was so insanely weird, but fit a Danganronpa game. I enjoy Case 1, 4, and 5 the most, and I think that aligns with the majority, because each have their own set of unique plot twists that just make each case that much more intriguing. I want to talk about the ending. I actually don't have much problems with the ending as I mostly make memes out of it because this whole game felt like one big meme, but I do lean more to the 'I don't like it' category, and that's probably because I just wanted the series to continue, but I do understand it somewhat more years after playing the game.
Characters. Let's continue the tradition and continue the tropes! We got the shy boy, the emo girl, the misandrist girl, the horny girl, the robot, the shit-stirrer, the dumb muscle man, the overly optimistic protagonist, the bro side-kick, and the somewhat unstable girl. I will say that my opinions are DEFINITELY in the minority as my favourite characters are Angie (don't ask why it just became that way) and Rantaro. As much as I hated Kokichi at first, I just like the shit-stirrers and he probably resides in my top 5. There are some misses, but like Danganronpa 2, I don't actively hate any character, there's just some I have no opinions on whatsoever.
This game has the best artstyle and gameplay in the series. It's a visual novel, sure, but this game has a side-scrolling adventure minigame reminiscient of the 2D platformer Mario games. It also just builds on top of the Class Trial system and makes lying during a debate a feature, psyche taxi is also a great change of pace, and the mass-panic debate being a great addition to the list of minigames during a class trial. I will say that Hangman's Gambit has a third version, and mind mine is a thing, which I really have zero opinions about it. The big addition is definitely the Scrum Debate, and I wish they used it more than once a chapter, I just liked seeing what side of a debate each student would take. I also just feel like the eerie music, and music in general that plays throughout the game just makes class trials, and exploration around the academy that much more enjoyable. This game has officially ruined Clair de Lune forever, I will never hear it the same way ever again.
Also the deaths and executions in this game are brutal wtf? Did they get a psychopath to write this shit because who the hell came up with the Chapter 2 Execution, my god. Completely convinced every character in this game is a complete lunatic.
While not my favourite game in the series, I do enjoy it (though I doubt I'll ever replay it unless I want to replay the entire series for some odd reason). There are some misses, this game definitely has more highs than it does lows. In the very wise words of someone, IT'S ALL FICTION and IT'S A LIE!
UPDATE: I lied, I forgot about one character that had the weirdest arc oh my god Korekiyo why do you even exist. Even with, there's 15 characters that I either love, like, or deal with, and then there's Korekiyo, it's fine.
Oh my god. I'm still in disbelief at what I just played. Finishing this game made me increase both this game and Innocent Sin to a 4.5 star rating, it really is that great. Another persona game that makes me ugly cry at the ending of the game. Ooooh how much I love the P2 Cast and the world and the story. My opinions on the combat and dungeon design haven't changed as I still think they're terrible.
The story. My god I had some major whiplash going from mute Tatsuya to mute Maya. it felt super jarring at first that Maya went from a character who probably had one of the most important roles in Innocent Sin to a mute protagonist. That was kind of a turn off, but it didn't deter me from playing this amazing game. This game was all about deja vu, and the repeat dungeons and scenes truly symbolised 'Eternal Punishment'. I do enjoy this games story more than Innocent Sin because they don't dump the Xibalba and the Last Battalion stuff on you all in one go. I enjoyed how you had to sometimes fight some of your main party members as part of their development and plot, I think that just enhanced my experience with the game. The game feels extremely eerie with some shops being switched to different areas of Sumaru, and it works wonderfully, contributing to the setting of the game. Overall, a great story that literally had me bawling at the end of the game.
Gameplay, there really isn't much to say that's different from my Innocent Sin review. There aren't really any dungeons I enjoyed myself, and I hated all of the dungeons that made you fall through the floor and restart the entire thing all over again, terribly designed. I also disliked the final dungeon where you couldn't deal damage to a specific enemy unless you had a specific persona with you, that's also terrible. Honestly, the only reason this game and Innocent Sin aren't 5/5 is because of the terrible gameplay. I did use the velvet room this time around to try and get into the gameplay, and it was just plain annoying honestly. Play this game for the story and characters, not for the battling.
Characters. This game shows that they can write a great persona game with an adult-centric cast. Katsuya, Ulala, and the return of the persona 1 characters are all great additions to the roster, and I love the bickering between Baofu, Katsuya, and Ulala, almost reminiscient of Lisa and Eikichi. Baofu is great, not on the level of Katsuya, Ulala or Tatsuya for me, but I like his little monologues about being an adult to Tatsuya. But I have to talk about Tatsuya Suou, probably turning out to be one of my favourite characters ever. The turmoil and suffering he has to go through, and then the ending to top it all off really made me all emotional. He truly got eternally punished for committing an innocent sin. Persona as a series is just great at writing characters that make me fall in love with them. This cast might be one of my favourites casts ever, alongside Innocent Sins cast.
I said I was let down by Innocent Sin in that review, but I take it back. I am overly satisfied with the Persona 2 duology, it's great and I'll probably replay it eventually one day. It's gonna feel weird having completed all of the mainline Persona games, but I don't dislike any of them, and that speaks to the volume of how great they all are individually. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment was a fantastic game that had me hooked from the start.
The story. My god I had some major whiplash going from mute Tatsuya to mute Maya. it felt super jarring at first that Maya went from a character who probably had one of the most important roles in Innocent Sin to a mute protagonist. That was kind of a turn off, but it didn't deter me from playing this amazing game. This game was all about deja vu, and the repeat dungeons and scenes truly symbolised 'Eternal Punishment'. I do enjoy this games story more than Innocent Sin because they don't dump the Xibalba and the Last Battalion stuff on you all in one go. I enjoyed how you had to sometimes fight some of your main party members as part of their development and plot, I think that just enhanced my experience with the game. The game feels extremely eerie with some shops being switched to different areas of Sumaru, and it works wonderfully, contributing to the setting of the game. Overall, a great story that literally had me bawling at the end of the game.
