BlackStarGaben
2022
A True Masterpiece Of Gaming
When it comes to video game awards, more often than not, they feel meaningless. Plenty of games have been awarded "Best of show" and achieved "WINNER OF 50 AWARDS!" only to be released and, at best, merely be very good and, at worst, not that good.
Elden Ring deserves all the praise it gets. It is an absolute modern masterpiece and one that will age like fine wine.
This is a souls-like game refined with an open world approach that in no way is bloated but instead uses it to its advantage. Take the visuals. The world of Elden Ring is lovely and bleak. Beautiful and sorrow. Its a testament to FromSoftware that they have done a grand job of world building, lore and visually. There is a minor blemishes but nothing to ever take away that fantasy immersion of sheer wonder and terror that Elden Ring provides. The audio is just fantastic from is orchestral score to the ambience being done to perfection.
This leads to how exploration is implemented. One one hand Elden Ring is all about exploring and taking your time in getting more powerful and skillful, knowing when you can push through and when to retreat and come back to an area/boss when you're more powerful/capable. Rushing or just being stubborn will just see you get your ass handed to you again and again with very little, if any progress. Therefore exploring is highly encouraged but instead of it just being a chore, it becomes a thrill. Not just in curiosity sake (you may find something that makes you more powerful or becomes a vital aid, you may find an area that is too tough which then serves as a goal) but in different kind of environments you can find. Elden Ring is so visually diverse that just finding a new area is a reward in itself.
And boy does Elden Ring make you work for it. If you're not familiar with Dark Souls type of gameplay, lets just say its punishing gameplay that pushes trial and error to the forefront, making you memorize enemies and environment hazards well enough to overcome them. Yes, you will get frustrated, angry and stressed in places. But this is part of the beauty of these types of games. They build up, knowing that, if you keep trying and learn, you will eventually overcome what is causing such pain and those emotions turn into feelings of relief and satisfaction, which make it very gratifying. And to Elden Ring's credit, its not as harsh as past FromSoftware games like Dark Souls trilogy, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or other well known "Souls-Like" such as Nioh.
This is mainly because Elden Ring also expects you to be smart rather then overcome via 100% skill and hard work. Yes, it's all well and good being able to dodge roll and exploit openings from your enemies. But sometimes, you can take advantage of the level design, hiding in a room and cheesing the enemy with a bow while it thrashes around, doing its powerful attacks in futility. Or using a summon to distract the enemy and use hit and run attacks. it's all about "work smarter, not harder" Make no mistake, you will be working hard but you'll also find ways to make the burden less so.
Even its issues can be a blessing? A Boss exhibiting dumb AI? Enemies falling to their deaths? In most games, that lessens the experience. In Elden Ring? That's a reprieve. A "thank god it's happening" moment. You don't scoff at the small mercies Elden Ring provides, you breath a sigh of relief. And in terms of actual issues, its really hard to fault the game. Maybe you can poke at the lack of lore? Well welcome to a FromSoftware game. It can feel longer than a usual souls-like game but that's just the nature of it being an Open-world game.
In reality, the only reason to not give Elden Ring a chance is because you don't like Action-Adventure and/or Open-World games. Otherwise, you owe it to yourself to play Elden Ring. Beautiful, fantastic gameplay with a ton of replayability. It's the kind of game to make you have faith in AAA games. It's a masterpiece.
Rating: 10/10
When it comes to video game awards, more often than not, they feel meaningless. Plenty of games have been awarded "Best of show" and achieved "WINNER OF 50 AWARDS!" only to be released and, at best, merely be very good and, at worst, not that good.
Elden Ring deserves all the praise it gets. It is an absolute modern masterpiece and one that will age like fine wine.
This is a souls-like game refined with an open world approach that in no way is bloated but instead uses it to its advantage. Take the visuals. The world of Elden Ring is lovely and bleak. Beautiful and sorrow. Its a testament to FromSoftware that they have done a grand job of world building, lore and visually. There is a minor blemishes but nothing to ever take away that fantasy immersion of sheer wonder and terror that Elden Ring provides. The audio is just fantastic from is orchestral score to the ambience being done to perfection.
This leads to how exploration is implemented. One one hand Elden Ring is all about exploring and taking your time in getting more powerful and skillful, knowing when you can push through and when to retreat and come back to an area/boss when you're more powerful/capable. Rushing or just being stubborn will just see you get your ass handed to you again and again with very little, if any progress. Therefore exploring is highly encouraged but instead of it just being a chore, it becomes a thrill. Not just in curiosity sake (you may find something that makes you more powerful or becomes a vital aid, you may find an area that is too tough which then serves as a goal) but in different kind of environments you can find. Elden Ring is so visually diverse that just finding a new area is a reward in itself.
And boy does Elden Ring make you work for it. If you're not familiar with Dark Souls type of gameplay, lets just say its punishing gameplay that pushes trial and error to the forefront, making you memorize enemies and environment hazards well enough to overcome them. Yes, you will get frustrated, angry and stressed in places. But this is part of the beauty of these types of games. They build up, knowing that, if you keep trying and learn, you will eventually overcome what is causing such pain and those emotions turn into feelings of relief and satisfaction, which make it very gratifying. And to Elden Ring's credit, its not as harsh as past FromSoftware games like Dark Souls trilogy, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or other well known "Souls-Like" such as Nioh.
This is mainly because Elden Ring also expects you to be smart rather then overcome via 100% skill and hard work. Yes, it's all well and good being able to dodge roll and exploit openings from your enemies. But sometimes, you can take advantage of the level design, hiding in a room and cheesing the enemy with a bow while it thrashes around, doing its powerful attacks in futility. Or using a summon to distract the enemy and use hit and run attacks. it's all about "work smarter, not harder" Make no mistake, you will be working hard but you'll also find ways to make the burden less so.
Even its issues can be a blessing? A Boss exhibiting dumb AI? Enemies falling to their deaths? In most games, that lessens the experience. In Elden Ring? That's a reprieve. A "thank god it's happening" moment. You don't scoff at the small mercies Elden Ring provides, you breath a sigh of relief. And in terms of actual issues, its really hard to fault the game. Maybe you can poke at the lack of lore? Well welcome to a FromSoftware game. It can feel longer than a usual souls-like game but that's just the nature of it being an Open-world game.
In reality, the only reason to not give Elden Ring a chance is because you don't like Action-Adventure and/or Open-World games. Otherwise, you owe it to yourself to play Elden Ring. Beautiful, fantastic gameplay with a ton of replayability. It's the kind of game to make you have faith in AAA games. It's a masterpiece.
