AdorableLaurie
1990
Final Fantasy III has always been among my favorite entry in the franchise. I played this back when the only way to experience the game was through a fan translation romhack and going through it again for a second time sent me waves of pure nostalgia that I couldn't describe properly. This game is just so cute and adorable to look at, it manages to make me feel happy just by having it in front of me. Peak comfy game to play over the weekend.
It's funny how many Final Fantasy storylines boils down to "race war temporarily halted by questionable interspecies sex but ultimately made way worse as a result"
Jokes aside the pacing and narrative is miles ahead of what ARR provided, unfortunately the presentation still feels like a major setback from what the Final Fantasy franchise showed in the last 2 decades. I can catch a glimpse of it's potential here and there but it always leaves me underwhelmed.
A lot of people told me it's one of the best expansion story-wise and I get where they're coming from, but to be frank this is just a retelling of Final Fantasy VI with much less at stake and without what makes FFVI actually enjoyable to play.
A major step in the right direction but we're not quite there yet. Looking forward to the next expansions.
Jokes aside the pacing and narrative is miles ahead of what ARR provided, unfortunately the presentation still feels like a major setback from what the Final Fantasy franchise showed in the last 2 decades. I can catch a glimpse of it's potential here and there but it always leaves me underwhelmed.
A lot of people told me it's one of the best expansion story-wise and I get where they're coming from, but to be frank this is just a retelling of Final Fantasy VI with much less at stake and without what makes FFVI actually enjoyable to play.
A major step in the right direction but we're not quite there yet. Looking forward to the next expansions.
2021
For some reason IV was the only classic Final Fantasy I hadn't finish once in my lifetime yet despite numerous attempt at doing so over the last few decades.
I'm both impressed and underwhelmed by it.
The former because the narrative is as Final Fantasy as it gets, with a lot of unique setpieces that are impressive for a SNES RPG. Especially how every single character's personality shines through their body language. A lot of cutscenes contains absolutely no line of dialog whatsoever, yet you FEEL what's going on so clearly just by seeing these sprites eccentrically spin around, emote and jump.
The later because the game is so short and the pacing is so fast that the most pivotal moments in the story doesn't really hit you like it should. You really have to fill in the blank in your mind and assume these characters have been traveling together for weeks and got to know each other between every location you visit, otherwise it doesn't really make sense why they develop such a sense of camaraderie in the span of 30 minutes.
Despite the game being really short, including the extra optional content, I find it pretty insane that the final boss isn't really doable before reaching lvl 70. I was barely level 50 when I reached the final dungeon, and if it wasn't for the Pixel Remaster 4x exp boost option I would have been stuck mindlessly grinding for hours before I could see the end of it.
Out of all the Final Fantasy games, I think IV is the one that deserve a proper remake the most. It's a shame all the attention goes to VII when the original was already an amazing experience through and through. IV really needs more padding so you have time to build up a meaningful relationship with these characters and feel the weight of every sacrifice made along the way.
Also, I think that games that takes inspiration from Divine Comedy are awesome and we need more of them.
I'm both impressed and underwhelmed by it.
The former because the narrative is as Final Fantasy as it gets, with a lot of unique setpieces that are impressive for a SNES RPG. Especially how every single character's personality shines through their body language. A lot of cutscenes contains absolutely no line of dialog whatsoever, yet you FEEL what's going on so clearly just by seeing these sprites eccentrically spin around, emote and jump.
The later because the game is so short and the pacing is so fast that the most pivotal moments in the story doesn't really hit you like it should. You really have to fill in the blank in your mind and assume these characters have been traveling together for weeks and got to know each other between every location you visit, otherwise it doesn't really make sense why they develop such a sense of camaraderie in the span of 30 minutes.
Despite the game being really short, including the extra optional content, I find it pretty insane that the final boss isn't really doable before reaching lvl 70. I was barely level 50 when I reached the final dungeon, and if it wasn't for the Pixel Remaster 4x exp boost option I would have been stuck mindlessly grinding for hours before I could see the end of it.
