BSCTcram
my favourite of the trilogy. probably my favourite of the series. almost certainly my favourite visual novel of all time.
Shu Takumi masterfully ties up every single plotline and character development together, to make a masterpiece
along with Ghost Trick and GAA, this man just keeps making peak fiction
Shu Takumi masterfully ties up every single plotline and character development together, to make a masterpiece
along with Ghost Trick and GAA, this man just keeps making peak fiction
2021
still a great time and still very zen like the other 2, with a story i got surprisingly invested in
shame that the last level misses the entire point of hitman despite being a cool concept, and god was it annoying to have to do combat in a game that promotes stealth. mgs moment lol
shame that the last level misses the entire point of hitman despite being a cool concept, and god was it annoying to have to do combat in a game that promotes stealth. mgs moment lol
2021
this is the first fighting game ive been able to get into and ive even learnt inputs in it, something no game could make me do
and more importantly it has brisket <3 and elphelt in it so that almost makes up for how frustrating it can be sometimes xx
and more importantly it has brisket <3 and elphelt in it so that almost makes up for how frustrating it can be sometimes xx
note that I've not played the post-game or special world at all yet!
this game is SO close to being peak. I love the unhinged creativity that this game has for the most part. the animations and sound design are so charming, and the level design is amazing as are the physics
but man. some of those badge II levels are goddamn frustrating and shitty honestly. and people weren't kidding about how disappointing those boss fights are! the final one especially was a cool concept for a fight but such a let down from what I had hoped and expected
still though, 2D mario is back baaaaybeeeeeeeeeeee
this game is SO close to being peak. I love the unhinged creativity that this game has for the most part. the animations and sound design are so charming, and the level design is amazing as are the physics
but man. some of those badge II levels are goddamn frustrating and shitty honestly. and people weren't kidding about how disappointing those boss fights are! the final one especially was a cool concept for a fight but such a let down from what I had hoped and expected
still though, 2D mario is back baaaaybeeeeeeeeeeee
this game is so messy and all over the place in quality it fucking HURTS man lmfao. highest of highs, lowest of lows, and nowhere inbetween
on the positives before i do a case by case breakdown:
- pacing is SO good, 2 days becomes the standard for a reason
- very little fluff or filler in cases
- the two good mysteries are really fucking solid
- great world building and lore additions
- phoenix gets a much more defined personality
- generally great charas as always
- great writing FOR THE MOST PART
- apart from like one or two songs, fantastic soundtrack and maybe the most underrated in the series tbh
negatives:
- 4 cases feels a little short
- the lack of an overarching plot sucks tbh
- the bad characters are VERY bad
- i love franziska but she really does only properly go from good to amazing right at da end of the game sadly
- you can 100% tell how rushed the script was for this game in comparison to how solid 1 and 3 are
- inconsistent quality of cases
ok case by case basis time! 1 didnt get it cause it was consistent mostly
first case sucks; amnesia is stupid and doing it just to make it a tutorial for new players is stinky! and the case is annoying. but at least it gave us richard wellington's big bananas which is great
second case!! better than i remembered. like. significantly. gets better every time i replay it. great lore additions, great character drama, great mystery, fun witnesses and killer, great breakdown
bro has it all. why did i ever think this was mid filler!!
turnabout big top is the worst case in the series. even without the paedophilia. it's just a mystery that makes no sense with annoying characters. also everyone's a fucking paedo. it's bad. it's so bad. it never gets better. it never will. this was a mistake. it drags down a good game!!! it's so fucking dogshit!!! it's worthless and it's bad and i think it's so goddamn awful!!!! raging. anyone who wants to drop the series because of this case i totally can understand. i dont see any positives in this.
thankfully though theres something good acomin.....