Rating: 10/10
A.k.a Shin Megami Like A Dragon Quest Tensei
And now for something completely different. With Judgment having been wrapped up and Ryu Ga Gotoku team still not ready to bring back Kiryu, they needed a new hero with a new story. But clearly they felt this was the perfect time to try something different for the franchise. And boy was it different.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a turn-based JRPG. The reason being is that Ichiban, a former Yakuza who becomes a problem solving hero, sees life as a video game. Not literally (well, not always) but rather he sees life's issues and solutions as ode's to a favourite game of his (which is alluded to be Dragon Quest and indeed the game has many shout-outs to that franchise.) Thus as he unravels a Yakuza plot wrapped around politics and corruption via power, we bust heads not with timed combos and sidestepping but onscreen commands that see Ichiban and co due abilities, cast "magic" and summons.
This leads to an over-the-top presentation that would be out of place in any other Yakuza game (even with its known goofiness) but here, fits YLAD very well. The visual flair is fantastic and while the animation can be janky and we still have issue, where non-essential character models can look plastic and/or uncanny and even essential characters can have a wooden or derpy look depending on the emotions they are meant to be having. Yakuza games tend to have, it's overshadowed by just how cool and flashy everything is.
While we have brief stops in familar location Kamurocho and Sotenbori, the main crux of the story takes place in Yokohama (Isezaki Ijincho), a place that soon becomes very known in the mind, aside from some weird visual issues such as grass pop-up, retains the vibrant presentation that the Like a Dragon series has shown throughout its games.
Of course, how does the gameplay fare? Very solid. Combat is fun and there is a semi-experimentation vibe due to everyone being able to switch classes (or rather "jobs") and its cool to see how the new attacks look, see what are the most effective for a situation/different enemies and assign favourite ones. Since this is the first implementation of a JRPG system in a Yakuza game though, it's not all clear sailing and it has a element of roughness, as some skills can be RNG due to the ways enemies don't stand still, so lining them up can be due to being ultra quick, lucky that they are in position or waiting an absurd amount of time, meaning some area of effect attacks are wasted.
Also as this is a JRPG AND a Yakuza game, you're going to find its very grindy in places, especially if you want certain items/equipment. The past Yakuza games already required dedication to achieve or gain certain stuff and this being a JRPG just adds to it. While this doesn't affect the main story and substories difficulty too much, aside from a few nasty battles, this can mean you will need to sink an ungodly huge amount of time if you're one of those who seek 100% or even get most stuff.
Still its worthwhile and a lot of fun to experience a Yakuza game as a JRPG and YLAD pulls it off well.
Story wise, its another engaging banger with a great cast of characters (Ichiban easily solidifies himself as a great main character) and a plot that is not just interesting but with some good twists too. Yes its goofy, a lot of the times and there is a lot of great fanservice for those who have played the past games. But its also not afraid to gut punch you many times through it's playthrough, with some hard-hitting scenes. Of course, it has many uplifting wholesome moments as well, mainly in the sub-stories which are, as always, great to go out of your way to see.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is rough around the edges but its a hugely successful twist on the Yakuza series and one that can't help but leave a smile on your face.
Rating: 9/10
And now for something completely different. With Judgment having been wrapped up and Ryu Ga Gotoku team still not ready to bring back Kiryu, they needed a new hero with a new story. But clearly they felt this was the perfect time to try something different for the franchise. And boy was it different.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a turn-based JRPG. The reason being is that Ichiban, a former Yakuza who becomes a problem solving hero, sees life as a video game. Not literally (well, not always) but rather he sees life's issues and solutions as ode's to a favourite game of his (which is alluded to be Dragon Quest and indeed the game has many shout-outs to that franchise.) Thus as he unravels a Yakuza plot wrapped around politics and corruption via power, we bust heads not with timed combos and sidestepping but onscreen commands that see Ichiban and co due abilities, cast "magic" and summons.
This leads to an over-the-top presentation that would be out of place in any other Yakuza game (even with its known goofiness) but here, fits YLAD very well. The visual flair is fantastic and while the animation can be janky and we still have issue, where non-essential character models can look plastic and/or uncanny and even essential characters can have a wooden or derpy look depending on the emotions they are meant to be having. Yakuza games tend to have, it's overshadowed by just how cool and flashy everything is.
While we have brief stops in familar location Kamurocho and Sotenbori, the main crux of the story takes place in Yokohama (Isezaki Ijincho), a place that soon becomes very known in the mind, aside from some weird visual issues such as grass pop-up, retains the vibrant presentation that the Like a Dragon series has shown throughout its games.
Of course, how does the gameplay fare? Very solid. Combat is fun and there is a semi-experimentation vibe due to everyone being able to switch classes (or rather "jobs") and its cool to see how the new attacks look, see what are the most effective for a situation/different enemies and assign favourite ones. Since this is the first implementation of a JRPG system in a Yakuza game though, it's not all clear sailing and it has a element of roughness, as some skills can be RNG due to the ways enemies don't stand still, so lining them up can be due to being ultra quick, lucky that they are in position or waiting an absurd amount of time, meaning some area of effect attacks are wasted.
Also as this is a JRPG AND a Yakuza game, you're going to find its very grindy in places, especially if you want certain items/equipment. The past Yakuza games already required dedication to achieve or gain certain stuff and this being a JRPG just adds to it. While this doesn't affect the main story and substories difficulty too much, aside from a few nasty battles, this can mean you will need to sink an ungodly huge amount of time if you're one of those who seek 100% or even get most stuff.
Still its worthwhile and a lot of fun to experience a Yakuza game as a JRPG and YLAD pulls it off well.
Story wise, its another engaging banger with a great cast of characters (Ichiban easily solidifies himself as a great main character) and a plot that is not just interesting but with some good twists too. Yes its goofy, a lot of the times and there is a lot of great fanservice for those who have played the past games. But its also not afraid to gut punch you many times through it's playthrough, with some hard-hitting scenes. Of course, it has many uplifting wholesome moments as well, mainly in the sub-stories which are, as always, great to go out of your way to see.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is rough around the edges but its a hugely successful twist on the Yakuza series and one that can't help but leave a smile on your face.
Rating: 9/10
2018
An Engaging, If Uneven, Entry In The Ryu Ga Gotoku Franchise
With Kiryu having concluded his story (well until you get to a certain recent game) in Yakuza 6 but fans still wanting the same Ryu Ga Gotoku goodness, it was time for a new story to take the mantle. Enter Yagami, former lawyer turned detective, he becomes embroiled in a conspiracy that will bring past events back to haunt him.
While Judgment is its own game, its really hard to not compare it to the previous series and this shows that Judgment isn't quite the step forward one might hope.
For one, the energy is lacking, at least compared to the Yakuza series that followed before it. And the sub-stories, while still very good, aren't nearly on the level of past games with many outcomes feeling forced. The new mini-games aren't as fun and the combat isn't as thrilling, especially with an annoying mechanic introduced involving gangs and the level up being simplified.
