Bis
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Alan Wake II
2023
Alan Wake II: Talvez o Melhor Survivor Horror Já feito na História...
Olha, é impressionante ver o que a Remedy conseguiu entregar nesse jogo, de verdade. Primeiro pois ele parece uma carta de amor aos fãs dos jogos dela, principalmente aos fãs de Alan Wake.
Mas também pois, é notório o quanto de amor que ela colocou nesse projeto. De ligações de Max Payne até Quantum Break, e principal de Alan Wake a Control. Tudo parece ter sido construído com muita paixão e vervor por aquilo que eles já haviam entregado.
É também notável que Alan Wake II é extremamente único. E me deixa feliz ver um projeto na qual os desenvolvedores amaram tanto fazer, sendo retribuído com ainda mais amor por parte dos fãs... Infelizmente não é sempre que isso acontece... E alguns casos a falta de reciprocidade em relação ao público até me deixa meio triste... Principalmente quando eu vi, de perto mesmo, os desenvolvedores tentando, e amando, criar algo que seus fãs iam amar, mas que eles quase que desprezaram. Aconteceu com um jogo de espaço que vi por aí.
Mas felizmente esse não é o caso aqui. Alan Wake tem sido muito bem avaliado, e amado também. E isso por seus próprio méritos.
Ao olharmos em primeiro momento podemos até ter a impressão de que esse jogo séria um cópia dos remakes de Resident Evil, em específico o 2. Mas eu devo dizer que isso fica apenas na primeira impressão, pois Alan Wake II é extremamente, de verdade, extremamente único. Seja em sua direção de arte, trilha sonora, construção de mecânicas. E até mesmo em sua gameplay, que é bastante cadenciada, sim um pouco lenta no começo. Mas que se atrela totalmente a sua história e narrativa.
Eu não consigo enxergar Alan Wake II de outra forma. Apenas como um Jogo de videogame, acredito que essa história só poderia ser contada por meio dessa mídia, muito por conta da forma única como foi construída. E isso me deixa muito feliz.
No final das contas, esse cara aqui é, como eu disse antes, uma carta de amor. Valeu a pena esperar 13 anos, não apenas para que a Remedy evoluísse as suas ideias, fórmulas, e jogabilidades, por meio de jogos como Quantum Break e Control. Mas também para que suas vontades e ideais fossem construídos no tempo certo, e assim, eles entregassem esse jogo fantástico que entregaram.
Como fã dos jogos dela, e também de tudo o que fizeram, posso dizer que Alan Wake II é o Magnum Opus da Remedy com certa facilidade. Um clássico instantâneo que merece muito respeito. Não apenas um dos melhores jogos do ano, como também um dos melhores de todos os tempos, caminhando para com o tempo, se tornar um dos meus jogos favoritos também (´⊙ω⊙`)！
Para Alan Wake II, um belíssimo 5/5 ou na versão detalhada um 9.9/10!
Olha, é impressionante ver o que a Remedy conseguiu entregar nesse jogo, de verdade. Primeiro pois ele parece uma carta de amor aos fãs dos jogos dela, principalmente aos fãs de Alan Wake.
Mas também pois, é notório o quanto de amor que ela colocou nesse projeto. De ligações de Max Payne até Quantum Break, e principal de Alan Wake a Control. Tudo parece ter sido construído com muita paixão e vervor por aquilo que eles já haviam entregado.
É também notável que Alan Wake II é extremamente único. E me deixa feliz ver um projeto na qual os desenvolvedores amaram tanto fazer, sendo retribuído com ainda mais amor por parte dos fãs... Infelizmente não é sempre que isso acontece... E alguns casos a falta de reciprocidade em relação ao público até me deixa meio triste... Principalmente quando eu vi, de perto mesmo, os desenvolvedores tentando, e amando, criar algo que seus fãs iam amar, mas que eles quase que desprezaram. Aconteceu com um jogo de espaço que vi por aí.
Mas felizmente esse não é o caso aqui. Alan Wake tem sido muito bem avaliado, e amado também. E isso por seus próprio méritos.
Ao olharmos em primeiro momento podemos até ter a impressão de que esse jogo séria um cópia dos remakes de Resident Evil, em específico o 2. Mas eu devo dizer que isso fica apenas na primeira impressão, pois Alan Wake II é extremamente, de verdade, extremamente único. Seja em sua direção de arte, trilha sonora, construção de mecânicas. E até mesmo em sua gameplay, que é bastante cadenciada, sim um pouco lenta no começo. Mas que se atrela totalmente a sua história e narrativa.