Gameplay, there really isn't much to say that's different from my Innocent Sin review. There aren't really any dungeons I enjoyed myself, and I hated all of the dungeons that made you fall through the floor and restart the entire thing all over again, terribly designed. I also disliked the final dungeon where you couldn't deal damage to a specific enemy unless you had a specific persona with you, that's also terrible. Honestly, the only reason this game and Innocent Sin aren't 5/5 is because of the terrible gameplay. I did use the velvet room this time around to try and get into the gameplay, and it was just plain annoying honestly. Play this game for the story and characters, not for the battling.
Characters. This game shows that they can write a great persona game with an adult-centric cast. Katsuya, Ulala, and the return of the persona 1 characters are all great additions to the roster, and I love the bickering between Baofu, Katsuya, and Ulala, almost reminiscient of Lisa and Eikichi. Baofu is great, not on the level of Katsuya, Ulala or Tatsuya for me, but I like his little monologues about being an adult to Tatsuya. But I have to talk about Tatsuya Suou, probably turning out to be one of my favourite characters ever. The turmoil and suffering he has to go through, and then the ending to top it all off really made me all emotional. He truly got eternally punished for committing an innocent sin. Persona as a series is just great at writing characters that make me fall in love with them. This cast might be one of my favourites casts ever, alongside Innocent Sins cast.
I said I was let down by Innocent Sin in that review, but I take it back. I am overly satisfied with the Persona 2 duology, it's great and I'll probably replay it eventually one day. It's gonna feel weird having completed all of the mainline Persona games, but I don't dislike any of them, and that speaks to the volume of how great they all are individually. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment was a fantastic game that had me hooked from the start.
2020
Persona 5 Strikers surprised me in more ways than I could've imagined, holy hell this is so peak. I'll start by saying I got this game in 2021 when it released and played till like the early mid-game, and then dropped it till 2024. For some reason, the game didn't really resonate with me, maybe because I was in a persona burnout after binging all of the main games the year prior. I was not a fan of the combat and I didn't like any of the systems, it was looking to be a game that I never returned to.
Luckily, I decided to go on a SMT & Persona binge this year after playing Persona 3 Reload, and I'm thankful that I did because this game was great and changed all of my opinions on it. The gameplay is great (coming from someone who really only plays turn-based combat), the story is great, and I love the new additions to the cast.
Let's start with the story. It's great. It's very reminiscient of OG Persona 5, taking down celebrities that are abusing their power to get what they want. This stems from some type of trauma, but this system doesn't really peak until Sapporo. After Sapporo, the rest of the game is great. There are many twists that make me more invested into the story, and although I kind of predicted the final reveal, I was kind of blown away. Overall, this game has a great story, and if you can get past the first couple of hours, you will have a blast with this game.
Characters. There are some new main characters and new villains. The two new characters, Zenkichi and Sophia are great, and written really well. Despite this being a relatively short game when compared to P5R, the game does great in giving both of these characters development to make me love them just as much as the Phantom Thieves. The game also bolsters a solid list of antagonists, and although I don't really care for some, there were a couple that I could sympathise with. A great cast of characters that enhances my enjoyment of the game.
The gameplay. I will say that I initially hated the gameplay. I couldn't get into the action combat and using the surrounding environment to my advantage, but my opinion has drastically changed. I adore the combat. I love using random objects in the environment to deal more damage, like dropping chandeliers on enemies, to spinning on a lamp post, to driving a shopping cart into a horde of enemies, it's really great and immersive, and incorporates the environment into battles. I enjoyed learning different combos that allowed me to deal more damage, and I even enjoyed the spin they took with persona abilities and follow-up attacks. Although I was down on the combat initially, this game made me enjoy action combat a lot more.
I need to talk about the music. The game takes Persona 5 music, but then makes it better (with a couple of exceptions), on top of several original songs that I enjoy greatly. The Strikers version of Last Surprise IS A BOP, it slaps and I actually rate it better than the original. My favourite OST is definitely Singularity, I get so many chills from this song and it honestly is great. There are a bunch of other songs I love, like some of the Jail themes, but this game is packed full of great songs that we would be here all day if I mentioned all of them.
In terms of the dungeons in this game, I didn't mind them. Although a majority of them were single paths to a desired goal, some of them were big-open areas in the city with a bunch of enemies to destroy. I enjoyed how the game made use of its terrain by making the player get on rooftops and into sewers to explore what each area had to offer.
I greatly enjoyed this game, and was pleasantly surprised by the 50 hours of gameplay I got out of this game. I recommend that others give this game a chance, and to enjoy your time with it like I enjoyed it.
Luckily, I decided to go on a SMT & Persona binge this year after playing Persona 3 Reload, and I'm thankful that I did because this game was great and changed all of my opinions on it. The gameplay is great (coming from someone who really only plays turn-based combat), the story is great, and I love the new additions to the cast.
Let's start with the story. It's great. It's very reminiscient of OG Persona 5, taking down celebrities that are abusing their power to get what they want. This stems from some type of trauma, but this system doesn't really peak until Sapporo. After Sapporo, the rest of the game is great. There are many twists that make me more invested into the story, and although I kind of predicted the final reveal, I was kind of blown away. Overall, this game has a great story, and if you can get past the first couple of hours, you will have a blast with this game.