2-4 is peak. 2-4 is a top 2 case in the series. 2-4 has a great mystery, the best twists in the series, great character writing and development, a new level of darkness, great comedy, great EVERYTHING
it's peak. it's so peak. shame it and 2-2 are stuck with 2-1 and 2-3
overall JFA is a fantastic game dragged down into being one of the messiest games I've ever played, and such a hard experience to rate. deffo the weakest of the trilogy for sure, all thanks to 2-1 and 2-3.
on the positives before i do a case by case breakdown:
- pacing is SO good, 2 days becomes the standard for a reason
- very little fluff or filler in cases
- the two good mysteries are really fucking solid
- great world building and lore additions
- phoenix gets a much more defined personality
- generally great charas as always
- great writing FOR THE MOST PART
- apart from like one or two songs, fantastic soundtrack and maybe the most underrated in the series tbh
negatives:
- 4 cases feels a little short
- the lack of an overarching plot sucks tbh
- the bad characters are VERY bad
- i love franziska but she really does only properly go from good to amazing right at da end of the game sadly
- you can 100% tell how rushed the script was for this game in comparison to how solid 1 and 3 are
- inconsistent quality of cases
ok case by case basis time! 1 didnt get it cause it was consistent mostly
first case sucks; amnesia is stupid and doing it just to make it a tutorial for new players is stinky! and the case is annoying. but at least it gave us richard wellington's big bananas which is great
second case!! better than i remembered. like. significantly. gets better every time i replay it. great lore additions, great character drama, great mystery, fun witnesses and killer, great breakdown
bro has it all. why did i ever think this was mid filler!!
turnabout big top is the worst case in the series. even without the paedophilia. it's just a mystery that makes no sense with annoying characters. also everyone's a fucking paedo. it's bad. it's so bad. it never gets better. it never will. this was a mistake. it drags down a good game!!! it's so fucking dogshit!!! it's worthless and it's bad and i think it's so goddamn awful!!!! raging. anyone who wants to drop the series because of this case i totally can understand. i dont see any positives in this.
thankfully though theres something good acomin.....
2-4 is peak. 2-4 is a top 2 case in the series. 2-4 has a great mystery, the best twists in the series, great character writing and development, a new level of darkness, great comedy, great EVERYTHING
it's peak. it's so peak. shame it and 2-2 are stuck with 2-1 and 2-3
overall JFA is a fantastic game dragged down into being one of the messiest games I've ever played, and such a hard experience to rate. deffo the weakest of the trilogy for sure, all thanks to 2-1 and 2-3.
I reviewed the DS one by accident cause I didn't know this was listed here lmao so copy pasting, as I played on switch:
absurd how shu takumi and the gang fucking nailed it first time round
docking half a star solely because the pacing's still not quite perfected yet, like it is in later games
but god this game, and series, is peak
p.s. god i hate the remastered sprites
absurd how shu takumi and the gang fucking nailed it first time round
docking half a star solely because the pacing's still not quite perfected yet, like it is in later games
but god this game, and series, is peak
p.s. god i hate the remastered sprites
absurd how shu takumi and the gang fucking nailed it first time round
docking half a star solely because the pacing's still not quite perfected yet, like it is in later games
but god this game, and series, is peak
docking half a star solely because the pacing's still not quite perfected yet, like it is in later games
but god this game, and series, is peak
The best game in the original trilogy by a long shot. While the first is the only one that's truly a solvable mystery from start to finish, this one is still a lot more solvable than 2.
It's also the one with the deepest, most emotional story; the best voice acting (Miller puts in his best performance yet by far, actually making Layton feel more fleshed out); best OST; generally great puzzles; and overall feels like the most complete game. You can tell this was meant to be the last game, though I am very much happy we got the prequel trilogy, plus a new sequel incoming!
Just an absolute banger.
And yeah, I still weep at the ending.
My only real criticism is that between everyone pining for Claire and how this is the best Flora is treated (and it's still not great...), the treatment of women in this game definitely could do with some improvement. Claire and Flora are, at least, great characters from what we see of them at least. And I wouldn't call this game or series misogynistic or anything like that, I just wish Flora had more to do, and Claire wasn't just the motivation for everyone ever.
oh and i love don paolo he funny
It's also the one with the deepest, most emotional story; the best voice acting (Miller puts in his best performance yet by far, actually making Layton feel more fleshed out); best OST; generally great puzzles; and overall feels like the most complete game. You can tell this was meant to be the last game, though I am very much happy we got the prequel trilogy, plus a new sequel incoming!