Eu não consigo enxergar Alan Wake II de outra forma. Apenas como um Jogo de videogame, acredito que essa história só poderia ser contada por meio dessa mídia, muito por conta da forma única como foi construída. E isso me deixa muito feliz.
No final das contas, esse cara aqui é, como eu disse antes, uma carta de amor. Valeu a pena esperar 13 anos, não apenas para que a Remedy evoluísse as suas ideias, fórmulas, e jogabilidades, por meio de jogos como Quantum Break e Control. Mas também para que suas vontades e ideais fossem construídos no tempo certo, e assim, eles entregassem esse jogo fantástico que entregaram.
Como fã dos jogos dela, e também de tudo o que fizeram, posso dizer que Alan Wake II é o Magnum Opus da Remedy com certa facilidade. Um clássico instantâneo que merece muito respeito. Não apenas um dos melhores jogos do ano, como também um dos melhores de todos os tempos, caminhando para com o tempo, se tornar um dos meus jogos favoritos também (´⊙ω⊙`)！
Para Alan Wake II, um belíssimo 5/5 ou na versão detalhada um 9.9/10!
Final Fantasy IX
2000
Final Fantasy IX: A Obra mais Coesa de Toda a Série... E o meu Final Fantasy Favorito!
FF IX é definitivamente um jogo que eu estranhei no começo, principalmente por conta da direção de arte que esse jogo tem... Ele se diferencia dos jogos anteriores, ao mesmo tempo que me lembrava bastante os FFs lançados na era Pixel
No final das contas isso não se demostrou um problema mas sim um ponto extremamente positivo... Enquanto jogava esse jogo dois dos meus amigos estavam conversando sobre possíveis Remakes da série e um deles disse as seguintes palavras... "Se a Square fizer Remakes de Final Fantasy VIII e IX o do oito tem que ser realista que nem o do VII mas o do IX tem que ser com gráficos diferentes, talvez com um estilo do Hi-Fi Rush que lançou a pouco tempo, ou um Ghibi"...
Sinceramente, eu concordo, a direção de arte de FF IX é peculiar, diferente das outras demostradas antes e depois dele, e também é apresentada da melhor forma possível nesse jogo, e olha que eu não a considero o seu ponto mais forte na jornada dessa experiência.
Eu também gostaria de ressaltar a trilha sonora desse carinha aqui... Olha, ela é muito boa, na verdade, praticamente todos os Final Fantasys do V pra cá tiveram ótimas trilhas, algumas melhores do que as outras... Devo dizer que a de FF IX definitivamente está entre as melhores, se não for a minha favorita... Ela me deixou com lagrimas nos olhos em diversos momentos na história...
E falando em história... Acho que esse é o ponto mais forte desse jogo, além de sua gameplay, que também me agradou muito... Mas dela eu falo mais pra frente... Cara, que história maravilhosa que nos é apresentada nesse jogo, seus momentos de descontração são certeiros, com as piadas e brincadeiras, o desenvolvimento de personagens também é de longe o meu favorito da série, mesmo que praticamente todos os jogos tenham personagens bem construídos e bem desenvolvidos... IX foi um jogo que se destacou ainda mais nesse quesito, pra mim ao menos...
Com relação ao gameplay, eu gostaria de usar a palavra que utilizei no titulo da analise... "Coeso"... De tudo que foi apresentado na série até então, foi Final Fantasy IX que mais me deixou cativado do começo ao fim, ele é divertido ao mesmo tempo que é desafiador, o grind existe porém é balanceado, na medida do possível...
E eu tenho vontade de voltar a jogar só por causa do jogo de cartas...
No final das contas acredito que minha passagem pela franquia Final Fantasy vai parar por aqui agora, o único jogo que sobrou foi o Tatics porém, passarei por ele em outro momento... Revisando os jogos da franquia que joguei, foram do I ao VI... Do VII ao IX... Antes eu havia jogado do X, passando pelo XI e XIV que são Onlines, ao XVI e o Remake do VII terminando assim a franquia, em seus jogos principais, ao menos por enquanto, pois ano que vem já temos Final Fantasy VII Rebirth sendo lançado.
E a nota do maravilhoso Final Fantasy IX, eu darei um 9.9/10, ou um 5/5... Um jogo que me deixou feliz, triste, e me passou muitas memorias... Um jogo belo que eu queria que fosse lembrado pelas pessoas, pois sinto que ele é uma joia escondida em meio a série... Se você ainda não jogou eu mais do que recomendo... De uma chance, você não vai se arrepender!