That said, the graphics, once you get past this weird noir tint it seems to have, are excellent with character animations and facial responses no longer looking wooden (though there is still some derp here and there), the final chapter is really fantastic, with some awesome fight choreography, capping off a thrilling story. This is helped by a really engaging main cast and a cool, captivating antagonist. And while it may present more of a series face, there is still the odd goofy moments that you can't help but smile at.
At the end of the day, this is still a very good game and is still very much worth playing for those wanting more adventure from Kamurocho, the city that never sleeps while still providing trouble and eating the weak.
Rating: 8/10
With Kiryu having concluded his story (well until you get to a certain recent game) in Yakuza 6 but fans still wanting the same Ryu Ga Gotoku goodness, it was time for a new story to take the mantle. Enter Yagami, former lawyer turned detective, he becomes embroiled in a conspiracy that will bring past events back to haunt him.
While Judgment is its own game, its really hard to not compare it to the previous series and this shows that Judgment isn't quite the step forward one might hope.
For one, the energy is lacking, at least compared to the Yakuza series that followed before it. And the sub-stories, while still very good, aren't nearly on the level of past games with many outcomes feeling forced. The new mini-games aren't as fun and the combat isn't as thrilling, especially with an annoying mechanic introduced involving gangs and the level up being simplified.
That said, the graphics, once you get past this weird noir tint it seems to have, are excellent with character animations and facial responses no longer looking wooden (though there is still some derp here and there), the final chapter is really fantastic, with some awesome fight choreography, capping off a thrilling story. This is helped by a really engaging main cast and a cool, captivating antagonist. And while it may present more of a series face, there is still the odd goofy moments that you can't help but smile at.
At the end of the day, this is still a very good game and is still very much worth playing for those wanting more adventure from Kamurocho, the city that never sleeps while still providing trouble and eating the weak.
Rating: 8/10
2015
A Weird But Engaging 4X
Thea: The Shattering is a strange 4X that does things differently, acting more as a hybrid that is 4X x Choose Your Own Adventure x Roguelike
It has its quirks (only one settlement) and its issues (lack of map screen can mean trying to locate/re-find something a pain) but there is something addictive about this game, with the scenarios amusing and making your party stronger gradually to take on tougher challenges making Thea: The Shattering have that "one more go" quality to it.
It's rough around the edges, it takes a while to get use to, but this a 4X that should be given a chance too.
Rating: 7/10
Thea: The Shattering is a strange 4X that does things differently, acting more as a hybrid that is 4X x Choose Your Own Adventure x Roguelike
It has its quirks (only one settlement) and its issues (lack of map screen can mean trying to locate/re-find something a pain) but there is something addictive about this game, with the scenarios amusing and making your party stronger gradually to take on tougher challenges making Thea: The Shattering have that "one more go" quality to it.
It's rough around the edges, it takes a while to get use to, but this a 4X that should be given a chance too.
Rating: 7/10
2024
Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money
Around a year ago, Palworld appeared. "Pokemon with guns" was the instant cry and it was thought this would simply be a janky meme game.
Come release and, Palworld has so far survived the Big N (for now) and done incredibly well, pulling in numbers that would make most AAA studios consider sacrificing their loved ones for.
And of course, cynicism dictates that the meme has carried it and it's just the "flavour of the month" and while those are valid points, there is another one to consider. The game is good. Very good.
There is charm to the whole thing, a sort of cheeky, vibrant energy. Yes the meme is real but this is also a legit game with solid gameplay, a "one more hour" vibe to it as you work towards getting new stuff to build. Adding the capturing Pals just adds to the gameplay. And while the Pals design maybe a case of copying someone's homework, they still look pretty good visually.
It does have the usual survival genre issues in that gathering resources can be monotone, hunger is a bit too constant, the world design could be better and there's really no true goals. And keep in mind its Early Access (more so on Xbox/PC Game Pass due to how it operates, meaning updates will be behind the steam version). Which means we can witness such jankyness such as Pals pathfinding becoming wonky, lack of information input, UI being a bit of a drag to navigate and not much to do.
But, again providing it does survive in the long run, there is a foundation here that is very solid and can be built upon and have players return again and again, with the core gameplay loop being oddly a lot of fun and addictive that its enough to carry it.
We're no longer laughing at Palworld. We're laughing with it.
Rating 7/10
Around a year ago, Palworld appeared. "Pokemon with guns" was the instant cry and it was thought this would simply be a janky meme game.
Come release and, Palworld has so far survived the Big N (for now) and done incredibly well, pulling in numbers that would make most AAA studios consider sacrificing their loved ones for.
And of course, cynicism dictates that the meme has carried it and it's just the "flavour of the month" and while those are valid points, there is another one to consider. The game is good. Very good.
There is charm to the whole thing, a sort of cheeky, vibrant energy. Yes the meme is real but this is also a legit game with solid gameplay, a "one more hour" vibe to it as you work towards getting new stuff to build. Adding the capturing Pals just adds to the gameplay. And while the Pals design maybe a case of copying someone's homework, they still look pretty good visually.
It does have the usual survival genre issues in that gathering resources can be monotone, hunger is a bit too constant, the world design could be better and there's really no true goals. And keep in mind its Early Access (more so on Xbox/PC Game Pass due to how it operates, meaning updates will be behind the steam version). Which means we can witness such jankyness such as Pals pathfinding becoming wonky, lack of information input, UI being a bit of a drag to navigate and not much to do.
But, again providing it does survive in the long run, there is a foundation here that is very solid and can be built upon and have players return again and again, with the core gameplay loop being oddly a lot of fun and addictive that its enough to carry it.
We're no longer laughing at Palworld. We're laughing with it.
Rating 7/10
2006
An infamous game, thanks to a certain review by IGN and its no hand-holding approach that leads to insane difficulty, God Hand is a very good game, albeit with a huge caveat. Getting good enough to appreciate it.
While the IGN review may be laughable, it did point out some truths. This game does not ease you in. From the first stage, you can die very easily as you realize you can't brute force your way or get "lucky".
It's not just the enemies that make the game brutal. The dynamic difficulty rewards and punishes players by granting more loot but also buffing enemies the better you do and with a huge range of moves to learn and pick from, it's going to be trial and error to find out what works and what will get you killed quickly.
So in order to enjoy this game, you're going to have to "git gud." many years before the phrase would come to existence thanks to the Souls franchise, God Hand laid down the concept, challenging cocky gamers with a knowingly smug look that only few would prove worthy.
Which is a shame in one sense. God Hand does not take it self seriously and has a fantastic sense of humour with the story, enemies and even the combat itself (the first major boss could only be described as a villainous Mexican Elvis...it makes sense in context. Kinda.) And despite the levels being set in a ghost town, caves and other generic locations, the level design is so well done it adds to the presentation. Combine it with some hella catchy music and you have Capcom at their self-acknowledging best.