Characters. There are some new main characters and new villains. The two new characters, Zenkichi and Sophia are great, and written really well. Despite this being a relatively short game when compared to P5R, the game does great in giving both of these characters development to make me love them just as much as the Phantom Thieves. The game also bolsters a solid list of antagonists, and although I don't really care for some, there were a couple that I could sympathise with. A great cast of characters that enhances my enjoyment of the game.
The gameplay. I will say that I initially hated the gameplay. I couldn't get into the action combat and using the surrounding environment to my advantage, but my opinion has drastically changed. I adore the combat. I love using random objects in the environment to deal more damage, like dropping chandeliers on enemies, to spinning on a lamp post, to driving a shopping cart into a horde of enemies, it's really great and immersive, and incorporates the environment into battles. I enjoyed learning different combos that allowed me to deal more damage, and I even enjoyed the spin they took with persona abilities and follow-up attacks. Although I was down on the combat initially, this game made me enjoy action combat a lot more.
I need to talk about the music. The game takes Persona 5 music, but then makes it better (with a couple of exceptions), on top of several original songs that I enjoy greatly. The Strikers version of Last Surprise IS A BOP, it slaps and I actually rate it better than the original. My favourite OST is definitely Singularity, I get so many chills from this song and it honestly is great. There are a bunch of other songs I love, like some of the Jail themes, but this game is packed full of great songs that we would be here all day if I mentioned all of them.
In terms of the dungeons in this game, I didn't mind them. Although a majority of them were single paths to a desired goal, some of them were big-open areas in the city with a bunch of enemies to destroy. I enjoyed how the game made use of its terrain by making the player get on rooftops and into sewers to explore what each area had to offer.
I greatly enjoyed this game, and was pleasantly surprised by the 50 hours of gameplay I got out of this game. I recommend that others give this game a chance, and to enjoy your time with it like I enjoyed it.
Please find a better use of your time.
This review contains spoilers
‘Now Rean, Let us begin. Together, we shall write the end to this wretched fairy tale. In ink, black as despair.’
People have been debating for a while now whats the best entry into the series. There's Trails in the Sky FC, which is a little dated, but is probably the best entry point (Though I do agree that it is hard to get into so maybe getting hooked into the series first is better). Trails from Zero, although more modern, is also hard to get into, but I would personally recommend this to people who wanted to get into the series. Trails of Cold Steel is also another great entry point, and people have also said Daybreak is another great entry point. Why is this relevant you might ask, well my entry point was Trails of Cold Steel III. Yeah, not my proudest moment, I thought they were standalone games when I initially played this game but I was invested and didn't want to give up there. If i've told anyone that I started with CS1, I apologise, but it's kind of embarassing. Anyways..
Trails of Cold Steel III is the DEFINITION of peak fiction and cinema. This game got me into the series, despite me not knowing anything about it and being confused like 95% of the time, so that has to say something. A smaller group of main characters and a setup that will make you miserable, angry, and depressed, that is what this game is all about. I could write a whole ass essay on this game, but if I did that, this would be the longest review on Backloggd. Just gotta say it's my favourite game in the series, and despite some pretty minor flaws, its a banger in many categories.
Storywise, this game is throwback central. You get callbacks to characters like Tita, Agate, Lloyd, KeA, Arios, and some others who are more relevant to the story like Randy. Instead of being a student this time around, Rean is an instructor for Thors Branch Campus, taking lead over his own Class VII. Each member has their own personality quirks, and some experience more development than others, but that's probably because they still have CS4 to develop. This game is like the replication of CS1, but in my opinion, done so much better because this game just has higher-stakes. Field Exercises are way more enjoyable than Field Studies, going to places like Saint-Arkh, Parm, Hamel, Crossbell, Ordis, Raquel, and Heimdallr. Heimdallr especially feels more high-stakes, even the music, sounding less juvenile, like in CS1. Class VII isn't the only new characters in this game, and I like interacting with all of the major students from the branch campus, each having their own individual quirks and struggles too. Now talking about the main story, Chapter 1 just makes me so excited for the rest of the game because of the return of Ouroboros, as well as the raid on the Field Exercise Camp, and the reunion of a couple of Class VII members. I will say, finally getting to explore Hamel was great, and just made it that much eerie, especially with the appearance of Fie's 'father' and a divine knight that looks eerily similar to Valimar. I will say that I believe Chapter 2 is probably my favourite chapter across the entire trails series because of how pissed it made me. I've heavily invested in the Trails world, and when they stir shit with Crossbell, I lose it, which is probably why Juna is my favourite character in this game, because of her entire arc in this chapter, I completely get her. Chapter 2 is just great in general because we get more development from Ash and Musse, and more insight into how dodgy the Ironbloods and related parties are becoming. Can't forget 3D Crossbell, with the return of Tio, and reunions from Emma and Alisa (Machias is there as well I guess). We also get more of Sharon's backstory, as she's remained a mystery most of the first-half of the arc. We also get a great segment from McBurn and Campanella (though I wish I could say the same about both boss fights but Emma just destroys both of them). I've never been as politically invested into a world and into a country as I am with Crossbell and I was literally on the verge of breakdown when they kept slandering it (this what happens when I got to invested into Zero and Azure). Overall, a great chapter that just has so many highs. Chapter 3 Ash and Musse join Class VII, and I'm happy to get to learn more about them. We get to go to Ordis, probably one of the most gorgeous towns in Trails, and everything is just jampacked. From jaegers, to the Imperial Provincial Council, to the infamous Wilhelm Ballad, and the railway cannons that are aimed at Ordis. We also can't forget the Stahlritter, Arianrhod, and the battle for Juno. This chapter is great and everything just kept changing and changing, and we even get cryptic conversations from both Ash and Musse, making me even more interested in them, as well as the cliffhanger with Angelica at the cemetry. The highlight of the chapter is of course the battle between Class VII and Aurelia vs. Arianrhod and the Stahlritter, it truly is that epic. Chapter 4 is probably where all hell breaks loose. The branch campus versus the main campus, the catacombs, terrorists, and then the inevitable curse that prompts Ash to shoot the Emperor. You can really tell how much the tone shifts between Chapter 4 and the finale. Everyone turns on Class VII. The Ironbloods, Sharon, Aurelia and co (though I wouldn't call that turning on us), George, everyone truly sucks in this timeline. The Infernal Castle didn't feel that satisfying because people kept saving us, but the Spiral of Erebos was truly a great dungeon. There is no cavalry following Class VII to aid us, we are truly the sole cavalry. It's Class VII versus everyone else to prevent the 'end of the world'. The series of events that occur in this dungeon just sweeps me off of my feet. Olivier, Toval, and Viscount Arseid die in an explosion, George turns traitor on everyone, Gaius reveals himself as a member of the Gralsritter, 'Siegfried's' mask breaks, Alisa whips out another orbal gear, Cedric choking Altina (screw you Cedric), Millium sacrificing herself to save Altina and Rean, Rean going berserk due to Millium's death causing the end of the world, and then that bone-chilling cliffhanger that gives me goosebumps anytime I witness it, this is truly the best game in the series for me, hands down. I will say I am not fond of the developers painting Rean as a pedophile at the start of Chapter 2 in Crossbell over a misunderstanding from Altina, didn't find it very funny and probably the worst part of the game for me imo. The game also heavily reuses the 'Heed my call Vali-' and the 'That won't be necessary' schtick. The story in this game had me sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.