No fim, ele não apenas é o meu Final Fantasy favorito, como atualmente o meu JRpg favorito... Batendo Chrono Trigger, Mother 3, Final Fantasy IV e VII... Nunca pensei que isso ocorreria... Mas aconteceu😅
FF IX é definitivamente um jogo que eu estranhei no começo, principalmente por conta da direção de arte que esse jogo tem... Ele se diferencia dos jogos anteriores, ao mesmo tempo que me lembrava bastante os FFs lançados na era Pixel
No final das contas isso não se demostrou um problema mas sim um ponto extremamente positivo... Enquanto jogava esse jogo dois dos meus amigos estavam conversando sobre possíveis Remakes da série e um deles disse as seguintes palavras... "Se a Square fizer Remakes de Final Fantasy VIII e IX o do oito tem que ser realista que nem o do VII mas o do IX tem que ser com gráficos diferentes, talvez com um estilo do Hi-Fi Rush que lançou a pouco tempo, ou um Ghibi"...
Sinceramente, eu concordo, a direção de arte de FF IX é peculiar, diferente das outras demostradas antes e depois dele, e também é apresentada da melhor forma possível nesse jogo, e olha que eu não a considero o seu ponto mais forte na jornada dessa experiência.
Eu também gostaria de ressaltar a trilha sonora desse carinha aqui... Olha, ela é muito boa, na verdade, praticamente todos os Final Fantasys do V pra cá tiveram ótimas trilhas, algumas melhores do que as outras... Devo dizer que a de FF IX definitivamente está entre as melhores, se não for a minha favorita... Ela me deixou com lagrimas nos olhos em diversos momentos na história...
E falando em história... Acho que esse é o ponto mais forte desse jogo, além de sua gameplay, que também me agradou muito... Mas dela eu falo mais pra frente... Cara, que história maravilhosa que nos é apresentada nesse jogo, seus momentos de descontração são certeiros, com as piadas e brincadeiras, o desenvolvimento de personagens também é de longe o meu favorito da série, mesmo que praticamente todos os jogos tenham personagens bem construídos e bem desenvolvidos... IX foi um jogo que se destacou ainda mais nesse quesito, pra mim ao menos...
Com relação ao gameplay, eu gostaria de usar a palavra que utilizei no titulo da analise... "Coeso"... De tudo que foi apresentado na série até então, foi Final Fantasy IX que mais me deixou cativado do começo ao fim, ele é divertido ao mesmo tempo que é desafiador, o grind existe porém é balanceado, na medida do possível...
E eu tenho vontade de voltar a jogar só por causa do jogo de cartas...
No final das contas acredito que minha passagem pela franquia Final Fantasy vai parar por aqui agora, o único jogo que sobrou foi o Tatics porém, passarei por ele em outro momento... Revisando os jogos da franquia que joguei, foram do I ao VI... Do VII ao IX... Antes eu havia jogado do X, passando pelo XI e XIV que são Onlines, ao XVI e o Remake do VII terminando assim a franquia, em seus jogos principais, ao menos por enquanto, pois ano que vem já temos Final Fantasy VII Rebirth sendo lançado.
E a nota do maravilhoso Final Fantasy IX, eu darei um 9.9/10, ou um 5/5... Um jogo que me deixou feliz, triste, e me passou muitas memorias... Um jogo belo que eu queria que fosse lembrado pelas pessoas, pois sinto que ele é uma joia escondida em meio a série... Se você ainda não jogou eu mais do que recomendo... De uma chance, você não vai se arrepender!
No fim, ele não apenas é o meu Final Fantasy favorito, como atualmente o meu JRpg favorito... Batendo Chrono Trigger, Mother 3, Final Fantasy IV e VII... Nunca pensei que isso ocorreria... Mas aconteceu😅
Persona 3 Reload
2024
"𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉"
"𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏?"
"𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕... 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅"
"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑺𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝑼𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅"
Persona 3 Reload: E a Morte que Recorre a História
Morte... Facilmente um dos temas mais difíceis de se abordar em uma obra seja ela literária, áudio, visual, e qualquer outro tipo de obra que pode vir em nossas mentes atualmente... Da primeira a sétima arte, a morte é algo que sempre ronda aqueles que buscam representar qualquer tipo de sentimento, isso pois:
A Morte é algo que ronda a realidade o tempo inteiro...
Sinceramente, concordo com o texto acima... Para mim, ao menos a morte é o último sono do homem antes do retorno de meu Senhor... Enxergo ela como de fato, o descanso antes do fim.... Mas isso pois, acredito também em uma esperança depois do fim.
