Wow, I can't believe I have this listed as my favorite game of all time, what an idiot I am.
This game is so full of bugs, jank, the gameplay is super basic and bad and like, it's awful and overrated.
Truly the gameplay ruins everything about the experience and the plot isn't good either, I won't explain why but it's just bad and you should think it's bad too because I said it is.
The DLC sucks except for Dead Money, which objectively has the best gameplay section in the entire game and is totally r/epicchungus.
God didn't make me to play baddy bad video games, and this review is the end all be all baseline of opinions.
Anyways, check the date when this finished.
This game is so full of bugs, jank, the gameplay is super basic and bad and like, it's awful and overrated.
Truly the gameplay ruins everything about the experience and the plot isn't good either, I won't explain why but it's just bad and you should think it's bad too because I said it is.
The DLC sucks except for Dead Money, which objectively has the best gameplay section in the entire game and is totally r/epicchungus.
God didn't make me to play baddy bad video games, and this review is the end all be all baseline of opinions.
Anyways, check the date when this finished.
2016
When it comes to game criticism, one of the most important criteria a game needs in order to succeed in my eyes, is Identity.
If a game does not have a concrete and unique identity that makes it stand out from its contemporaries (or in the case of a franchise, its predecessors), then the game has failed in truly gripping me on a deeper level.
A personal example of this for me is Sonic Mania. A perfectly solid game, one that I do absolutely adore, but never a 5 star because the game reuses so many ideas from the previous entries in its franchise that it never truly comes into its own at any point.
Such is the case with ICEY, the tenth game reviewed on my obscure games recommendation list. This game was recommended to me by FrozenRoy, thank you very much for the recommendation.
ICEY is a game that mashes up three different games that are all great on their own, but when put together results in a product that's less than the sum of its parts. It has combat akin to Mega Man X or rather, playing as Zero in Mega Man X (you could argue its combat also takes a few nods from Devil May Cry.), the explorative aspect of it could be compared to that of a standard Metroidvania, though a tad more linear, so along the lines of Metroid Fusion, and the narrative aspect is ripped straight from Stanley Parable.
While on the surface it would seem that a combination like this would be a match made in heaven... it's honestly not, and those problems start with the narrative... or rather, the narrator.
Unlike Stanley Parable's narrator, the narrator of ICEY is not pedantically British or endearingly snarky. They're a whiny manchild who constantly complains about everything you do. If I had to compare it to something in real life, I would say it would be dealing with a backseat gamer named Matthias who constantly whines that you're going the wrong way in a Metroid game.
I know full well that this is intentional, and that there is also lore reason for why this narrator sounds and acts the way he does. I also know that this game is at least two and a half hours long and that it only takes about 15 minutes for his voice to become grating and obnoxious. It also doesn't help that the line delivery is just off. It's not god awful, but as someone who has aspirations to be a voice actor, I have the ear to tell when lines are being fumbled.
I'm not going to blame the actor or the voice director as this game is not natively in English, it's a Chinese developed game, and a lot of the dialogue had to be translated. But I will say it makes the experience more irritating than endearing. There's also a variety of spelling errors and lines that are written one way and spoken another, and at one point I noticed a piece of audio that loops twice.
I know in the grand scheme of things, this stuff is super minor, but it's just stuff I couldn't help but notice.
Gameplay wise is where I think the game has the most potential. It's a 2D Hack and Slash where you unlock more abilities with the money you earn. Standard stuff, and the combat is relatively fun. I say relatively because I played on Easy Mode (not really by choice, I'll explain later.) for most of my playthrough. On Hard or even Normal Mode it feels like enemies just never stop in certain areas, and that they just have more health to compensate for the difficulty change. My recommendation, play the game however you want.
But yeah, you'll be creating massive combo chains, juggling enemies up into the air for some meaty air combos, and then pressing B for the finishers. It's a pretty engaging gameplay loop that is also helped by the fact that like Mega Man X, you have a dash. Not just a dash, but an octo-directional air dash that you only need to hold down the button and move the analog stick to perform. Regardless of anything else I say about ICEY, the air dash is easily the best gameplay feature and I love it.
Exploration is hit or miss honestly, because doing so has you dealing with the narrators complaints for most of the time. A good bunch of the exploration will lead you to interesting pieces of lore, as well as various endings to the game. Some exploration though just leads to jokes, which is fine, but the lore is probably more interesting.
Speaking of, the plot of ICEY, or rather the one the narrator wants you to follow involves you making your way up to a tower to confront a madman named Judas who is a danger to all life on... whatever planet this is. Of course, as you will inevitably diverge from the path, the plot also diverges.