It's a game that should be experienced but there should be no shame if you don't find it's for you and the difficulty is too much (even easy is anything but) but for those that persevere and triumph, there is a beautiful, near-great game that should be more respected for trying to bring something different to the beat 'em up genre.
Rating: 8/10
While the IGN review may be laughable, it did point out some truths. This game does not ease you in. From the first stage, you can die very easily as you realize you can't brute force your way or get "lucky".
It's not just the enemies that make the game brutal. The dynamic difficulty rewards and punishes players by granting more loot but also buffing enemies the better you do and with a huge range of moves to learn and pick from, it's going to be trial and error to find out what works and what will get you killed quickly.
So in order to enjoy this game, you're going to have to "git gud." many years before the phrase would come to existence thanks to the Souls franchise, God Hand laid down the concept, challenging cocky gamers with a knowingly smug look that only few would prove worthy.
Which is a shame in one sense. God Hand does not take it self seriously and has a fantastic sense of humour with the story, enemies and even the combat itself (the first major boss could only be described as a villainous Mexican Elvis...it makes sense in context. Kinda.) And despite the levels being set in a ghost town, caves and other generic locations, the level design is so well done it adds to the presentation. Combine it with some hella catchy music and you have Capcom at their self-acknowledging best.
It's a game that should be experienced but there should be no shame if you don't find it's for you and the difficulty is too much (even easy is anything but) but for those that persevere and triumph, there is a beautiful, near-great game that should be more respected for trying to bring something different to the beat 'em up genre.
Rating: 8/10
A Story About Taxes, Mafia And Hats
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is the story of a young Turnip who has to do several deeds for the mayor or risk punishment, due to evading tax.
And so off you go, doing favours for other people to get what you need to please the mayor. And rip up tax documents. And collect hats. And defend himself from vegetarians. And how can he do all this without any arms?
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is a charming Legend of Zelda (2D) style of game, with some satire towards gameplay of the action-adventure, pop culture and taxes. It has charming graphics and music and doesn't outstay its welcome, clocking in at around 3 hours minus extras and getting all achievements.
It really doesn't have many issues. A lack of a map system or objective checklist are really the only complaints. A more explored game could have been something but this is a easy recommended for someone that wants something light, non-challenging and have a surprising amount of layers (albeit goofy) to the story.
Rating: 7/10
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is the story of a young Turnip who has to do several deeds for the mayor or risk punishment, due to evading tax.
And so off you go, doing favours for other people to get what you need to please the mayor. And rip up tax documents. And collect hats. And defend himself from vegetarians. And how can he do all this without any arms?
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is a charming Legend of Zelda (2D) style of game, with some satire towards gameplay of the action-adventure, pop culture and taxes. It has charming graphics and music and doesn't outstay its welcome, clocking in at around 3 hours minus extras and getting all achievements.
It really doesn't have many issues. A lack of a map system or objective checklist are really the only complaints. A more explored game could have been something but this is a easy recommended for someone that wants something light, non-challenging and have a surprising amount of layers (albeit goofy) to the story.
Rating: 7/10
1995
A Fantastic Fighting Game That Deserves To Not Be Forgotten
For those who love their Marvel vs Capcom 2, 3 or any other Vs. Crossover game, some might not realize that they owe a debt of gratitude to two fighting games: X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes.
While Capcom had worked with Marvel before (See X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse, Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems and The Punisher Arcade), it was these two bangers that blew the gates off and provide a team-up that would prove fruitful for a very long time.
To say Marvel Super Heroes presentation is spot on would be an understatement. The animation is slick, the special moves reflect a hero (and villains) personality fantastically, the background stages are well designed and the soundtrack is very catchy (standout is Spider-Man's stage theme) with the audio being excellent.
Capcom had taken the fighting from X-Men: Children of the Atom and tweaked it to be more looser and fast. Add in a gem system which allowed you to activate a power depending on which gem, gave it a slightly different dynamic. Its fantastic and just pure chill to play rounds with a friend as you try to out marvel one another.
Even if Marvel Super Heroes has been superseded by later fighting games involving the Marvel universe (let alone anything outside of Capcom), it still holds up very well and is just such a fantastic visual and audio treat to experience. Pure fighting game bliss.
For those who love their Marvel vs Capcom 2, 3 or any other Vs. Crossover game, some might not realize that they owe a debt of gratitude to two fighting games: X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes.
While Capcom had worked with Marvel before (See X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse, Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems and The Punisher Arcade), it was these two bangers that blew the gates off and provide a team-up that would prove fruitful for a very long time.
To say Marvel Super Heroes presentation is spot on would be an understatement. The animation is slick, the special moves reflect a hero (and villains) personality fantastically, the background stages are well designed and the soundtrack is very catchy (standout is Spider-Man's stage theme) with the audio being excellent.
Capcom had taken the fighting from X-Men: Children of the Atom and tweaked it to be more looser and fast. Add in a gem system which allowed you to activate a power depending on which gem, gave it a slightly different dynamic. Its fantastic and just pure chill to play rounds with a friend as you try to out marvel one another.
Even if Marvel Super Heroes has been superseded by later fighting games involving the Marvel universe (let alone anything outside of Capcom), it still holds up very well and is just such a fantastic visual and audio treat to experience. Pure fighting game bliss.
A Good Follow-Up To X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
Sequel to X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse, the story this time is popular marvel characters The Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine and Captain America have teamed up to help Adam Warlock prevent the Infinity Gems from being taken and used by Thanos.
Presentation wise its pretty similar. The stages looks much more detailed and have more personality than the mostly bland ones found in Mutant Apocalypse. A trade off is that there is less enemy variety and many bosses and mini-bosses end up becoming generic mooks with just colour changes, as well as other standard enemies just appearing as slightly tougher versions via palette swap. Animation also seems to have been downgraded. But least the Marvel characters and some notable bosses are well realised.
The music is still quite weak and the sound effects aren't nothing to write home about. That said, its not horrible or ear-grating, merely middle of the road.
Gameplay is similar but with a few new or changed wrinkles; Power-ups you collect are not instantly applied but are instead collected and can be used before you start a stage. Each Marvel hero can be used for any stage but they only have one life. If you lose all your life, they are out for good (unless you have a revive item handy). Once you gain them you can equip a gem to 1) give you a buff depending on the gem and 2) gain access to your heroes super move, which can be used a limited amount of times.
In terms of using the superheroes, there seems to be slightly less moves to use but, aside from the super moves, they aren't hard to execute. Otherwise its just the same as Mutant Apocalypse; traverse through the stages, beating up enemies now and get to the boss and beat them down to clear the stage (and possibly get a gem). There's more traps and platforming sections this time around that said.