Mas isso de fato não vem a tona no momento, o foco agora é Persona 3 Reload... Um jogo que, enquanto obra, é fantástico, entrega visuais de muita qualidade, personagens extremamente bem escritos, e uma história de tirar o folego...
E de fato, as definições que acabei de dar podem ser usadas para qualquer outra obra... Descritas como genéricas... Isso pois, eu não consigo transmitir a experiência que é Persona 3...
Por isso acredito que a melhor forma de vivenciar tudo o 'que esse jogo apresenta, e os conceitos filosóficos, que embora eu discorde, não deixam de ser extremamente bem apresentados para aquilo que a obra se propõem a ser...
Também afirmo que Persona 3 Reload deve ser vivido...
Jogado, testado, experienciado, para que assim você possa tirar suas conclusões de tudo que aqui é discutido... O jogo é enorme, tem muitas coisas pra fazer, e o final me deixou encucado... Embora de fato já tenha encontrado a resposta do o 'que a morte representa, ao menos para mim... As perguntas feitas nessa obra, são maduras, e em minha opinião, necessárias, para qualquer pessoa, seja alguém com muita experiência e conhecimento, ou não...
"𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠?"
"𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑌𝑜𝑢?"
De fato, compreendo as criticas feitas ao Reload, por não conter todo o conteúdo já feito para Persona 3...
Mas devo dizer que é uma experiência para uma vida mesmo assim.... Sim eu recomendo... Por favor, vá e jogue se tiver oportunidade...
Para Persona 3 Reload 9.8/10 ou 5/5... Uma experiência para a vida toda...
"𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏?"
"𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕... 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅"
"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑺𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝑼𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅"
Persona 3 Reload: E a Morte que Recorre a História
Morte... Facilmente um dos temas mais difíceis de se abordar em uma obra seja ela literária, áudio, visual, e qualquer outro tipo de obra que pode vir em nossas mentes atualmente... Da primeira a sétima arte, a morte é algo que sempre ronda aqueles que buscam representar qualquer tipo de sentimento, isso pois:
A Morte é algo que ronda a realidade o tempo inteiro...
Sinceramente, concordo com o texto acima... Para mim, ao menos a morte é o último sono do homem antes do retorno de meu Senhor... Enxergo ela como de fato, o descanso antes do fim.... Mas isso pois, acredito também em uma esperança depois do fim.
Mas isso de fato não vem a tona no momento, o foco agora é Persona 3 Reload... Um jogo que, enquanto obra, é fantástico, entrega visuais de muita qualidade, personagens extremamente bem escritos, e uma história de tirar o folego...
E de fato, as definições que acabei de dar podem ser usadas para qualquer outra obra... Descritas como genéricas... Isso pois, eu não consigo transmitir a experiência que é Persona 3...
Por isso acredito que a melhor forma de vivenciar tudo o 'que esse jogo apresenta, e os conceitos filosóficos, que embora eu discorde, não deixam de ser extremamente bem apresentados para aquilo que a obra se propõem a ser...
Também afirmo que Persona 3 Reload deve ser vivido...
Jogado, testado, experienciado, para que assim você possa tirar suas conclusões de tudo que aqui é discutido... O jogo é enorme, tem muitas coisas pra fazer, e o final me deixou encucado... Embora de fato já tenha encontrado a resposta do o 'que a morte representa, ao menos para mim... As perguntas feitas nessa obra, são maduras, e em minha opinião, necessárias, para qualquer pessoa, seja alguém com muita experiência e conhecimento, ou não...
"𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠?"
"𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑌𝑜𝑢?"
De fato, compreendo as criticas feitas ao Reload, por não conter todo o conteúdo já feito para Persona 3...
Mas devo dizer que é uma experiência para uma vida mesmo assim.... Sim eu recomendo... Por favor, vá e jogue se tiver oportunidade...
Para Persona 3 Reload 9.8/10 ou 5/5... Uma experiência para a vida toda...
Celeste
2018
First review of 2024 baby! What a first game to start the year. I first played this back in 2019 and absolutely loved it. I beat all of the chapters, both A and B sides but never did any of the C sides nor did I get all the strawberries. This playthrough I did tho and man it felt good. Before I get into that let me talk about why this game is so great.