The game has a tendency to get very meta at points, and the fourth wall is borderline non-existent.
I would talk about the various routes you'll wind up taking, but I think experiencing them blind (or mostly blind, I used a guide to get the last remaining stuff I had left to do just to cut down on time.), will have a larger impact.
The game though just doesn't feel like it lives up to its full potential in any of the three types of game that it contains. Narrative wise it's not as humorous or engaging as something like Stanley Parable, Gameplay wise it's no Devil May Cry, and it constantly limits your exploration while complaining at you for exploring. It ultimately results in a game that just doesn't have a true identity of its own, just feeling like a cardboard cutout of those other titles.
Does that make ICEY a terrible game? No. At least fundamentally while I think the narrative is the weakest part of the game, the satisfying gameplay loop is more than enough to make up for it.
I just wish that the devs had focused more on at least one of the aspects that makes up this game so that it could truly stand out and feel like its own title. Alas, ICEY is a solid game, but it could have been so much more.
If a game does not have a concrete and unique identity that makes it stand out from its contemporaries (or in the case of a franchise, its predecessors), then the game has failed in truly gripping me on a deeper level.
A personal example of this for me is Sonic Mania. A perfectly solid game, one that I do absolutely adore, but never a 5 star because the game reuses so many ideas from the previous entries in its franchise that it never truly comes into its own at any point.
Such is the case with ICEY, the tenth game reviewed on my obscure games recommendation list. This game was recommended to me by FrozenRoy, thank you very much for the recommendation.
ICEY is a game that mashes up three different games that are all great on their own, but when put together results in a product that's less than the sum of its parts. It has combat akin to Mega Man X or rather, playing as Zero in Mega Man X (you could argue its combat also takes a few nods from Devil May Cry.), the explorative aspect of it could be compared to that of a standard Metroidvania, though a tad more linear, so along the lines of Metroid Fusion, and the narrative aspect is ripped straight from Stanley Parable.
While on the surface it would seem that a combination like this would be a match made in heaven... it's honestly not, and those problems start with the narrative... or rather, the narrator.
Unlike Stanley Parable's narrator, the narrator of ICEY is not pedantically British or endearingly snarky. They're a whiny manchild who constantly complains about everything you do. If I had to compare it to something in real life, I would say it would be dealing with a backseat gamer named Matthias who constantly whines that you're going the wrong way in a Metroid game.
I know full well that this is intentional, and that there is also lore reason for why this narrator sounds and acts the way he does. I also know that this game is at least two and a half hours long and that it only takes about 15 minutes for his voice to become grating and obnoxious. It also doesn't help that the line delivery is just off. It's not god awful, but as someone who has aspirations to be a voice actor, I have the ear to tell when lines are being fumbled.
I'm not going to blame the actor or the voice director as this game is not natively in English, it's a Chinese developed game, and a lot of the dialogue had to be translated. But I will say it makes the experience more irritating than endearing. There's also a variety of spelling errors and lines that are written one way and spoken another, and at one point I noticed a piece of audio that loops twice.
I know in the grand scheme of things, this stuff is super minor, but it's just stuff I couldn't help but notice.
Gameplay wise is where I think the game has the most potential. It's a 2D Hack and Slash where you unlock more abilities with the money you earn. Standard stuff, and the combat is relatively fun. I say relatively because I played on Easy Mode (not really by choice, I'll explain later.) for most of my playthrough. On Hard or even Normal Mode it feels like enemies just never stop in certain areas, and that they just have more health to compensate for the difficulty change. My recommendation, play the game however you want.
But yeah, you'll be creating massive combo chains, juggling enemies up into the air for some meaty air combos, and then pressing B for the finishers. It's a pretty engaging gameplay loop that is also helped by the fact that like Mega Man X, you have a dash. Not just a dash, but an octo-directional air dash that you only need to hold down the button and move the analog stick to perform. Regardless of anything else I say about ICEY, the air dash is easily the best gameplay feature and I love it.
Exploration is hit or miss honestly, because doing so has you dealing with the narrators complaints for most of the time. A good bunch of the exploration will lead you to interesting pieces of lore, as well as various endings to the game. Some exploration though just leads to jokes, which is fine, but the lore is probably more interesting.
Speaking of, the plot of ICEY, or rather the one the narrator wants you to follow involves you making your way up to a tower to confront a madman named Judas who is a danger to all life on... whatever planet this is. Of course, as you will inevitably diverge from the path, the plot also diverges.
The game has a tendency to get very meta at points, and the fourth wall is borderline non-existent.