War of the Gems seems more balanced than Mutant Apocalypse. There is less BS segments and depending on the Marvel character you choose, you can even be clever and skip parts of the stages. There's still the trial-and-error factor but it seems a lot easier to learn about the stages this time round.
Overall this might not be an improvement on X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse, though it's the less frustrating of the two. Instead this is a solid follow-up that is worth playing.
Rating: 7/10
Sequel to X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse, the story this time is popular marvel characters The Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine and Captain America have teamed up to help Adam Warlock prevent the Infinity Gems from being taken and used by Thanos.
Presentation wise its pretty similar. The stages looks much more detailed and have more personality than the mostly bland ones found in Mutant Apocalypse. A trade off is that there is less enemy variety and many bosses and mini-bosses end up becoming generic mooks with just colour changes, as well as other standard enemies just appearing as slightly tougher versions via palette swap. Animation also seems to have been downgraded. But least the Marvel characters and some notable bosses are well realised.
The music is still quite weak and the sound effects aren't nothing to write home about. That said, its not horrible or ear-grating, merely middle of the road.
Gameplay is similar but with a few new or changed wrinkles; Power-ups you collect are not instantly applied but are instead collected and can be used before you start a stage. Each Marvel hero can be used for any stage but they only have one life. If you lose all your life, they are out for good (unless you have a revive item handy). Once you gain them you can equip a gem to 1) give you a buff depending on the gem and 2) gain access to your heroes super move, which can be used a limited amount of times.
In terms of using the superheroes, there seems to be slightly less moves to use but, aside from the super moves, they aren't hard to execute. Otherwise its just the same as Mutant Apocalypse; traverse through the stages, beating up enemies now and get to the boss and beat them down to clear the stage (and possibly get a gem). There's more traps and platforming sections this time around that said.
War of the Gems seems more balanced than Mutant Apocalypse. There is less BS segments and depending on the Marvel character you choose, you can even be clever and skip parts of the stages. There's still the trial-and-error factor but it seems a lot easier to learn about the stages this time round.
Overall this might not be an improvement on X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse, though it's the less frustrating of the two. Instead this is a solid follow-up that is worth playing.
Rating: 7/10
No-Thrills Package Offering That Offers Fun And Frustration
Gunblade NY and L.A. Machineguns highlight the arcade lightgun experience of their era, fast, chaotic, fun, frustrating, credit-hungry, albeit on a smaller scale and with the visual charm somewhat downgraded.
The “plot” in each game involves stopping robotic terrorists from doing bad things via the good old fashioned method of pumping them with bullets.
Though each game is similar in how you play them, we should check them out separately to see how they do so:
GunBlade NY
Unless you have a love for Sega Saturn/Model 2-esque visuals, its quite hard to not see the visuals as dated. There is a nostalgia charm for those who experienced it in the arcades but without the actual cabinet to distract you, it’s more noticeable to see that the visuals leave a lot to be desired. That said the stages do tend to have some nice visual touches such as the store name.
The audio is quite punchy. The “budda budda” of the bullets, the ricochet noise and hits being register all leave an assault on the sense. The constant warning sound and, at later stages, the lady saying “DAMAGE” can be grating though. This also means the music is drowned out, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing (though admittedly the Normal’s first stage has a catchy theme)
Gameplay its fast and frantic and for the first two stages (on Normal. Expert is another matter), its quite exhilarating to swoop high and low just blasting enemies and missiles to avoid damage. However, after that the gloves come off and the game drops all pretences of being fair. Some hits feel unavoidable. Usually due to the chaos of enemies swarming you but at times it does feel like the game doesn’t register you shooting down a missile. And while “Only” Three stages on Normal mission and Four on Expert mission but good luck getting through the latter on one credit. Even normal has the obligatory cheap final boss
L.A. Machineguns
Visually looks much better and less dated. While the graphics are still a product of their time, they’ve held up much better. The busywork of the locations is excellent too, making it feel less like a ghost town that Gunblade NY places did.
For a lightgun game, gameplay feels much more involved then GunBlade NY. You have a combo meter, have to watch out for casualties (though thankfully hitting them only affects your score) and the time limit is against you unlike Gunblade NY, where it was mostly for score.
That said, there is still the cheap factor of getting hit too easily. Stage two onwards is when the hits keep coming unless you have god-like reflexes or another player who is competent.
In fact, it seems easier with two players for both games, being able to cover each other in ways that reduce the danger of losing a life.
The score reflects what is a no-thrills, content light game. Sure you have score mode on Gunblade NY, you can unlock ranks which means unlocking new shot type but really that’s it. The gameplay is solid and this is a nice casual blast if you can pick up for cheap but don’t expect anything other than a quick thrill, one fun and frustrating in equal measures.
Rating: 6/10
Gunblade NY and L.A. Machineguns highlight the arcade lightgun experience of their era, fast, chaotic, fun, frustrating, credit-hungry, albeit on a smaller scale and with the visual charm somewhat downgraded.
The “plot” in each game involves stopping robotic terrorists from doing bad things via the good old fashioned method of pumping them with bullets.
Though each game is similar in how you play them, we should check them out separately to see how they do so:
GunBlade NY
Unless you have a love for Sega Saturn/Model 2-esque visuals, its quite hard to not see the visuals as dated. There is a nostalgia charm for those who experienced it in the arcades but without the actual cabinet to distract you, it’s more noticeable to see that the visuals leave a lot to be desired. That said the stages do tend to have some nice visual touches such as the store name.
The audio is quite punchy. The “budda budda” of the bullets, the ricochet noise and hits being register all leave an assault on the sense. The constant warning sound and, at later stages, the lady saying “DAMAGE” can be grating though. This also means the music is drowned out, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing (though admittedly the Normal’s first stage has a catchy theme)
Gameplay its fast and frantic and for the first two stages (on Normal. Expert is another matter), its quite exhilarating to swoop high and low just blasting enemies and missiles to avoid damage. However, after that the gloves come off and the game drops all pretences of being fair. Some hits feel unavoidable. Usually due to the chaos of enemies swarming you but at times it does feel like the game doesn’t register you shooting down a missile. And while “Only” Three stages on Normal mission and Four on Expert mission but good luck getting through the latter on one credit. Even normal has the obligatory cheap final boss
L.A. Machineguns
Visually looks much better and less dated. While the graphics are still a product of their time, they’ve held up much better. The busywork of the locations is excellent too, making it feel less like a ghost town that Gunblade NY places did.
For a lightgun game, gameplay feels much more involved then GunBlade NY. You have a combo meter, have to watch out for casualties (though thankfully hitting them only affects your score) and the time limit is against you unlike Gunblade NY, where it was mostly for score.