Why don't I just get right into the story first. When I first played, I remember being blown away by the story and absolutely loving it. While I do still think it's good, there was something bothering me throughout and it may just be a me thing. Theo, he's not a bad character but why all the mentions of selfies and his social media 😭. I hate to say it but it was really taking me out of the story at points. It was definitely the biggest issue I had when replaying this. Otherwise though, the Madeline side of the story is really good. I like how anyone that plays this game can at least relate to her need to overcome her personal demons and I think the fact they made it so she accepts them for what they are instead of just trying to bury them completely, I like that execution way more. They portrayed anxiety and depression super well and I think that's the game's strongest aspect when it come's to story.
The soundtrack is pretty solid, tho I remember loving it back then which I wouldn't say I love it now. Don't get me wrong, it's good and there are some standout tracks in certain chapters but I didn't like it as much as I did in 2019 I think. Maybe it was because I was more focused on playing the game and didn't pay attention to the music too much this time around? I also maybe wasn't a fan of the voices they gave the characters. Idk some of the time I found it kinda annoying which is a shame.
As for some of the biggest positives, the game is amazing visually. The pixel art is pretty much perfect the whole way through and the backgrounds in some of these chapters are breathtaking. Golden Ridge I think was the standout especially, it was gorgeous.
Now we come to my favorite part of the game, the gameplay. This is easily one of the most fun 2D platformers I've ever played. It's just so polished and the level design is so good. One of my favorite things was just finding all the secrets, there's a ton of them whether it's hidden strawberries or crystal hearts or B side tapes or even that one hidden indie game screen I somehow found by doing the wavedash (that was insane) they're all really fun to find. I also really love just how many different techniques you can perform. A lot of them aren't explained until late late game or not even at all and they can really break the game sometimes, it's awesome. Celeste is also extremely difficult I'm sure you know. Indeed, some of the later levels in the base game can get super duper hard. The B sides and C sides especially, some of those were nuts. As I said, I did everything in the base game...everything except for the golden strawberries. I got the one in chapter 1 A side but that was it. They just don't feel too worth it since it's not new content...just surviving an entire chapter without dying which isn't too fun imo. As for the hardest part of the base game, that hands down has to go to Chapter 7 Side C. Jesus Christ that last fucking screen took me 3 hours in-game time and exactly 1152 deaths. None of the other chapters came close to that many deaths and you know what, I'm so glad I did it. I'll never do it again mind you, but I told myself that if I did it...I'd bump this game to a 9. So for now that's what I'll do tho I may bump it down to an 8.5 who knows.
I do have some issues that are more a me thing but this game is super fun and definitely a top tier indie in my book.
Oh and as for farewell...yes I'll be doing that next and yes I am very scared. I got up to the point where you're required to wavedash back in 2019 and then quit. I've heard it's extremely brutal in the 2nd half so I'm nervous but I will persevere boys. Wish me luck!
Why don't I just get right into the story first. When I first played, I remember being blown away by the story and absolutely loving it. While I do still think it's good, there was something bothering me throughout and it may just be a me thing. Theo, he's not a bad character but why all the mentions of selfies and his social media 😭. I hate to say it but it was really taking me out of the story at points. It was definitely the biggest issue I had when replaying this. Otherwise though, the Madeline side of the story is really good. I like how anyone that plays this game can at least relate to her need to overcome her personal demons and I think the fact they made it so she accepts them for what they are instead of just trying to bury them completely, I like that execution way more. They portrayed anxiety and depression super well and I think that's the game's strongest aspect when it come's to story.
The soundtrack is pretty solid, tho I remember loving it back then which I wouldn't say I love it now. Don't get me wrong, it's good and there are some standout tracks in certain chapters but I didn't like it as much as I did in 2019 I think. Maybe it was because I was more focused on playing the game and didn't pay attention to the music too much this time around? I also maybe wasn't a fan of the voices they gave the characters. Idk some of the time I found it kinda annoying which is a shame.
As for some of the biggest positives, the game is amazing visually. The pixel art is pretty much perfect the whole way through and the backgrounds in some of these chapters are breathtaking. Golden Ridge I think was the standout especially, it was gorgeous.