I would talk about the various routes you'll wind up taking, but I think experiencing them blind (or mostly blind, I used a guide to get the last remaining stuff I had left to do just to cut down on time.), will have a larger impact.
The game though just doesn't feel like it lives up to its full potential in any of the three types of game that it contains. Narrative wise it's not as humorous or engaging as something like Stanley Parable, Gameplay wise it's no Devil May Cry, and it constantly limits your exploration while complaining at you for exploring. It ultimately results in a game that just doesn't have a true identity of its own, just feeling like a cardboard cutout of those other titles.
Does that make ICEY a terrible game? No. At least fundamentally while I think the narrative is the weakest part of the game, the satisfying gameplay loop is more than enough to make up for it.
I just wish that the devs had focused more on at least one of the aspects that makes up this game so that it could truly stand out and feel like its own title. Alas, ICEY is a solid game, but it could have been so much more.
I couldn't trade a dead guy to get a burger for the life of me, oh well, another day in Detroit.
Well, this is it. My first review on the new and improved Backloggd and my final review of a Devil May Cry game for the year.
I will say, looking back at those past two weeks, it's been a blur of crazy, wacky combos, incredible fights, the Lucia Disc of DMC2 and so on. This very much feels like the finale to something big I've experienced in my life, and what better game to end it with than the finale of the series, Devil May Cry 5.
Off the bat I want to say that I really dig the combat in this game, though it did take me some time to adjust between playing DMC4 and DMC1 and coming into this. Combos have different timings in both of those games and so it was weird to change it up for myself.
Nero controls great, I love the addition of the Devil Breakers for him which ask the player to work with the individual addition of the moveset while also being cautious to not break them unless required for a tight situation. It results in him having a lot of variety in combat...
...but not nearly as much as Dante who is still my absolute favorite character to play as in these games. His weapon variety is top notch, bringing back weapons like the Cerberus from DMC3 and even the Sparda, while also adding the awesome Devil Sword Dante and my personal favorite weapon, Caveliere.
If you told me years ago that Dante could combo enemies with a chainsaw axe motorcycle, I would not have believed you. But it is real, and absolutely fucking amazing. I don't know why but I always find myself getting drawn to the weird weapons in these games, like Nevan in DMC3. I think it's more so in that the concept of fighting hordes of demons with shit like an Electric Guitar or a Motorcycle is just inherently awesome, and it just feels right to me.
I also got a lot of use out of switching the different styles, which has gotten me to Level 60 of Bloody Palace with him. Also really love Dante's design in this game, it really captures the mature, joking uncle character that he has evolved into. Really, all of the character designs in this game are top notch.
Vergil is also once again, incredibly fucking powerful and fun to use. Seeing how broken his Air Trick ability is especially in fights like the Geryon boss just makes me cackle. I love his moveset, and his DT using the Doppelganger style from DMC3 is a great nod towards that game.
The only low point gameplay wise comes from new character, V. I should stress, I love V as a character. He is the mysterious, sly sneaky boy that this series has never had before, and his design is absolutely immaculate... but playing the game with him feels like I'm not playing the game.
With him you control your set of demons, as he is a Demon Summoner, and you basically spam both the X and Y buttons to damage enemies enough so that V can unleash a killing blow. The killing blow stuff is fucking cool no doubt, but the mashing of the buttons definitely feels mindless in execution, and hell, you can even do a summoning technique that makes the summons act on their own, completely removing that aspect of gameplay for like 20 seconds at the expense of one bar of DT.
It's not remotely satisfying as Dante or Vergil's gameplay for me, and doesn't even scratch Nero's. The plus side is that you only play like, 4 mandatory missions with him total... but one of those missions is a boss rush where you lose your summons before hand and have to regain them in each fight... so yeah.
As for the levels themselves, they're alright. I'll blame this on overexposure from the two previous games but initially I wasn't vibing with the destroyed city look because both DMC2 and DMC4 did it as well and it was something I had grown a little tired of seeing, but I did inevitably warm up to it as time went on. They have more interesting branching pathways than either of those game's levels and discovering stuff is much more entertaining.
Personally though, I wasn't really a fan of the Qliphoth levels, mostly due to aesthetic. The demonic wooden tree looks gets very samey very quick, and while that may be the intent, it's just not something I was particularly fond of seeing, especially given that there is just a level where you fall down a singular shaft and that's the level.
Spoilers:
The game however truly picks up around the final third of missions where the plot reveals that the Demon King we've been going up against has been Vergil all along and that V is the human part that was cast off after Vergil's many defeats. Vergil is reborn when V and Urizen are rejoined and an even bigger reveal is made: Vergil is Nero's father.