Out of all the Final Fantasy games, I think IV is the one that deserve a proper remake the most. It's a shame all the attention goes to VII when the original was already an amazing experience through and through. IV really needs more padding so you have time to build up a meaningful relationship with these characters and feel the weight of every sacrifice made along the way.
Also, I think that games that takes inspiration from Divine Comedy are awesome and we need more of them.
Reviewing each extension separately so this is only a criticism of the content up to the end of A Realm Reborn:
Not gonna lie, I understand why I picked up and dropped this game on 4 separate occasion since 2014: the content of ARR, be it the story, dungeon or side content, is actually horrendous. I'm only sticking with it and powering through it because I know it gets better later on and will be worth my time.
My biggest criticism is that I don't really understand how this rework of 1.0 saved the game and made it popular. I didn't play 1.0 myself back then but the more I learn about it, the more I realize it was a far better game than ARR ever could be. I want FINAL FANTASY god damnit, not "WoW-lite for people that prefers cute aesthetics".
Hopefully I'm done with the worst parts and it will only get better from here on out. I've grown attached to my WoL so I can't stop now.
Not gonna lie, I understand why I picked up and dropped this game on 4 separate occasion since 2014: the content of ARR, be it the story, dungeon or side content, is actually horrendous. I'm only sticking with it and powering through it because I know it gets better later on and will be worth my time.
My biggest criticism is that I don't really understand how this rework of 1.0 saved the game and made it popular. I didn't play 1.0 myself back then but the more I learn about it, the more I realize it was a far better game than ARR ever could be. I want FINAL FANTASY god damnit, not "WoW-lite for people that prefers cute aesthetics".
Hopefully I'm done with the worst parts and it will only get better from here on out. I've grown attached to my WoL so I can't stop now.
2003
Tried real hard to stick with this game but the combat system rapidly becomes boring and the cutscenes/story are just a massive cringe-fest that ruins everything that was established in FFX. This might unironically be the worst Final Fantasy game I've ever touched.
2001
60 hours long jrpg that makes you go through an incredible journey to warn you to not pick fights with your dad cause he will always beat the shit out of you
The entire game makes me feel very nostalgic for when I was a kid having dumb adventures in the forest with my friends.
It's all funny internet meme until you realize its commentary on the endless cycle of suffering is actually peak and that you might not make that last payment in time
Game is very lighthearted considering the implications of its ending. The cycle of suffering never ends.
2021
holy SHIT
2021
Pleasantly surprised at how straight forward the game was. The game didn't waste my time with convoluted puzzles for the entirety of the main path, mostly quick combat arena to test your reflexes and an very light key/lever hunting. It did a very good job teaching me the basics for the optional content where you really have to be observant to understand the cleverly hidden paths and environmental puzzles, especially for the post-ending secret hunting.
2016
This review contains spoilers
This game resonates with me immensely in a way that's hard to describe.
While growing up in the late 90's, PC games tended to be much easier to screw around with by going into its install folder and experimenting with .ini files and changing some values here and there and see how the game would react to these changes. In a way it made you feel like a god that had total control over this one software you bought and you were able to bend the rules to have things go your way. I distinctively remember having a hard time with Command and Conquer Tiberian Sun and then going into the game files to give some units a boost in power by changing the values in a config file so I could beat a particular mission, then resorting the original values later on so I could at least try to go as far as i can without cheating my way through the entire thing.
Ever since that moment, it has become quite the ritual for me to take a look inside the files of any game and see if I can find anything interesting or exploitable. I'm not necessarily looking for a way to cheat anymore but I find it rather fun to just be able to go outside of what the creator intended you to experience. This is also where i got my first hand experience at finding extra files that I wasn't really supposed to see, like unused content or entire game assets that you missed or couldn't see clearly in the context it was used during gameplay.
