Bard0cen
2020
Visuals are out of this world, bluepoint did an incredible job. The game is short as hell, took me 13 hours to finish and I was exploring thoroughly. Bosses are also quite boring, nothing crazy with only storm king, old king alant and Penetrator standing out. Everything is just good, which makes sense of course since this definitely feels like the groundwork for what would become Dark Souls.
Also the dragonbone smasher is one of the most satisfying weapons I've ever used. The sound design of the game, paired with the dual sense controller add a new weight and savagery to an Ultra Greatsword
Also the dragonbone smasher is one of the most satisfying weapons I've ever used. The sound design of the game, paired with the dual sense controller add a new weight and savagery to an Ultra Greatsword
Essential material
Upgrade to the original in every way, except suits.
Side quests were all so uninteresting and repetitive I only finished the symbiote one, hoping for a cool suit (did not get this). Insomniac should take a page out of rocksteady's book for the next game and set up a bunch of villain side quests because the number of villains to face was seriously lacking.
Traversal is at its peak in spiderman 2, I was worried about the wingsuit rendering swinging obsolete though this was not the case at all. Combat is fantastic aswell, the symbiote abilities are so much fun to chain together, especially in surge mode. I really don't see how Insomniac can evolve the game's mechanics any further for the third game so will wait patiently in anticipation.
Side quests were all so uninteresting and repetitive I only finished the symbiote one, hoping for a cool suit (did not get this). Insomniac should take a page out of rocksteady's book for the next game and set up a bunch of villain side quests because the number of villains to face was seriously lacking.
Traversal is at its peak in spiderman 2, I was worried about the wingsuit rendering swinging obsolete though this was not the case at all. Combat is fantastic aswell, the symbiote abilities are so much fun to chain together, especially in surge mode. I really don't see how Insomniac can evolve the game's mechanics any further for the third game so will wait patiently in anticipation.
2014
When everything clicks the feeling is superb. However the camera, and by extension general gameplay, holds it back. There are countless times I the camera would swap to a different location and stitch me up, either killing me or getting close to it. Resident evil ended at the perfect time as well. It doesn't overstay its welcome and provides what feels like a 15 hour experience in just over 10.
2016
I followed a steam guide to get the full story experience, so watched all the trailers, kingsglaive, brotherhood and all the episodes. Experiencing it in this more complete package added so much more depth to the characters and events taking place that I can't believe on release you were expected to play it without.
Lunafreya was a big weak point for me, couldn't care less about her. The game had so much jank, mostly when it came to combat. The mechanics of combat are interesting but felt unfinished. Chapter 13 was a huge drag too, felt about 45 minutes too long. The final fight was also suuuuuuper mid which was really disappointing because Ardyn was a great villain but it felt like they rushed his final encounter. After completing close to 30 side quests I quickly realised the majority weren't going to be more than fetch quests so I stopped doing them all together, unless they were centred on the bros.
Of course there are plenty of other little things but I don't care cos cruising with my boys was so much fun. Everything before chapter 9 was amazing. Going to photo ops, camping, going on a quest to make the ultimate cup noodles, this is what the game is all about and clearly what the most focus was put into. I love the main cast and the feeling of brotherhood was so strong the credits really got me. I love the idea of photos being taken throughout your day aswell, great system making for an equally great payoff.
All in all Final Fantasy XV possesses a bundle of flaws that though irritating don't harm the joy of the journey.
Lunafreya was a big weak point for me, couldn't care less about her. The game had so much jank, mostly when it came to combat. The mechanics of combat are interesting but felt unfinished. Chapter 13 was a huge drag too, felt about 45 minutes too long. The final fight was also suuuuuuper mid which was really disappointing because Ardyn was a great villain but it felt like they rushed his final encounter. After completing close to 30 side quests I quickly realised the majority weren't going to be more than fetch quests so I stopped doing them all together, unless they were centred on the bros.
Of course there are plenty of other little things but I don't care cos cruising with my boys was so much fun. Everything before chapter 9 was amazing. Going to photo ops, camping, going on a quest to make the ultimate cup noodles, this is what the game is all about and clearly what the most focus was put into. I love the main cast and the feeling of brotherhood was so strong the credits really got me. I love the idea of photos being taken throughout your day aswell, great system making for an equally great payoff.
All in all Final Fantasy XV possesses a bundle of flaws that though irritating don't harm the joy of the journey.
2015
Hope my wife is as pretty as Xen.
First few chapters were decent but the levels get significantly more interesting as the game goes on, though in the second to last chapter the ascent begins to get very repetitive, went on for a little longer than it should have. I didn't ever know where I was going but always ended up in the right place, your route through each level flows so so well and feels natural. All in all solid.
First few chapters were decent but the levels get significantly more interesting as the game goes on, though in the second to last chapter the ascent begins to get very repetitive, went on for a little longer than it should have. I didn't ever know where I was going but always ended up in the right place, your route through each level flows so so well and feels natural. All in all solid.
2001
This review contains spoilers
FFX was a predominantly positive mixed bag for me.
The story was great, I love the old false/corrupt religion element and how it clashed with the Al Bhed. I like the turn based system, especially the ability to swap party members whenever and without consequences. Also the game looks amazing, especially in sequences at night and the cg cutscenes blew me away. The summons aswell, man was it cool to be able to control them as a sort of extra party member, though the animations became repetitive very quickly. I loved every party member and felt that none went to waste, standouts being Rikku, Yuna and much to my surprise, Tidus.
I did not like Tidus in the beginning. It felt like there wasn't much to him and that he wasn't fit to be the protagonist, especially after just finishing FF7 and loving Cloud. However Tidus really grew on me and by the end I could confidently say he was one of my favourites in the cast. Seymour on the other hand was very disappointing. Square overused Seymour to the point where he became a pest, rather than a genuine threat. I really didn't care for him by the end.