Now we come to my favorite part of the game, the gameplay. This is easily one of the most fun 2D platformers I've ever played. It's just so polished and the level design is so good. One of my favorite things was just finding all the secrets, there's a ton of them whether it's hidden strawberries or crystal hearts or B side tapes or even that one hidden indie game screen I somehow found by doing the wavedash (that was insane) they're all really fun to find. I also really love just how many different techniques you can perform. A lot of them aren't explained until late late game or not even at all and they can really break the game sometimes, it's awesome. Celeste is also extremely difficult I'm sure you know. Indeed, some of the later levels in the base game can get super duper hard. The B sides and C sides especially, some of those were nuts. As I said, I did everything in the base game...everything except for the golden strawberries. I got the one in chapter 1 A side but that was it. They just don't feel too worth it since it's not new content...just surviving an entire chapter without dying which isn't too fun imo. As for the hardest part of the base game, that hands down has to go to Chapter 7 Side C. Jesus Christ that last fucking screen took me 3 hours in-game time and exactly 1152 deaths. None of the other chapters came close to that many deaths and you know what, I'm so glad I did it. I'll never do it again mind you, but I told myself that if I did it...I'd bump this game to a 9. So for now that's what I'll do tho I may bump it down to an 8.5 who knows.
I do have some issues that are more a me thing but this game is super fun and definitely a top tier indie in my book.
Oh and as for farewell...yes I'll be doing that next and yes I am very scared. I got up to the point where you're required to wavedash back in 2019 and then quit. I've heard it's extremely brutal in the 2nd half so I'm nervous but I will persevere boys. Wish me luck!
Persona 3 FES
2007
All the way back in 2017, I played Persona 5. I picked it up on a whim the day after it released, because my friend loves the Persona series and recommended I get into it, and not too long after I was hooked. That same friend also gave me SMT4 around that same time and I didn't really get into at all. But it did get me more interested in Megaten as a whole. Fast forward to the Summer, I go to TooManyGames 2017. I remember seeing the Persona 5 collectors edition, man good times. Ah anyways, I also stumbled upon Persona 3 FES and Persona 4 inside a glass cabinet along with some other Megaten games. Naturally of them all, I was most interested in P3 and P4 seeing as I was a huge fan of 5. Knowing the price of the Raidou games, I wish I picked those up then since they were only $30 but in the end I bought both FES and P4. Oh, not at the convention btw. I bought them off eBay the day after cuz I realized you could get them for cheaper there. Anyways, to this day I still haven't touched vanilla P4 since I played Golden. But FES, I picked up and dropped several times over the years. I really don't know why it wasn't grabbing me but the furthest I ever until this most recent playthrough was the first full moon operation on the subway. Either way, I can say I've finally beaten Persona 3 FES and I'm happy to say I ended up enjoying it overall.
Let's start with the story. I think overall, it's good and has some really fantastic moments. The beginning scene where the MC awakens to his Persona, to the whole turning point in Junpei's arc near the end of the game (if you know you know) to the whole last hour or two. There's some super good moments throughout the game, I just wish the story's pacing was better. After the MC's awakening in the beginning, I found the story to be super slow up until the middle of the game where it starts picking up again. Then near the end before the grand finale I found it dragged a bit. Pacing-wise, I thought it was the worst of the nusona games but specific moment-wise it's some of the best in the series. I do think the whole theme of facing death head on and not being afraid of it and making the most of life is super strong though, especially in the end-game. They really hammer that theme into you by the end but it works really well.
The main cast is solid overall but it can be a mixed bag. I really liked Akihiko, Yukari, Junpei and Aigis by the end of the game. They all felt really fleshed out and I just liked them the most. Mitsuru is decent but I expected her to be better, idk why I found her somewhat bland. Fuuka and Ken are the definitely the weakest party members imo and a big part of that, besides just not caring about their characters as much, was their voice acting. This game has really solid voice acting (the 4 characters I listed at the beginning) and then it has some really awful voice acting (Fuuka, Ken, Shinjiro, the chairman). Fuuka especially man, she sounded more robotic than Aigis it's crazy. This no doubt took me out of the story a bit just cuz those 4 are so prominent. Oh and can't forget Koromaru, interesting that he's the only normal animal sidekick in which he doesnt actually speak but he's a good boy nonetheless.
Going into more of the game's characters, let's talk about the social links. They're a bit more hit or miss in this game compared to 4 and 5. Akinari may be the best social link in the entire series with how good it is. I was tearing up in literally every rank, no doubt due to the music that plays during it. Yukari, Maiko and Chihiro were probably my favorites then after Akinari. I didn't even think Gourmet King's was bad like some people say considering his whole backstory and everything making me sympathize with him. However, a lot of the others I just thought were decent, very meh or just straight up bad. The worst by far was Kenji's, one of the worst in the series imo and just such a nothing Social Link. Same with Bebe, just did absolutely nothing for me. I didn't love 4's social links either but I think overall they're better in that game, especially since there's no male party member SL in 3. Yeah that's a weird omission, along with being forced to romance all the school girl social links, just overall the weakest of the nusona social links imo. It's not a terrible first try at the social aspect tho, but it's clear it's the first game to try to tackle it. 5 definitely has the best social links I think even if there are a couple duds in that game as well.