Characters. There's just so many great additions, between all of the new Class VII members, Aurelia, Arianrhod, Duvalie, they are all great. Highlights for me are definitely Juna and Altina. I'm still annoyed by the bonding point system, but it doesn't affect me on NG+ runs. This game is also great at making me hate certain characters, like Cedric and Rufus, they're written to perfection, but I hate their guts and want to deck them in the face. Then there's misses, like Angelica, who's libido has been upped by like x1000 since the last game, and Black Alberich, dude is boring as hell. I also want the game to stop pushing Rean and Elise, as well as Agate and Tita together. The game has a great cast of characters, with a couple of duds, but these do not sour my experience with the game.
The music is great. My favourite is definitely the Spiral of Erebos theme. I also enjoy the new Abend Time theme, and all of the town themes, and the battle themes, and probably all of the music in this game. The composers truly do not disappoint me with more banger tracks in each game.
Gameplay! I love how games where you can just abuse the system to make the game x100 easier. Brave Orders completely break the game, with Juna's especially allowing you to insta-break any enemy and send them to the shadow realm. Musse is a war machine in the late game with high tier arts, and Rean is just an overall powerful unit with Gale now on his craft list. I love break gauges in gameplay, and Trails is no exception, it just makes me enjoy combat way more. I love building Fie as a 'plague-spreader' as she can equip every status ailment quartz, and just give every enemy cancer. Nightmare is pretty much a breeze in this game, but that's porbably because I'm well-experienced in the games combat. Overall, solid gameplay, that offers a wide variety of customisation.
I have to always praise trails and their NPC dialogue, because its so great. I love how little substories develop as the game goes on, like how some of the shop owners are getting together, or two nobles are planning to run away together, i just love seeing how these subplots unfold, in relation to the main story. Probably one my favourite features of trails games (and probably the main reason why I don't play any of the other released trails games in Japanese because I don't believe the translators translate all NPC dialogue). If you haven't given talking to every NPC a go, I highly recommend it, it is very enjoyable.
I need to end this review somehow, and I just want to talk about how much of a masterpiece this game truly is. I enjoy every second of this game, and it truly is the reason why I've gotten into this series, so I do have a place in my heart for it. The story is amazing, with a brilliant cast of characters, with great gameplay and music, with a couple of duds, but not everything can be perfect. Osborne is the perfect villain, and the way this game leaves you on a cliffhanger is exhilarating. I could talk about a lot more, but I'm going to stop my review here before I keep rambling.
UPDATE: I lied. I need to ramble more. This game reminds me of the end of the Infernal Castle with the amount of plot twists that they throw at you at the end of the game. We beat the final boss, but it doesn't feel like a good ending, no, Rean just unleashed a curse onto the entire world. Rean is even taken captive by the enemy. Can my man catch a break? Seriously, this series just loves dunking on Rean, he deserves the best. Also they made Shining op for the fact that it has a small AoE now and isn't single target, what were they thinking? Also, CROW ARMBRUST IS BACK AAAAAAAAAAAA!
People have been debating for a while now whats the best entry into the series. There's Trails in the Sky FC, which is a little dated, but is probably the best entry point (Though I do agree that it is hard to get into so maybe getting hooked into the series first is better). Trails from Zero, although more modern, is also hard to get into, but I would personally recommend this to people who wanted to get into the series. Trails of Cold Steel is also another great entry point, and people have also said Daybreak is another great entry point. Why is this relevant you might ask, well my entry point was Trails of Cold Steel III. Yeah, not my proudest moment, I thought they were standalone games when I initially played this game but I was invested and didn't want to give up there. If i've told anyone that I started with CS1, I apologise, but it's kind of embarassing. Anyways..
Trails of Cold Steel III is the DEFINITION of peak fiction and cinema. This game got me into the series, despite me not knowing anything about it and being confused like 95% of the time, so that has to say something. A smaller group of main characters and a setup that will make you miserable, angry, and depressed, that is what this game is all about. I could write a whole ass essay on this game, but if I did that, this would be the longest review on Backloggd. Just gotta say it's my favourite game in the series, and despite some pretty minor flaws, its a banger in many categories.