OneShot taps into this weird obsession of mine and RUNS with it. From the very moment you start the game you get this uneasy feeling that the game knows too much... like your name, without asking you at any point to create a profile or anything like any other game would typically do. Having the game directly talk to you through alert windows instead of in-game dialog box made me realize that for once the role got reversed and the game was enjoying screwing around with my computer.
From that point forward it felt like a battle between me and whatever entity inside the game was doing that, and I felt bad for Niko being caught in the crossfire. Still, I didn't fully realize the extent until that one pop-up window asked me if "I knew what to do". It's almost as if it knew me personally and was inviting me to not hold back.
I thoroughly enjoyed solving all these meta-puzzles until the end, but something felt wrong. While it felt like I was in a battle with this entity, it sure did a lot to help me out. It felt like it was taunting me, right up until the very end, almost like I was still constricted by its rules and being told to do more than just following its guidance. After the final choice and being locked out of even opening the game, something didn't feel right. There was so many area's that I wanted to explore and never could, and I assumed that I would go back there later or have to start the game over from the beginning. I was definitely NOT done with this, I refuse to be stuck with that bitter choice you have to make. I will save all of them, for I am the god of this world.
I started by digging around the install folder and realized there were so many character portraits in there for people I haven't met, surely the game WANTS me to break the one shot rule. It's telling me to do my thing, and my god was it satisfying to figure it all out.
I absolutely loved the true ending. By the end of it all I grew attached to all the characters, and even if the taunting from the entity initially ticked me off, by the end it felt more like playful rivalry than disdain. They had noble intentions and only wanted Niko to live and go home, just as much as I was.
The game also hits me close to home with it's themes. I'm autistic and most of the time, game characters feels like real people with their own will to me, and I definitely felt this the entire way through OneShot. It truly feels as if Niko is a real person that managed to escape my PC and finally go home, while the rest of the cast are stuck inside my computer. It makes me afraid of uninstalling this game, and I wish there was a way to boot the game just to check in on them from time to time.
I don't know where you are now Niko, but I will never forget you. What an incredible piece of art this game is.
While growing up in the late 90's, PC games tended to be much easier to screw around with by going into its install folder and experimenting with .ini files and changing some values here and there and see how the game would react to these changes. In a way it made you feel like a god that had total control over this one software you bought and you were able to bend the rules to have things go your way. I distinctively remember having a hard time with Command and Conquer Tiberian Sun and then going into the game files to give some units a boost in power by changing the values in a config file so I could beat a particular mission, then resorting the original values later on so I could at least try to go as far as i can without cheating my way through the entire thing.
Ever since that moment, it has become quite the ritual for me to take a look inside the files of any game and see if I can find anything interesting or exploitable. I'm not necessarily looking for a way to cheat anymore but I find it rather fun to just be able to go outside of what the creator intended you to experience. This is also where i got my first hand experience at finding extra files that I wasn't really supposed to see, like unused content or entire game assets that you missed or couldn't see clearly in the context it was used during gameplay.
OneShot taps into this weird obsession of mine and RUNS with it. From the very moment you start the game you get this uneasy feeling that the game knows too much... like your name, without asking you at any point to create a profile or anything like any other game would typically do. Having the game directly talk to you through alert windows instead of in-game dialog box made me realize that for once the role got reversed and the game was enjoying screwing around with my computer.
From that point forward it felt like a battle between me and whatever entity inside the game was doing that, and I felt bad for Niko being caught in the crossfire. Still, I didn't fully realize the extent until that one pop-up window asked me if "I knew what to do". It's almost as if it knew me personally and was inviting me to not hold back.