That said, there is still the cheap factor of getting hit too easily. Stage two onwards is when the hits keep coming unless you have god-like reflexes or another player who is competent.
In fact, it seems easier with two players for both games, being able to cover each other in ways that reduce the danger of losing a life.
The score reflects what is a no-thrills, content light game. Sure you have score mode on Gunblade NY, you can unlock ranks which means unlocking new shot type but really that’s it. The gameplay is solid and this is a nice casual blast if you can pick up for cheap but don’t expect anything other than a quick thrill, one fun and frustrating in equal measures.
Rating: 6/10
An Uneven But Good X-Men Game
The Island of Genosha has captured and enslaved mutants via the commands of its dictator Apocalypse. Professor Xavier sends Wolverine, Cyclops, Psylocke, Gambit and Beast to put a stop to this.
Of course this won’t be an easy task. Because it’s a Capcom game on the SNES, a company that tend to either make their games not too difficult (Aladdin or Disney’s Magical Quest) or have it be pretty brutal until you learn the game (Mega Man X). X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse definitely falls into the latter.
Initially, rather than choose your favourite X-men out of the bunch and go through all stages, you instead get a specific stage with each character. Some are easier than others (Cyclops and Psylocke’s are likely the ones where you will meet the most difficulty). Once this is done, you continue through more stages where this time, you can select whichever X-Men you decide.
Gameplay is a 2D beat ‘em up with platform sections. The gameplay is solid but a caveat is that X-Men abilities are done in a Street Fighter-like manner; Want to unleash Cyclops blast beam? I hope you can do a hadouken input! Its not all complicated but it might throw some people off who expect a simpler control scheme for moves. That said, it does make each character stand out and everything else is standard.
This means that some stages (and bosses) are going to be easier with certain characters, so its the trial-and-error. And for most of your time spent on X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse will be finding this out the hard way.
The reason for its difficulty is that even normal mooks can deplete a good chunk of your energy via swarm tactics, early game can see cheap enemies introduced depending on who you picked, and if you lose a life, its back to the start of the stage. Yup, no checkpoints. Did you get punched to your doom while escaping a crumbling roof? Restart! Did you die to the boss? Restart! And if ONE of your X-Men loses all their lives (in the first half of the game)? GAME OVER! And while the game uses a password system, you don’t get your first one till you beat the first five stages. Another factor is that health pick-ups are sparse and you have to go out of your way to get an extra life.
Oddly, the second half of the game is easier though is still no cakewalk and has the usual BS.
It comes down to basically a game where you need to memorize everything to beat a stage with at least minimal mistakes. Because just one bad turn and you’re starting a level again. There is an initial frustration of cheap deaths but there is a satisfaction of suddenly things clicking and you find the optimal way to get through a level or beat a boss. There is a training mode but that only allows you to do the first five stages.
When it comes to presentation, X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse does the job. Visuals are very nice. Bright, large it feels like an X-Men game. And while some may prefer the gritty visuals that the Mega Drive game did, it hard not to feel its distinctive. Stage design is a slight let down, though Wolverine’s stage is pretty nifty in that you use his claws to climb certain parts of the stage and Beast’s showcases his ceiling-clinging ability (which is needed unless you want to lose lives quickly). Audio is less satisfactory as the music is like a weaker version of Mega Man X games, a little catchy but not memorable.
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse doesn’t quite reach greatness as the difficulty spikes, cheap hits and deaths, with a presentation that could be stronger. But its still a good game that offers a challenge and a feeling of satisfaction once beaten. Well worth a go.
Rating: 7/10
The Island of Genosha has captured and enslaved mutants via the commands of its dictator Apocalypse. Professor Xavier sends Wolverine, Cyclops, Psylocke, Gambit and Beast to put a stop to this.
Of course this won’t be an easy task. Because it’s a Capcom game on the SNES, a company that tend to either make their games not too difficult (Aladdin or Disney’s Magical Quest) or have it be pretty brutal until you learn the game (Mega Man X). X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse definitely falls into the latter.
Initially, rather than choose your favourite X-men out of the bunch and go through all stages, you instead get a specific stage with each character. Some are easier than others (Cyclops and Psylocke’s are likely the ones where you will meet the most difficulty). Once this is done, you continue through more stages where this time, you can select whichever X-Men you decide.
Gameplay is a 2D beat ‘em up with platform sections. The gameplay is solid but a caveat is that X-Men abilities are done in a Street Fighter-like manner; Want to unleash Cyclops blast beam? I hope you can do a hadouken input! Its not all complicated but it might throw some people off who expect a simpler control scheme for moves. That said, it does make each character stand out and everything else is standard.
This means that some stages (and bosses) are going to be easier with certain characters, so its the trial-and-error. And for most of your time spent on X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse will be finding this out the hard way.
The reason for its difficulty is that even normal mooks can deplete a good chunk of your energy via swarm tactics, early game can see cheap enemies introduced depending on who you picked, and if you lose a life, its back to the start of the stage. Yup, no checkpoints. Did you get punched to your doom while escaping a crumbling roof? Restart! Did you die to the boss? Restart! And if ONE of your X-Men loses all their lives (in the first half of the game)? GAME OVER! And while the game uses a password system, you don’t get your first one till you beat the first five stages. Another factor is that health pick-ups are sparse and you have to go out of your way to get an extra life.
Oddly, the second half of the game is easier though is still no cakewalk and has the usual BS.
It comes down to basically a game where you need to memorize everything to beat a stage with at least minimal mistakes. Because just one bad turn and you’re starting a level again. There is an initial frustration of cheap deaths but there is a satisfaction of suddenly things clicking and you find the optimal way to get through a level or beat a boss. There is a training mode but that only allows you to do the first five stages.
When it comes to presentation, X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse does the job. Visuals are very nice. Bright, large it feels like an X-Men game. And while some may prefer the gritty visuals that the Mega Drive game did, it hard not to feel its distinctive. Stage design is a slight let down, though Wolverine’s stage is pretty nifty in that you use his claws to climb certain parts of the stage and Beast’s showcases his ceiling-clinging ability (which is needed unless you want to lose lives quickly). Audio is less satisfactory as the music is like a weaker version of Mega Man X games, a little catchy but not memorable.
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse doesn’t quite reach greatness as the difficulty spikes, cheap hits and deaths, with a presentation that could be stronger. But its still a good game that offers a challenge and a feeling of satisfaction once beaten. Well worth a go.
Rating: 7/10
1993
“Mum, can we get Strider?”