Speaking of Seymour, his bossfight as well as Yunalesca are some of the worst I've ever dealt with. Gagazet feels like it's balanced terribly. I found my party being 1 shotted by random encounters, not 1 member, but the whole party in 1 attack. This lead to me fleeing every battle to not get sent back and missing out on xp. Gagazet Seymour and Yunalesca contained some of the most bs I've dealt with in a long time. Seymour with the 1 shot party wide attack, and Yunalesca with Megadeath were so painful and the lowest points of this game, especially with having to watch 10 minute cutscenes after every attempt. Also I'm not a fan of the sphere system, I can see why people like it but after the novelty wears off it becomes a real chore to level, I would've preferred if they just focused on the gear perk system and left levelling to be a background phenomenon, though I can see why some would enjoy it due to the obvious build variety possible.
Looking back on this review it seems like I have primarily negative thoughts but I genuinely do like this game, it's just the lows were very low for me, however the highs are equally as high.
Overall I enjoyed most of my time with the game and recommend it.
And that, as they say, is that
The story was great, I love the old false/corrupt religion element and how it clashed with the Al Bhed. I like the turn based system, especially the ability to swap party members whenever and without consequences. Also the game looks amazing, especially in sequences at night and the cg cutscenes blew me away. The summons aswell, man was it cool to be able to control them as a sort of extra party member, though the animations became repetitive very quickly. I loved every party member and felt that none went to waste, standouts being Rikku, Yuna and much to my surprise, Tidus.
I did not like Tidus in the beginning. It felt like there wasn't much to him and that he wasn't fit to be the protagonist, especially after just finishing FF7 and loving Cloud. However Tidus really grew on me and by the end I could confidently say he was one of my favourites in the cast. Seymour on the other hand was very disappointing. Square overused Seymour to the point where he became a pest, rather than a genuine threat. I really didn't care for him by the end.
Speaking of Seymour, his bossfight as well as Yunalesca are some of the worst I've ever dealt with. Gagazet feels like it's balanced terribly. I found my party being 1 shotted by random encounters, not 1 member, but the whole party in 1 attack. This lead to me fleeing every battle to not get sent back and missing out on xp. Gagazet Seymour and Yunalesca contained some of the most bs I've dealt with in a long time. Seymour with the 1 shot party wide attack, and Yunalesca with Megadeath were so painful and the lowest points of this game, especially with having to watch 10 minute cutscenes after every attempt. Also I'm not a fan of the sphere system, I can see why people like it but after the novelty wears off it becomes a real chore to level, I would've preferred if they just focused on the gear perk system and left levelling to be a background phenomenon, though I can see why some would enjoy it due to the obvious build variety possible.
Looking back on this review it seems like I have primarily negative thoughts but I genuinely do like this game, it's just the lows were very low for me, however the highs are equally as high.
Overall I enjoyed most of my time with the game and recommend it.
And that, as they say, is that
1997
I love Final Fantasy 7
I played the remake first but I can confidently say I prefer the original. The music is the main standout. Every track slaps and is packed with emotion. Combat is great with the materia system being a blast to play around with as I found combos that elevated my spells. Of course the story was a fantastic journey aswell, a quest to save the planet and to find oneself. There are so many moments I can think of in the story that are just so beautiful, the gold saucer, a certain infamous scene that was sadly spoiled for me:( and plenty of others. The only aspect of my playthrough I didn't enjoy was the grind to level up my materia and party members to fight the two end game bosses, hours of time that was not spent having fun at all. Overall, I treasure my time with Final Fantasy 7 and understand why this game means so much to so many. I know a game was worth my time when I buy a copy of it on the playstation right after finishing.
Bravo Yoshinori Kitase, on to FFX
I played the remake first but I can confidently say I prefer the original. The music is the main standout. Every track slaps and is packed with emotion. Combat is great with the materia system being a blast to play around with as I found combos that elevated my spells. Of course the story was a fantastic journey aswell, a quest to save the planet and to find oneself. There are so many moments I can think of in the story that are just so beautiful, the gold saucer, a certain infamous scene that was sadly spoiled for me:( and plenty of others. The only aspect of my playthrough I didn't enjoy was the grind to level up my materia and party members to fight the two end game bosses, hours of time that was not spent having fun at all. Overall, I treasure my time with Final Fantasy 7 and understand why this game means so much to so many. I know a game was worth my time when I buy a copy of it on the playstation right after finishing.
Bravo Yoshinori Kitase, on to FFX
My favourite strand game
13th chapter was garbage, walking around waiting for something to happen isn't "creative", felt like a massive waste of time that could've been condensed into a cutscene.
Otherwise the game was fantastic, exposition dumps were overwhelming on some occasions but otherwise I followed along fine. The imagery displayed in the game, especially on Amelie's beach was gorgeous. The meticulous gameplay was another plus for me, it felt amazing speeding through a section of the world on my zipline system in seconds that previously would've taken me significantly longer. All in all fantastic experience and has got me waiting with great anticipation for the sequel.
13th chapter was garbage, walking around waiting for something to happen isn't "creative", felt like a massive waste of time that could've been condensed into a cutscene.
Otherwise the game was fantastic, exposition dumps were overwhelming on some occasions but otherwise I followed along fine. The imagery displayed in the game, especially on Amelie's beach was gorgeous. The meticulous gameplay was another plus for me, it felt amazing speeding through a section of the world on my zipline system in seconds that previously would've taken me significantly longer. All in all fantastic experience and has got me waiting with great anticipation for the sequel.
2015
Was solid. Terrifying, posed interesting questions but didn't leave as big of an impact as I'd hoped.
2017
Absolutely spectacular, words don't do it justice.