I thoroughly enjoyed solving all these meta-puzzles until the end, but something felt wrong. While it felt like I was in a battle with this entity, it sure did a lot to help me out. It felt like it was taunting me, right up until the very end, almost like I was still constricted by its rules and being told to do more than just following its guidance. After the final choice and being locked out of even opening the game, something didn't feel right. There was so many area's that I wanted to explore and never could, and I assumed that I would go back there later or have to start the game over from the beginning. I was definitely NOT done with this, I refuse to be stuck with that bitter choice you have to make. I will save all of them, for I am the god of this world.
I started by digging around the install folder and realized there were so many character portraits in there for people I haven't met, surely the game WANTS me to break the one shot rule. It's telling me to do my thing, and my god was it satisfying to figure it all out.
I absolutely loved the true ending. By the end of it all I grew attached to all the characters, and even if the taunting from the entity initially ticked me off, by the end it felt more like playful rivalry than disdain. They had noble intentions and only wanted Niko to live and go home, just as much as I was.
The game also hits me close to home with it's themes. I'm autistic and most of the time, game characters feels like real people with their own will to me, and I definitely felt this the entire way through OneShot. It truly feels as if Niko is a real person that managed to escape my PC and finally go home, while the rest of the cast are stuck inside my computer. It makes me afraid of uninstalling this game, and I wish there was a way to boot the game just to check in on them from time to time.
I don't know where you are now Niko, but I will never forget you. What an incredible piece of art this game is.
2022
This review contains spoilers
I love the concept of this game and im impressed it runs on an honest to god GameBoy, however i'm not the type of person that has the patience of going through the 20+ endings it has to offer.
I tried my hardest to stick with it and managed to discover a lot of areas, but it does get a bit repetitive after a few hours. Part of me wishes there would be a faster way to swap between the possible routes, because even with the secret dev room where you can pick the chapter, elections result and job it was still tedious to redo the entire beginning section and warp to a later chapter just for a chance to see what picking a different choice would do.
I got 7 of the endings and of course I didnt manage to stop the machine, which leaves me bummed out cause I really wanted to figure it out, but the repetitions exhausted me before I could.
Still, big recommendation to at least try it out. I enjoyed my time with it
I tried my hardest to stick with it and managed to discover a lot of areas, but it does get a bit repetitive after a few hours. Part of me wishes there would be a faster way to swap between the possible routes, because even with the secret dev room where you can pick the chapter, elections result and job it was still tedious to redo the entire beginning section and warp to a later chapter just for a chance to see what picking a different choice would do.
I got 7 of the endings and of course I didnt manage to stop the machine, which leaves me bummed out cause I really wanted to figure it out, but the repetitions exhausted me before I could.
Still, big recommendation to at least try it out. I enjoyed my time with it
1999
Liked the demo of this game a lot as a kid. Gave the full release a try and yeah it's ok. I enjoyed myself for the 50~ish levels I played but I don't intend on completing it. Worth a try if you're into puzzle games.
Very interesting game gameplay-wise. I love how it switches up from the classic JRPG formula of the time to give you an unique experience. It's horribly balanced though. It's starts real rough but after and hour you're unstoppable. Managed to up all my human character stats to 99 bu the halfway point and it simply felt too easy to engage with the rest of the mechanics. Then it takes a deep dive again and becomes incredibly hard for the last stretch. Normal encounters simply wrecks you, you have very limited space in your inventory and even 15 elixirs aren't enough to arrive at the top with remaining healing before the final boss. Monster character are absolutely useless the entire way through, and while mutant are better at the start, the random selection of spell you get every time you gain a "level" are absolutely horrendous, then it takes spells away from you for some reason..... you effectively never use those spells a single time and end up with just 4 useable slots. Couldn't beat the final boss with my team comp and you can't trace your steps back to a shop, so you're just stuck here.
Still, I enjoyed most of the experience and the plot twist at the end was surprising for a '89 rpg. I'm looking forward to play other SaGa games in the future, hopefully with better balancing.
Still, I enjoyed most of the experience and the plot twist at the end was surprising for a '89 rpg. I'm looking forward to play other SaGa games in the future, hopefully with better balancing.