Storywise, this game is throwback central. You get callbacks to characters like Tita, Agate, Lloyd, KeA, Arios, and some others who are more relevant to the story like Randy. Instead of being a student this time around, Rean is an instructor for Thors Branch Campus, taking lead over his own Class VII. Each member has their own personality quirks, and some experience more development than others, but that's probably because they still have CS4 to develop. This game is like the replication of CS1, but in my opinion, done so much better because this game just has higher-stakes. Field Exercises are way more enjoyable than Field Studies, going to places like Saint-Arkh, Parm, Hamel, Crossbell, Ordis, Raquel, and Heimdallr. Heimdallr especially feels more high-stakes, even the music, sounding less juvenile, like in CS1. Class VII isn't the only new characters in this game, and I like interacting with all of the major students from the branch campus, each having their own individual quirks and struggles too. Now talking about the main story, Chapter 1 just makes me so excited for the rest of the game because of the return of Ouroboros, as well as the raid on the Field Exercise Camp, and the reunion of a couple of Class VII members. I will say, finally getting to explore Hamel was great, and just made it that much eerie, especially with the appearance of Fie's 'father' and a divine knight that looks eerily similar to Valimar. I will say that I believe Chapter 2 is probably my favourite chapter across the entire trails series because of how pissed it made me. I've heavily invested in the Trails world, and when they stir shit with Crossbell, I lose it, which is probably why Juna is my favourite character in this game, because of her entire arc in this chapter, I completely get her. Chapter 2 is just great in general because we get more development from Ash and Musse, and more insight into how dodgy the Ironbloods and related parties are becoming. Can't forget 3D Crossbell, with the return of Tio, and reunions from Emma and Alisa (Machias is there as well I guess). We also get more of Sharon's backstory, as she's remained a mystery most of the first-half of the arc. We also get a great segment from McBurn and Campanella (though I wish I could say the same about both boss fights but Emma just destroys both of them). I've never been as politically invested into a world and into a country as I am with Crossbell and I was literally on the verge of breakdown when they kept slandering it (this what happens when I got to invested into Zero and Azure). Overall, a great chapter that just has so many highs. Chapter 3 Ash and Musse join Class VII, and I'm happy to get to learn more about them. We get to go to Ordis, probably one of the most gorgeous towns in Trails, and everything is just jampacked. From jaegers, to the Imperial Provincial Council, to the infamous Wilhelm Ballad, and the railway cannons that are aimed at Ordis. We also can't forget the Stahlritter, Arianrhod, and the battle for Juno. This chapter is great and everything just kept changing and changing, and we even get cryptic conversations from both Ash and Musse, making me even more interested in them, as well as the cliffhanger with Angelica at the cemetry. The highlight of the chapter is of course the battle between Class VII and Aurelia vs. Arianrhod and the Stahlritter, it truly is that epic. Chapter 4 is probably where all hell breaks loose. The branch campus versus the main campus, the catacombs, terrorists, and then the inevitable curse that prompts Ash to shoot the Emperor. You can really tell how much the tone shifts between Chapter 4 and the finale. Everyone turns on Class VII. The Ironbloods, Sharon, Aurelia and co (though I wouldn't call that turning on us), George, everyone truly sucks in this timeline. The Infernal Castle didn't feel that satisfying because people kept saving us, but the Spiral of Erebos was truly a great dungeon. There is no cavalry following Class VII to aid us, we are truly the sole cavalry. It's Class VII versus everyone else to prevent the 'end of the world'. The series of events that occur in this dungeon just sweeps me off of my feet. Olivier, Toval, and Viscount Arseid die in an explosion, George turns traitor on everyone, Gaius reveals himself as a member of the Gralsritter, 'Siegfried's' mask breaks, Alisa whips out another orbal gear, Cedric choking Altina (screw you Cedric), Millium sacrificing herself to save Altina and Rean, Rean going berserk due to Millium's death causing the end of the world, and then that bone-chilling cliffhanger that gives me goosebumps anytime I witness it, this is truly the best game in the series for me, hands down. I will say I am not fond of the developers painting Rean as a pedophile at the start of Chapter 2 in Crossbell over a misunderstanding from Altina, didn't find it very funny and probably the worst part of the game for me imo. The game also heavily reuses the 'Heed my call Vali-' and the 'That won't be necessary' schtick. The story in this game had me sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.
Characters. There's just so many great additions, between all of the new Class VII members, Aurelia, Arianrhod, Duvalie, they are all great. Highlights for me are definitely Juna and Altina. I'm still annoyed by the bonding point system, but it doesn't affect me on NG+ runs. This game is also great at making me hate certain characters, like Cedric and Rufus, they're written to perfection, but I hate their guts and want to deck them in the face. Then there's misses, like Angelica, who's libido has been upped by like x1000 since the last game, and Black Alberich, dude is boring as hell. I also want the game to stop pushing Rean and Elise, as well as Agate and Tita together. The game has a great cast of characters, with a couple of duds, but these do not sour my experience with the game.
The music is great. My favourite is definitely the Spiral of Erebos theme. I also enjoy the new Abend Time theme, and all of the town themes, and the battle themes, and probably all of the music in this game. The composers truly do not disappoint me with more banger tracks in each game.
Gameplay! I love how games where you can just abuse the system to make the game x100 easier. Brave Orders completely break the game, with Juna's especially allowing you to insta-break any enemy and send them to the shadow realm. Musse is a war machine in the late game with high tier arts, and Rean is just an overall powerful unit with Gale now on his craft list. I love break gauges in gameplay, and Trails is no exception, it just makes me enjoy combat way more. I love building Fie as a 'plague-spreader' as she can equip every status ailment quartz, and just give every enemy cancer. Nightmare is pretty much a breeze in this game, but that's porbably because I'm well-experienced in the games combat. Overall, solid gameplay, that offers a wide variety of customisation.