Something I actually dissed on stupidly was the game's soundtrack. Idk what was wrong with me but I originally just thought it was out right bad (besides battle for everyone's souls) but have since realized it's actually a super great ost, liking it so much now I think I like it more than 4's soundtrack. 5 is still easily my favorite but never did I think I'd like 3's ost more than 4's. Some of my favorite songs were the aforementioned Battle For Everyone's Souls, Joy, Living With Determination, Memories of the City and many more. Honestly, absolutely insane how much my opinion on the OST changed but I'm super glad I can see now why people love it so much.
Just a couple of random things I liked before I get into the combat. I really like that in part with the theme of death, every single party member experiences the loss of a friend or relative throughout the story. It really makes the dorm's friendship more believable since they can all relate to each other. The 2nd awakenings are easily the best in the nusona games simply because they aren't tied to the social links and are apart of the main story. Really felt impactful, especially Junpei's goddamn man. Also really enjoyed the atmosphere, mostly in the Dark Hour and Tartarus. Seeing how each Tartarus block would look was fun.
Speaking of Tartarus, it's one of the most contentious aspects of the game (along with tactics of course). Some people really love it and some people despise it. Me? It's not terrible but it's definitely the worse of the Nusona dungeons imo (yes I like 4's more) and probably the worst of the PS2 megaten games in terms of its dungeons. Absolutely does not touch DDS1's dungeons for example, but I didn't hate it overall. At first, I was just not getting into it but after a while you get used to the flow of doing a bunch of floors, then social link stuff then Tartarus and repeat. Near the middle of the game is where I was sort of getting burnt out on it a bit, especially since you do have to grind in this game and around that point I feel like enemies weren't giving great exp. Maybe I was over leveled then, idk but near the end game I was getting loads more exp and my personas were actually good so I got over my burn out near the middle of the game. Either way, Tartarus is just meh imo. Thematically it works but gameplay wise it leaves a lot to be desired.
Funnily enough, I ended up thinking more positively on tactics this time around. I still definitely prefer controlling your party members, but tactics works really well for the most part. You just have to not be dumb and engage in the mechanic. If you simply set your party to act freely all the time, then yeah they're gonna do whatever and are more prone to do stupid shit. But if you set them accordingly then I don't see the issue at all really. In fact I found it fun the more tactics you got as you progressed. Though, one issue I personally had is when I want a group heal from Yukari. Someone is super low on health, while the others aren't as low but are still missing a chunk of their health. If only one party member has less than 50% of their health, then she'll single target them and that's it. In that case, I'd want to be able to control my party members but that was about it really. One more still doesn't touch press turn imo, and I'd take controllable party members over tactics I'd say but this game clearly is built around tactics and it works really well.
Honestly, super glad I ended up enjoying FES, even if it's my least favorite nusona and my least favorite PS2 Megaten game. I was expecting to actually dislike this one cuz that's how I felt the few times I tried to get into it. It has its faults but it also has its highs and yeah I recommend playing this even with Reload out now. It may fix some of this games issues idk, but this is still a good time I'd say. Going onto almost 7 years since I got into Persona and Megaten as a whole and I'm just happy to say I've beaten all the nusona games now!
Let's start with the story. I think overall, it's good and has some really fantastic moments. The beginning scene where the MC awakens to his Persona, to the whole turning point in Junpei's arc near the end of the game (if you know you know) to the whole last hour or two. There's some super good moments throughout the game, I just wish the story's pacing was better. After the MC's awakening in the beginning, I found the story to be super slow up until the middle of the game where it starts picking up again. Then near the end before the grand finale I found it dragged a bit. Pacing-wise, I thought it was the worst of the nusona games but specific moment-wise it's some of the best in the series. I do think the whole theme of facing death head on and not being afraid of it and making the most of life is super strong though, especially in the end-game. They really hammer that theme into you by the end but it works really well.
The main cast is solid overall but it can be a mixed bag. I really liked Akihiko, Yukari, Junpei and Aigis by the end of the game. They all felt really fleshed out and I just liked them the most. Mitsuru is decent but I expected her to be better, idk why I found her somewhat bland. Fuuka and Ken are the definitely the weakest party members imo and a big part of that, besides just not caring about their characters as much, was their voice acting. This game has really solid voice acting (the 4 characters I listed at the beginning) and then it has some really awful voice acting (Fuuka, Ken, Shinjiro, the chairman). Fuuka especially man, she sounded more robotic than Aigis it's crazy. This no doubt took me out of the story a bit just cuz those 4 are so prominent. Oh and can't forget Koromaru, interesting that he's the only normal animal sidekick in which he doesnt actually speak but he's a good boy nonetheless.