Just an absolute banger.
And yeah, I still weep at the ending.
My only real criticism is that between everyone pining for Claire and how this is the best Flora is treated (and it's still not great...), the treatment of women in this game definitely could do with some improvement. Claire and Flora are, at least, great characters from what we see of them at least. And I wouldn't call this game or series misogynistic or anything like that, I just wish Flora had more to do, and Claire wasn't just the motivation for everyone ever.
oh and i love don paolo he funny
2016
like i said in my hitman 2 review these are just good sleepy games to chill to weirdly
i save scum a lot.
i save scum a lot.
2018
i zone out during the story for these games but i get to do funny kills
i weirdly find hitman games super zen and perfect to play when im sleepy ???
i weirdly find hitman games super zen and perfect to play when im sleepy ???
Breath of the Wild was my 6th favourite game of all time and my favourite Switch game by a longshot.
Tears of the Kingdom makes it look like a demo in comparison. Here's my full thoughts, copied straight from my Twitter thread:
BOTW's first 10-50 hours has a magic that I thought was impossible to capture. TOTK not only recaptured said magic as best as it could, but throughout still wow'd me even near the end of the game. there were many points where the magic was lost ofc but it oft returned. and that alone is incredible.
while I miss the melancholy of BOTW's world, the fact that TOTK's is more lived in shows a world in recovery and that people try and bounce back and heal, and I think that's beautiful
I loved the story. theres not loads of depth to it but I think they found an amazing way to tell a more traditional Zelda story while still keeping to the format of BOTW's structure. it does lead to some weird moments if you don't do things in a set order (I knew where Zelda was while the story had Link say he didn't lol) but it kept me engaged and got me emotional at many points. sometimes I wanted to actually continue w the story and not just explore! and that's huge!
between the story and the fact that the world is more lived in, it meant there was more to do in this than BOTW, and while I'm not the type of player to complain about BOTW being "empty" or whatever, I think having so much in the world in comparison is why I have a higher play time and also why having it be the same Hyrule never gets stale. it never feels exactly the same
new mechanics rock!
i love all the new abilities a lot, and exploring the depths and sky islands are fun; though i admit both are a little more barren than id like and i wish there was a little more to do in both, especially after the first 10-20 hours
i love recall to undo my mistakes
one thing that definitely lost its magic for me was ultrahand. it's still an awesome mechanic but i stopped using it for creative solutions like halfway/three quarters through and really only used it as intended near the end or in shrines
but i think im just not creative enough
while i don't think this is a perfect game, i do think it's a masterpiece and easily my game of the year, and the best game ive played on switch.
to recapture even some of the magic of BOTW is a miracle. to make BOTW look small and like a demo in comparison? genuinely incredible
tl;dr: I cried a few times and the final boss was cool, as was the rest of the game. 10/10 what else can you ask for in a game Huh Bud
Tears of the Kingdom makes it look like a demo in comparison. Here's my full thoughts, copied straight from my Twitter thread:
BOTW's first 10-50 hours has a magic that I thought was impossible to capture. TOTK not only recaptured said magic as best as it could, but throughout still wow'd me even near the end of the game. there were many points where the magic was lost ofc but it oft returned. and that alone is incredible.
while I miss the melancholy of BOTW's world, the fact that TOTK's is more lived in shows a world in recovery and that people try and bounce back and heal, and I think that's beautiful
I loved the story. theres not loads of depth to it but I think they found an amazing way to tell a more traditional Zelda story while still keeping to the format of BOTW's structure. it does lead to some weird moments if you don't do things in a set order (I knew where Zelda was while the story had Link say he didn't lol) but it kept me engaged and got me emotional at many points. sometimes I wanted to actually continue w the story and not just explore! and that's huge!
between the story and the fact that the world is more lived in, it meant there was more to do in this than BOTW, and while I'm not the type of player to complain about BOTW being "empty" or whatever, I think having so much in the world in comparison is why I have a higher play time and also why having it be the same Hyrule never gets stale. it never feels exactly the same
new mechanics rock!