I have to always praise trails and their NPC dialogue, because its so great. I love how little substories develop as the game goes on, like how some of the shop owners are getting together, or two nobles are planning to run away together, i just love seeing how these subplots unfold, in relation to the main story. Probably one my favourite features of trails games (and probably the main reason why I don't play any of the other released trails games in Japanese because I don't believe the translators translate all NPC dialogue). If you haven't given talking to every NPC a go, I highly recommend it, it is very enjoyable.
I need to end this review somehow, and I just want to talk about how much of a masterpiece this game truly is. I enjoy every second of this game, and it truly is the reason why I've gotten into this series, so I do have a place in my heart for it. The story is amazing, with a brilliant cast of characters, with great gameplay and music, with a couple of duds, but not everything can be perfect. Osborne is the perfect villain, and the way this game leaves you on a cliffhanger is exhilarating. I could talk about a lot more, but I'm going to stop my review here before I keep rambling.
UPDATE: I lied. I need to ramble more. This game reminds me of the end of the Infernal Castle with the amount of plot twists that they throw at you at the end of the game. We beat the final boss, but it doesn't feel like a good ending, no, Rean just unleashed a curse onto the entire world. Rean is even taken captive by the enemy. Can my man catch a break? Seriously, this series just loves dunking on Rean, he deserves the best. Also they made Shining op for the fact that it has a small AoE now and isn't single target, what were they thinking? Also, CROW ARMBRUST IS BACK AAAAAAAAAAAA!
Enjoyed the game much more on a replay. Already put all of my thoughts in a review for the remaster, but it's great. Love the combat and probably everything about it. Gotten me excited for SMTV Vengeance!
Persona 2: Innocent Sin was a difficult game to get into I'll admit. I tried one playthrough before but I got extremely annoyed with the dated gameplay and awful dungeon design, on top of how rapid random encounters were. I decided to give it another go this year as part of my Persona/SMT binge, and I will say that it did not disappoint. This game has some lows, but there are some unbelievable highs that make it a solid game for me.
I'll start by saying that I still prefer the P3/P4/P5 formula, those games just feel much more fun in a gameplay sense and a story sense, whereas this game only feels fun in a story sense. I'm sure people enjoyed the gameplay of this game but it isn't my cup of tea.
The story is great. I will say the mid-game where they drop a bunch of random words on you did confuse me, it didn't really take away any enjoyment I had for the game. I love the game conceptually about how rumours come true, and some dungeons and their gimmicks reflecting that. The characters are probably the strongest aspect of this game because I don't dislike any of them, though it feels like they did throw one specific character aside during the endgame. The characters just all have such distinct personalities and each have great development over the course of the story. The dynamics between the party is also fantastic and I love the bickering between Eikichi and Lisa, it's great. Solid story and great characters make this a game worth playing.
The gameplay.. There's just something that doesn't do it for me. Yeah, there's persona negotiations, but most of the time you make them angry and you get nothing for it. The amount of arcana cards you need to create personas was a huge turn off from me, so I avoided that aspect entirely. Now my major flaws with the game, the encounter rate and dungeon design. The dungeon design is held back by the encounter rate being so damn high. I'm just trying to make my way through arguably the most annoying dungeon in game aka the forest, and I get stopped every five steps due to an encounter. To top it all of, that dungeon is also way too confusing with the layout and me having to whip out a guide because that dungeon itself is the one that started to burn me out of the game. Not all dungeons were terrible, the one in the museum where you're timed to get to the rooftop is great, and I enjoyed exploring the schools and the big plot-twist dungeon too. I do think the dungeon design was severely lacking in this game, and resulted in me only caring about the story and the characters.
The music is great. I think I might have the battle music stuck in my head because of how boppy it is. Lisa and Maya's themes slap so hard and live rent free in my head.
Overall, this game is great overall, but I feel kind of let down. People have been hyping up this game, and yeah I get it, but it just doesn't have that much of an impact on me than the other three persona games after this (excluding Eternal Punishment). However, I am fully invested in Persona 2 and can't wait to begin Eternal Punishment to see where the story goes from here!
I'll start by saying that I still prefer the P3/P4/P5 formula, those games just feel much more fun in a gameplay sense and a story sense, whereas this game only feels fun in a story sense. I'm sure people enjoyed the gameplay of this game but it isn't my cup of tea.
The story is great. I will say the mid-game where they drop a bunch of random words on you did confuse me, it didn't really take away any enjoyment I had for the game. I love the game conceptually about how rumours come true, and some dungeons and their gimmicks reflecting that. The characters are probably the strongest aspect of this game because I don't dislike any of them, though it feels like they did throw one specific character aside during the endgame. The characters just all have such distinct personalities and each have great development over the course of the story. The dynamics between the party is also fantastic and I love the bickering between Eikichi and Lisa, it's great. Solid story and great characters make this a game worth playing.
The gameplay.. There's just something that doesn't do it for me. Yeah, there's persona negotiations, but most of the time you make them angry and you get nothing for it. The amount of arcana cards you need to create personas was a huge turn off from me, so I avoided that aspect entirely. Now my major flaws with the game, the encounter rate and dungeon design. The dungeon design is held back by the encounter rate being so damn high. I'm just trying to make my way through arguably the most annoying dungeon in game aka the forest, and I get stopped every five steps due to an encounter. To top it all of, that dungeon is also way too confusing with the layout and me having to whip out a guide because that dungeon itself is the one that started to burn me out of the game. Not all dungeons were terrible, the one in the museum where you're timed to get to the rooftop is great, and I enjoyed exploring the schools and the big plot-twist dungeon too. I do think the dungeon design was severely lacking in this game, and resulted in me only caring about the story and the characters.