“We have Strider at home”
RunSaber.png
When Strider was released to arcades in 1989, it blew people away. A marvel showcase in terms of visuals and hyper-kinetic gameplay, Strider was a big deal for many years. So it's no surprises that there were clones (as well as numerous Strider ports) and while some hit the mark (Mega Drive port of Strider, Cannon Dancer/Osman in Arcades), some just missed the mark by a long shot. Run Saber is the latter, a title that publishers Atlus won't be quick to bring back
Released three years into the Super Nintendo's existence, Run Saber has no excuses for looking as bland as it does. Though there is variation, enemies just look simple (aside from stage 2 boss, which is pretty cool design) and the level design is forgettable. Animation is also basic. Its not all horrible but it just feels so mediocre that its almost painful and what is bad (awful Mode 7 effects) is cringing. The music and audio effects are just there, with nothing memorable to stand out.
Gameplay is the game. While the controls are admittedly decent, with the strider-cloned platforming movement intact and there is some decent offensive options, Run Saber never does anything with it to take advantage of these things or challenge the player, aside from the rare tricky platforming and it's held back by the slower pace of the game and how movement feels like your walking on a sticky floor.
The game itself is pretty easy overall by default. Some of the minibosses and bosses make cost you a life at first but once you figure out their patterns, they become cakewalk. (It is funny how minibosses can be tougher than bosses). Hard is a challenge but only due to the relentless pace of the enemies and pickups being less. With only five stages the game won't take long to finish. Again there is nothing inherently bad with the game but its just so "meh" that it feels a letdown.
Run Saber tries to copy the homework of Strider but doesn't understand what its copying and so just churns out something that is middle of the road. A forgettable experience, more so by the giant looming shadow of its inspiration.
Rating: 5/10
“We have Strider at home”
RunSaber.png
When Strider was released to arcades in 1989, it blew people away. A marvel showcase in terms of visuals and hyper-kinetic gameplay, Strider was a big deal for many years. So it's no surprises that there were clones (as well as numerous Strider ports) and while some hit the mark (Mega Drive port of Strider, Cannon Dancer/Osman in Arcades), some just missed the mark by a long shot. Run Saber is the latter, a title that publishers Atlus won't be quick to bring back
Released three years into the Super Nintendo's existence, Run Saber has no excuses for looking as bland as it does. Though there is variation, enemies just look simple (aside from stage 2 boss, which is pretty cool design) and the level design is forgettable. Animation is also basic. Its not all horrible but it just feels so mediocre that its almost painful and what is bad (awful Mode 7 effects) is cringing. The music and audio effects are just there, with nothing memorable to stand out.
Gameplay is the game. While the controls are admittedly decent, with the strider-cloned platforming movement intact and there is some decent offensive options, Run Saber never does anything with it to take advantage of these things or challenge the player, aside from the rare tricky platforming and it's held back by the slower pace of the game and how movement feels like your walking on a sticky floor.
The game itself is pretty easy overall by default. Some of the minibosses and bosses make cost you a life at first but once you figure out their patterns, they become cakewalk. (It is funny how minibosses can be tougher than bosses). Hard is a challenge but only due to the relentless pace of the enemies and pickups being less. With only five stages the game won't take long to finish. Again there is nothing inherently bad with the game but its just so "meh" that it feels a letdown.
Run Saber tries to copy the homework of Strider but doesn't understand what its copying and so just churns out something that is middle of the road. A forgettable experience, more so by the giant looming shadow of its inspiration.
Rating: 5/10
1992
Cute But Unforgiving
Pocky & Rocky is that typical cute run 'n gun game trap. Where the graphics, while not hugely outstanding, are nevertheless charming, with the environment designs are well crafted, there's a nice variation of enemy designs and there is nice use of colours to give it a cute feel. But beneath its seemingly dorky smile is a game that is tough.
Even normal is a big challenge and you can forget about Hard mode until you’re able to memorize the game to the point of second nature and have cat-like reflexes.
A lot of this boils down to the issues the game has. The stages have cheap gimmicks, from the the enemies, bosses and, from stage 2 onwards, environments themselves. Hitbox detection is wonky so just as you think you’ve avoided a hit, you’ve lost health (or a life). And your invincibility window when hit is so small, you might as well see it as losing a life in certain events. The fact that after taking two hits you depower, so in later stages, this is all but near-certain death and while the controls are solid and you have some nifty defence and offence options, the lack of being able to lock a direction and fire while moving does add to the difficulty.
All these add to make a challenging game become cheap at the later levels. There may only be six stages and in theory this game lasts an hour but good luck progressing far into the game for a good many hours.
It's worth giving Pocky & Rocky a go, just to see the quirky nature of the game and loose story. But one can't ignore that the difficulty creep will become too much for everyone but the really determined.
Rating: 6/10
Pocky & Rocky is that typical cute run 'n gun game trap. Where the graphics, while not hugely outstanding, are nevertheless charming, with the environment designs are well crafted, there's a nice variation of enemy designs and there is nice use of colours to give it a cute feel. But beneath its seemingly dorky smile is a game that is tough.
Even normal is a big challenge and you can forget about Hard mode until you’re able to memorize the game to the point of second nature and have cat-like reflexes.
A lot of this boils down to the issues the game has. The stages have cheap gimmicks, from the the enemies, bosses and, from stage 2 onwards, environments themselves. Hitbox detection is wonky so just as you think you’ve avoided a hit, you’ve lost health (or a life). And your invincibility window when hit is so small, you might as well see it as losing a life in certain events. The fact that after taking two hits you depower, so in later stages, this is all but near-certain death and while the controls are solid and you have some nifty defence and offence options, the lack of being able to lock a direction and fire while moving does add to the difficulty.
All these add to make a challenging game become cheap at the later levels. There may only be six stages and in theory this game lasts an hour but good luck progressing far into the game for a good many hours.
It's worth giving Pocky & Rocky a go, just to see the quirky nature of the game and loose story. But one can't ignore that the difficulty creep will become too much for everyone but the really determined.
Rating: 6/10
_This Isn't A Video Game. This Is A Personality Test...No This Is A Horror...No This Is Science Fiction...No This...You Know What Stanley, I Don't Know What Kind Of Thing The Stanley Parable Is _
The Stanley Parable is a story about Stanley and his missing co-workers.
To speak at great lengths about this "game" would be a disservice to it. This is a hilarious, downright genius execution of a "game" that takes a simple story and turns it into a yarn ball of tales, whether its through the expert narration by Kevan Brighting, making a generic location actually feel vibrant with stories to tell and having fun little details in each location and anticipates your thoughts and moves in a mocking-like manner (which also carries over to the achievements).
With the Presentation, story and "gameplay" all on point, The Stanley Parable is an excellent showcase in creating a masterpiece, with a hefty amount of replayability, out of something so little. Something many AAA games could take a lesson from.
Rating 10/10
The Stanley Parable is a story about Stanley and his missing co-workers.