Going into more of the game's characters, let's talk about the social links. They're a bit more hit or miss in this game compared to 4 and 5. Akinari may be the best social link in the entire series with how good it is. I was tearing up in literally every rank, no doubt due to the music that plays during it. Yukari, Maiko and Chihiro were probably my favorites then after Akinari. I didn't even think Gourmet King's was bad like some people say considering his whole backstory and everything making me sympathize with him. However, a lot of the others I just thought were decent, very meh or just straight up bad. The worst by far was Kenji's, one of the worst in the series imo and just such a nothing Social Link. Same with Bebe, just did absolutely nothing for me. I didn't love 4's social links either but I think overall they're better in that game, especially since there's no male party member SL in 3. Yeah that's a weird omission, along with being forced to romance all the school girl social links, just overall the weakest of the nusona social links imo. It's not a terrible first try at the social aspect tho, but it's clear it's the first game to try to tackle it. 5 definitely has the best social links I think even if there are a couple duds in that game as well.
Something I actually dissed on stupidly was the game's soundtrack. Idk what was wrong with me but I originally just thought it was out right bad (besides battle for everyone's souls) but have since realized it's actually a super great ost, liking it so much now I think I like it more than 4's soundtrack. 5 is still easily my favorite but never did I think I'd like 3's ost more than 4's. Some of my favorite songs were the aforementioned Battle For Everyone's Souls, Joy, Living With Determination, Memories of the City and many more. Honestly, absolutely insane how much my opinion on the OST changed but I'm super glad I can see now why people love it so much.
Just a couple of random things I liked before I get into the combat. I really like that in part with the theme of death, every single party member experiences the loss of a friend or relative throughout the story. It really makes the dorm's friendship more believable since they can all relate to each other. The 2nd awakenings are easily the best in the nusona games simply because they aren't tied to the social links and are apart of the main story. Really felt impactful, especially Junpei's goddamn man. Also really enjoyed the atmosphere, mostly in the Dark Hour and Tartarus. Seeing how each Tartarus block would look was fun.
Speaking of Tartarus, it's one of the most contentious aspects of the game (along with tactics of course). Some people really love it and some people despise it. Me? It's not terrible but it's definitely the worse of the Nusona dungeons imo (yes I like 4's more) and probably the worst of the PS2 megaten games in terms of its dungeons. Absolutely does not touch DDS1's dungeons for example, but I didn't hate it overall. At first, I was just not getting into it but after a while you get used to the flow of doing a bunch of floors, then social link stuff then Tartarus and repeat. Near the middle of the game is where I was sort of getting burnt out on it a bit, especially since you do have to grind in this game and around that point I feel like enemies weren't giving great exp. Maybe I was over leveled then, idk but near the end game I was getting loads more exp and my personas were actually good so I got over my burn out near the middle of the game. Either way, Tartarus is just meh imo. Thematically it works but gameplay wise it leaves a lot to be desired.
Funnily enough, I ended up thinking more positively on tactics this time around. I still definitely prefer controlling your party members, but tactics works really well for the most part. You just have to not be dumb and engage in the mechanic. If you simply set your party to act freely all the time, then yeah they're gonna do whatever and are more prone to do stupid shit. But if you set them accordingly then I don't see the issue at all really. In fact I found it fun the more tactics you got as you progressed. Though, one issue I personally had is when I want a group heal from Yukari. Someone is super low on health, while the others aren't as low but are still missing a chunk of their health. If only one party member has less than 50% of their health, then she'll single target them and that's it. In that case, I'd want to be able to control my party members but that was about it really. One more still doesn't touch press turn imo, and I'd take controllable party members over tactics I'd say but this game clearly is built around tactics and it works really well.
Honestly, super glad I ended up enjoying FES, even if it's my least favorite nusona and my least favorite PS2 Megaten game. I was expecting to actually dislike this one cuz that's how I felt the few times I tried to get into it. It has its faults but it also has its highs and yeah I recommend playing this even with Reload out now. It may fix some of this games issues idk, but this is still a good time I'd say. Going onto almost 7 years since I got into Persona and Megaten as a whole and I'm just happy to say I've beaten all the nusona games now!