The music is great. I think I might have the battle music stuck in my head because of how boppy it is. Lisa and Maya's themes slap so hard and live rent free in my head.
Overall, this game is great overall, but I feel kind of let down. People have been hyping up this game, and yeah I get it, but it just doesn't have that much of an impact on me than the other three persona games after this (excluding Eternal Punishment). However, I am fully invested in Persona 2 and can't wait to begin Eternal Punishment to see where the story goes from here!
2023
Octopath Traveler II is an overall improvement of the first game in every single possible way. The OST, the artstyle, the battle-system, the gameplay, the characters, the UI, it's all great. I will always hold this game close to my heart because of how much of an enjoyable experience it was. I was reluctant to replay Octopath Traveler I before this game, but I'm honestly glad I did because now I can see the great parts of both games, but also some potential flaws.
The story for this game is great. Unlike OT1 where I only actively liked three of the stories, there really wasn't a story I disliked, despite how cliche some of them are. Standouts for me are definitely Partitio, Castii, and Temenos. I also enjoyed the addition of side stories between two of the characters but they really didn't do much for me and just felt like an addition to have the bare-minimum of interconnectedness between the stories. I did enjoy the overarching plot of the story, but I refused to fight the final boss because of my experience with the final boss of OT1, and decided to just watch it on YouTube. Great stories and was a big improvement from OT1.
Gameplay wise, this game is great. You got the addition of Day and Night Path Actions, with different quests being present during the night, and others present during the day. Also have Latent Power, which probably makes Castii broken as an Apothecary. I also enjoy the little additions they put into some of the classes, like how Hikari can learn different skills from dueling different NPCs, and how Agnea can have different bonuses depending on the NPC that she has Allured. I'll also include exploration in the gameplay section because that's another big thing for me. I love that there's a Western and Eastern continent, and the different towns, like OT1, just make the game that much more enjoyable for me. There's also definitely more lore that I haven't gotten into, which seems pretty great for the people who like lore. I also enjoy the little addition of being able to ride a boat in the water on certain maps, it just makes exploration that much better. Also, I can't forget the big overworld map, and how you can essentially buy a ship, and you're able to explore many previously unexplorable islands. Some things I will take away from the gameplay is the encounter rate, I despise random encounters, especially the encounter rate without having the reduced counter rate skill equipped. Also, I dislike grinding, but thanks to getting two lucky Bewildering Grace procs, I didn't have that much of an issue with it. However, that's a minor incovenience, as the game as a whole is great, and clearly outclasses its predecessor in terms of gameplay.
Music & the artstyle slaps so hard in this game. They really gave me the nostalgia factor for OT1 even though I had just completed that game, and the different tracks are great. The artstyle is gorgeous and I just loved seeing each little sub-section in this artstyle, I was just amazed by nearly everything in this game.
Overall, Octopath Traveler II is a great game that improves all of the problems that Octopath Traveler I had (with a few exceptions of course). If you're thinking of giving this game a chance, then please do, it's a great experience.
The story for this game is great. Unlike OT1 where I only actively liked three of the stories, there really wasn't a story I disliked, despite how cliche some of them are. Standouts for me are definitely Partitio, Castii, and Temenos. I also enjoyed the addition of side stories between two of the characters but they really didn't do much for me and just felt like an addition to have the bare-minimum of interconnectedness between the stories. I did enjoy the overarching plot of the story, but I refused to fight the final boss because of my experience with the final boss of OT1, and decided to just watch it on YouTube. Great stories and was a big improvement from OT1.
Gameplay wise, this game is great. You got the addition of Day and Night Path Actions, with different quests being present during the night, and others present during the day. Also have Latent Power, which probably makes Castii broken as an Apothecary. I also enjoy the little additions they put into some of the classes, like how Hikari can learn different skills from dueling different NPCs, and how Agnea can have different bonuses depending on the NPC that she has Allured. I'll also include exploration in the gameplay section because that's another big thing for me. I love that there's a Western and Eastern continent, and the different towns, like OT1, just make the game that much more enjoyable for me. There's also definitely more lore that I haven't gotten into, which seems pretty great for the people who like lore. I also enjoy the little addition of being able to ride a boat in the water on certain maps, it just makes exploration that much better. Also, I can't forget the big overworld map, and how you can essentially buy a ship, and you're able to explore many previously unexplorable islands. Some things I will take away from the gameplay is the encounter rate, I despise random encounters, especially the encounter rate without having the reduced counter rate skill equipped. Also, I dislike grinding, but thanks to getting two lucky Bewildering Grace procs, I didn't have that much of an issue with it. However, that's a minor incovenience, as the game as a whole is great, and clearly outclasses its predecessor in terms of gameplay.
Music & the artstyle slaps so hard in this game. They really gave me the nostalgia factor for OT1 even though I had just completed that game, and the different tracks are great. The artstyle is gorgeous and I just loved seeing each little sub-section in this artstyle, I was just amazed by nearly everything in this game.
Overall, Octopath Traveler II is a great game that improves all of the problems that Octopath Traveler I had (with a few exceptions of course). If you're thinking of giving this game a chance, then please do, it's a great experience.
No, do not play this game. What were they actually thinking? There are only two good characters in this game (out of the main characters) and it's pretty obvious who they are if you've played the game. Like, who thought it was a good idea to have one of the characters say 'I like them as young as possible.' Everything else sucks. Gameplay is great as a concept but it just doesn't work when it was incorporated into the game. Also certain events are actually annoying and disgusting and yeah it just makes me want to erase this game from my brain. Only at 2 stars because it gave a certain character more screentime to develop. However, this game is not worth playing if you value your hope, sanity, and any remaining brain cells you might have.