i love all the new abilities a lot, and exploring the depths and sky islands are fun; though i admit both are a little more barren than id like and i wish there was a little more to do in both, especially after the first 10-20 hours
i love recall to undo my mistakes
one thing that definitely lost its magic for me was ultrahand. it's still an awesome mechanic but i stopped using it for creative solutions like halfway/three quarters through and really only used it as intended near the end or in shrines
but i think im just not creative enough
while i don't think this is a perfect game, i do think it's a masterpiece and easily my game of the year, and the best game ive played on switch.
to recapture even some of the magic of BOTW is a miracle. to make BOTW look small and like a demo in comparison? genuinely incredible
tl;dr: I cried a few times and the final boss was cool, as was the rest of the game. 10/10 what else can you ask for in a game Huh Bud
mad that they nailed the series first try
This review contains spoilers
this was the first ever game to make me cry, so i had VERY high expectations for it upon a revisit
so mark my disappoint about this replay when i liked it but didnt love it, and worse of all didnt cry at the ending (despite being much more open about my emotions). i think this just comes from having more media literacy though, and while the ending IS still emotional to me it hits a lot less hard when i've seen this kinda story of lost romance so much more often. i think if anton was introduced earlier and katia did more it'd have hit harder, tho the diary entries did help a bit. and id be lying if i said that the ending theme, iris, didnt still get me emotional as hell, even if not tear levels.
in many ways this is a better game than curious village. better puzzle variety, a better difficulty curve, a more interesting hook with a larger scope. very varied locales. great antagonist. SWORD FIGHT IS SO COOL. the final puzzle using a ds gimmick the rest of the game doesnt??? what the FUCK that's genuinely rad and inventive, and i felt like a genius working it out again just before writing this review lmao
but i do think the final reveals arent as well set up, the pacing is weird and all over the place, the photo pieces quest is just padding and backtracking and it SUCKS SO BAD, and poor. poor flora. she deserved better. why was she in this game? why was don paolo here??? i love paolo but like,,,, unnecessary tbh. and these issues do kinda cancel out those positives for me.
overall still a good time, but i do prefer curious village slightly more. next up is my fave in the series, and the one that has a final cutscene that always makes me cry.
tldr; good nostalgia trip but this game doesnt hold up for me personally, i like it but wish i loved it
so mark my disappoint about this replay when i liked it but didnt love it, and worse of all didnt cry at the ending (despite being much more open about my emotions). i think this just comes from having more media literacy though, and while the ending IS still emotional to me it hits a lot less hard when i've seen this kinda story of lost romance so much more often. i think if anton was introduced earlier and katia did more it'd have hit harder, tho the diary entries did help a bit. and id be lying if i said that the ending theme, iris, didnt still get me emotional as hell, even if not tear levels.
in many ways this is a better game than curious village. better puzzle variety, a better difficulty curve, a more interesting hook with a larger scope. very varied locales. great antagonist. SWORD FIGHT IS SO COOL. the final puzzle using a ds gimmick the rest of the game doesnt??? what the FUCK that's genuinely rad and inventive, and i felt like a genius working it out again just before writing this review lmao
but i do think the final reveals arent as well set up, the pacing is weird and all over the place, the photo pieces quest is just padding and backtracking and it SUCKS SO BAD, and poor. poor flora. she deserved better. why was she in this game? why was don paolo here??? i love paolo but like,,,, unnecessary tbh. and these issues do kinda cancel out those positives for me.
overall still a good time, but i do prefer curious village slightly more. next up is my fave in the series, and the one that has a final cutscene that always makes me cry.
tldr; good nostalgia trip but this game doesnt hold up for me personally, i like it but wish i loved it
2023
not every gag worked for me but as a pokémon fan who studied games production and now works in software QA this hits different
what a great lil game talking about development of the largest, messiest franchise
what a great lil game talking about development of the largest, messiest franchise
not as good as the original but i still love it a lot
twist doesn't work on paper but in execution it did for me
ryuki is my little meow meow
twist doesn't work on paper but in execution it did for me
ryuki is my little meow meow