To speak at great lengths about this "game" would be a disservice to it. This is a hilarious, downright genius execution of a "game" that takes a simple story and turns it into a yarn ball of tales, whether its through the expert narration by Kevan Brighting, making a generic location actually feel vibrant with stories to tell and having fun little details in each location and anticipates your thoughts and moves in a mocking-like manner (which also carries over to the achievements).
With the Presentation, story and "gameplay" all on point, The Stanley Parable is an excellent showcase in creating a masterpiece, with a hefty amount of replayability, out of something so little. Something many AAA games could take a lesson from.
Rating 10/10
The End Of An Era Goes Out With A Bang. Just Like A Dragon Should
While it was unfathomable to think Sega wouldn’t continue to release out Ryu Ga Gotoku games, Yakuza 6: the Song Of Life marks the end of on era in a way. For one, this is the last mainline game to have the “Yakuza” name used and secondly this was (until recently) the end of Kiryu’s journey.
And so Sega rolled up their sleeves to give us something that was, at the same time, a familiar experience but also one that had an evolved feeling to it as well.
For starters, the game has been overhauled and is now running on the Dragon Engine, something you notice when you see that the graphics have taken a huge leap. Yakuza 5 Remastered was nice looking and Yakuza 6 just shows how much has been improved as the vibrant and sharpness of Kamurocho (and new location Onomichi) and the detail is amazing,
Of course, this being a new engine, Sega isn’t going to get it perfect and the trade off is that they couldn’t quite get the characters animation to gel 100% with the new engine. As a result, they can become mannequin-esque in cutscenes. It something you get use to but its a shame that it can slightly blunt the emotional pull of some scenes.
Still, the presentation is overall excellent. As usual, the music is on point. “A King of Apathy” (the song that plays during the most of the beginning of sub-stories conversations) is a highlight. It perfectly encapsulates how Kiryu is reluctant but ultimately willing to help others, no matter how weird or embarrassing it can be.
The gameplay has changed for the better. Combat is chaotic, fast and impactful. It can be easy to hard to see attacks or being ambushed by other enemies (which also occurs when there’s a lot of people on screen, enemies and allies.) and when surrounded by a mass of enemies, you can be bounced around. But overall the combat is fun and it gives the vibe that good martial arts fight scenes do.
Staple mini-games like Darts and Baseball Challenge have been overhauled to be MUCH better than their previous series incarnations, thanks to visual aids being added or, in the case of Hostess, simplified. New ones like Clan Creator (a simple RTS), Spearfishing (an on-rails shooter that takes place underwater and sees you kill marine life for booty and experience) and Baseball Management (a very light management simulation) are fun, if somewhat grindy. It helps that they have stories attach to them to make them feel more important.
Other useful changes are enemies now being visible on the minimap (and main map), each item now being stackable instead of taking an inventory slot (which has all but been eliminated), manual saving! And no loading when going into buildings, which a lot can be explored to find goodies, sub quests or just usual activities.
And of course, it wouldn’t be a Ryu Ga Gotoku game with Sub-stories and, with how Yakuza 6 presents cutscenes, they have become even more hefty, with dialogue lasting a good 5-10 minutes before starting one! But because they are so wholesome (especially the Ono Michio ones) and well executed, it becomes not meandering but endearing and interesting,
Which leads to the main story and it’s a beaut. The usual twists and turns (with the addition of Beat Takeshi is just awesome) with an excellent conspiracy twist to it all. The joys and gut-punches are for real.
What Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku studios have crafted is a damn great game, let alone one in the Ryu Ga Gotoku series. It serves as such an emotional and joyful end to a journey that saw us experience Kiryu’s story from Yakuza 1 (and Yakuza 0) all the way to this game. In a way, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, is a fantastic send-off to an era and absolute peak gaming.
Rating: 9/10
While it was unfathomable to think Sega wouldn’t continue to release out Ryu Ga Gotoku games, Yakuza 6: the Song Of Life marks the end of on era in a way. For one, this is the last mainline game to have the “Yakuza” name used and secondly this was (until recently) the end of Kiryu’s journey.
And so Sega rolled up their sleeves to give us something that was, at the same time, a familiar experience but also one that had an evolved feeling to it as well.
For starters, the game has been overhauled and is now running on the Dragon Engine, something you notice when you see that the graphics have taken a huge leap. Yakuza 5 Remastered was nice looking and Yakuza 6 just shows how much has been improved as the vibrant and sharpness of Kamurocho (and new location Onomichi) and the detail is amazing,
Of course, this being a new engine, Sega isn’t going to get it perfect and the trade off is that they couldn’t quite get the characters animation to gel 100% with the new engine. As a result, they can become mannequin-esque in cutscenes. It something you get use to but its a shame that it can slightly blunt the emotional pull of some scenes.
Still, the presentation is overall excellent. As usual, the music is on point. “A King of Apathy” (the song that plays during the most of the beginning of sub-stories conversations) is a highlight. It perfectly encapsulates how Kiryu is reluctant but ultimately willing to help others, no matter how weird or embarrassing it can be.
The gameplay has changed for the better. Combat is chaotic, fast and impactful. It can be easy to hard to see attacks or being ambushed by other enemies (which also occurs when there’s a lot of people on screen, enemies and allies.) and when surrounded by a mass of enemies, you can be bounced around. But overall the combat is fun and it gives the vibe that good martial arts fight scenes do.
Staple mini-games like Darts and Baseball Challenge have been overhauled to be MUCH better than their previous series incarnations, thanks to visual aids being added or, in the case of Hostess, simplified. New ones like Clan Creator (a simple RTS), Spearfishing (an on-rails shooter that takes place underwater and sees you kill marine life for booty and experience) and Baseball Management (a very light management simulation) are fun, if somewhat grindy. It helps that they have stories attach to them to make them feel more important.
Other useful changes are enemies now being visible on the minimap (and main map), each item now being stackable instead of taking an inventory slot (which has all but been eliminated), manual saving! And no loading when going into buildings, which a lot can be explored to find goodies, sub quests or just usual activities.
And of course, it wouldn’t be a Ryu Ga Gotoku game with Sub-stories and, with how Yakuza 6 presents cutscenes, they have become even more hefty, with dialogue lasting a good 5-10 minutes before starting one! But because they are so wholesome (especially the Ono Michio ones) and well executed, it becomes not meandering but endearing and interesting,
Which leads to the main story and it’s a beaut. The usual twists and turns (with the addition of Beat Takeshi is just awesome) with an excellent conspiracy twist to it all. The joys and gut-punches are for real.
What Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku studios have crafted is a damn great game, let alone one in the Ryu Ga Gotoku series. It serves as such an emotional and joyful end to a journey that saw us experience Kiryu’s story from Yakuza 1 (and Yakuza 0) all the way to this game. In a way, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, is a fantastic send-off to an era and absolute peak gaming.
Rating: 9/10