Also discovering this game as a damn twelve year old was an experience of a life-time, I am still scarred years later from how god awful this game is.
Also discovering this game as a damn twelve year old was an experience of a life-time, I am still scarred years later from how god awful this game is.
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is a great sequel to Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. In my opinion, it does everything wayyyyy better: the characters, the music, the setting, the lore/worldbuilding, the murder mysteries, the class trials, the executions, everything, except a few things that I'll discuss in this review. I will say that this game is my favourite of the series.
To start off is the setting. Without any spoilers, I will say that it certainly is a unique one. Unlike THH's school setting, 16 students are trapped on a remote island called Jabberwock Island. Whilst not initially set to participate in a killing game, and instead being guised as a School Trip, created by Monokuma's sister, Monomi/Usami. It isn't until Monokuma takes over the entire island and orders the students to start killing each other. I just love the island setting, and its soo different from the school setting that we had gotten used to in THH. There's a variety of areas, so there's really zero chance of getting bored of looking around the different parts of Jabberwock Island.
Story wise, it mostly has the same premise as Trigger Happy Havoc, however with the inclusion of a Chapter 0. The story this time around is much better, and it has more sub-events, which was one of my main critiques about THH. Without spoilers, the murder mysteries in this game are much more creative, and the different motives are also great (such as the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case, The Despair Disease, and Starvation). Cases are overall great except one in my opinion, but I won't specify which, it just seems very sloppy and quickly-put together, and the pay-off just doesn't make much sense. The execution of that case is also arguably the worst in the series. Chapter 5 is actually cinema and is great and probably one of, if not the best chapter in the entire series. The ending and the twist is also just batshit insane and crazy, I love it. Overall, the story in this game is fantastic with only one noticeable miss.
The class trials. They are SO much better in this game. There is an actual diverse amount of minigames now and the cases are more well thought-out and not super obvious on 'who-dunnit' to the point where they're actually really enjoyable. You can either agree or refute different statements, an improved Hangman's Gambit (hooray..), Rebuttal Showdown which is arguably the best addition because you go head-to-head with one other student in a debate to prove them wrong. There's also a logic dive where you get to play a little scrolling minigame to deduce what events happened when. These are great additions and made the game that much more enjoyable.
Also want to further talk about deaths and executions. The deaths are just way better in this game, and the executions are great, besides one of them being a little silly, and the other a lot bizarre, the rest are really emotionally driven and make me care about the characters that much more, even if they are murderers.
Character wise, we got some more diversity, but it still seems pretty tropey. We have the normal guy, the psychotic guy, the skirtchaser, the uwu gamer girl, the energetic girl, the vulgar boy, and the bitchy girl, among others. The free-time events are essentially the same concept as the previous game, just with different characters. I think the events in this game gave the characters more development and more personality and allowed them to further stand out. Overall, a great cast of characters with just a few duds, but others are great.
The music in this series continues to slap, and when it slaps, it slaps HARD.
Overall, a great game and I enjoyed my experience once again with it. There's still little replay value, but I would recommend this game if you enjoyed Trigger Happy Havoc.
To start off is the setting. Without any spoilers, I will say that it certainly is a unique one. Unlike THH's school setting, 16 students are trapped on a remote island called Jabberwock Island. Whilst not initially set to participate in a killing game, and instead being guised as a School Trip, created by Monokuma's sister, Monomi/Usami. It isn't until Monokuma takes over the entire island and orders the students to start killing each other. I just love the island setting, and its soo different from the school setting that we had gotten used to in THH. There's a variety of areas, so there's really zero chance of getting bored of looking around the different parts of Jabberwock Island.
Story wise, it mostly has the same premise as Trigger Happy Havoc, however with the inclusion of a Chapter 0. The story this time around is much better, and it has more sub-events, which was one of my main critiques about THH. Without spoilers, the murder mysteries in this game are much more creative, and the different motives are also great (such as the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case, The Despair Disease, and Starvation). Cases are overall great except one in my opinion, but I won't specify which, it just seems very sloppy and quickly-put together, and the pay-off just doesn't make much sense. The execution of that case is also arguably the worst in the series. Chapter 5 is actually cinema and is great and probably one of, if not the best chapter in the entire series. The ending and the twist is also just batshit insane and crazy, I love it. Overall, the story in this game is fantastic with only one noticeable miss.
The class trials. They are SO much better in this game. There is an actual diverse amount of minigames now and the cases are more well thought-out and not super obvious on 'who-dunnit' to the point where they're actually really enjoyable. You can either agree or refute different statements, an improved Hangman's Gambit (hooray..), Rebuttal Showdown which is arguably the best addition because you go head-to-head with one other student in a debate to prove them wrong. There's also a logic dive where you get to play a little scrolling minigame to deduce what events happened when. These are great additions and made the game that much more enjoyable.
Also want to further talk about deaths and executions. The deaths are just way better in this game, and the executions are great, besides one of them being a little silly, and the other a lot bizarre, the rest are really emotionally driven and make me care about the characters that much more, even if they are murderers.
Character wise, we got some more diversity, but it still seems pretty tropey. We have the normal guy, the psychotic guy, the skirtchaser, the uwu gamer girl, the energetic girl, the vulgar boy, and the bitchy girl, among others. The free-time events are essentially the same concept as the previous game, just with different characters. I think the events in this game gave the characters more development and more personality and allowed them to further stand out. Overall, a great cast of characters with just a few duds, but others are great.
The music in this series continues to slap, and when it slaps, it slaps HARD.
Overall, a great game and I enjoyed my experience once again with it. There's still little replay value, but I would recommend this game if you enjoyed Trigger Happy Havoc.