The final two missions are absolute kino as we get to see yet another legendary Dante vs Vergil fight, which is just as good as it was in DMC3, followed by a Nero vs Vergil victory lap where Nero unlocks his true Devil Trigger and regains his Devil Buster powers. It's truly an amazing experience and a great way for this series to go out on.
The music for this game is fucking incredible, I don't think I need to stress. Tracks like Devil Trigger, Crimson Cloud, and Bury the Light are all phenomenal bops, and I even like the track Subhuman that plays for Dante quite a bit for its really goofy charm it has despite its dark metal sound.
However, at the end of the day I still think I prefer the overall vibes of DMC3, and the sheer raw intensity that game provided in comparison. That opinion may change of course, but as of this review those are my feelings.
Devil May Cry 5 is a great game, and I definitely look forward to replaying Bloody Palace with Dante until I finish it. It is one of the best Character Action Games ever made, and I highly recommend it.
At the end of the day, I only have one thing to say about my final thoughts on the Devil May Cry franchise.
"Jackpot."
I will say, looking back at those past two weeks, it's been a blur of crazy, wacky combos, incredible fights, the Lucia Disc of DMC2 and so on. This very much feels like the finale to something big I've experienced in my life, and what better game to end it with than the finale of the series, Devil May Cry 5.
Off the bat I want to say that I really dig the combat in this game, though it did take me some time to adjust between playing DMC4 and DMC1 and coming into this. Combos have different timings in both of those games and so it was weird to change it up for myself.
Nero controls great, I love the addition of the Devil Breakers for him which ask the player to work with the individual addition of the moveset while also being cautious to not break them unless required for a tight situation. It results in him having a lot of variety in combat...
...but not nearly as much as Dante who is still my absolute favorite character to play as in these games. His weapon variety is top notch, bringing back weapons like the Cerberus from DMC3 and even the Sparda, while also adding the awesome Devil Sword Dante and my personal favorite weapon, Caveliere.
If you told me years ago that Dante could combo enemies with a chainsaw axe motorcycle, I would not have believed you. But it is real, and absolutely fucking amazing. I don't know why but I always find myself getting drawn to the weird weapons in these games, like Nevan in DMC3. I think it's more so in that the concept of fighting hordes of demons with shit like an Electric Guitar or a Motorcycle is just inherently awesome, and it just feels right to me.
I also got a lot of use out of switching the different styles, which has gotten me to Level 60 of Bloody Palace with him. Also really love Dante's design in this game, it really captures the mature, joking uncle character that he has evolved into. Really, all of the character designs in this game are top notch.
Vergil is also once again, incredibly fucking powerful and fun to use. Seeing how broken his Air Trick ability is especially in fights like the Geryon boss just makes me cackle. I love his moveset, and his DT using the Doppelganger style from DMC3 is a great nod towards that game.
The only low point gameplay wise comes from new character, V. I should stress, I love V as a character. He is the mysterious, sly sneaky boy that this series has never had before, and his design is absolutely immaculate... but playing the game with him feels like I'm not playing the game.
With him you control your set of demons, as he is a Demon Summoner, and you basically spam both the X and Y buttons to damage enemies enough so that V can unleash a killing blow. The killing blow stuff is fucking cool no doubt, but the mashing of the buttons definitely feels mindless in execution, and hell, you can even do a summoning technique that makes the summons act on their own, completely removing that aspect of gameplay for like 20 seconds at the expense of one bar of DT.
It's not remotely satisfying as Dante or Vergil's gameplay for me, and doesn't even scratch Nero's. The plus side is that you only play like, 4 mandatory missions with him total... but one of those missions is a boss rush where you lose your summons before hand and have to regain them in each fight... so yeah.
As for the levels themselves, they're alright. I'll blame this on overexposure from the two previous games but initially I wasn't vibing with the destroyed city look because both DMC2 and DMC4 did it as well and it was something I had grown a little tired of seeing, but I did inevitably warm up to it as time went on. They have more interesting branching pathways than either of those game's levels and discovering stuff is much more entertaining.
Personally though, I wasn't really a fan of the Qliphoth levels, mostly due to aesthetic. The demonic wooden tree looks gets very samey very quick, and while that may be the intent, it's just not something I was particularly fond of seeing, especially given that there is just a level where you fall down a singular shaft and that's the level.
Spoilers:
The game however truly picks up around the final third of missions where the plot reveals that the Demon King we've been going up against has been Vergil all along and that V is the human part that was cast off after Vergil's many defeats. Vergil is reborn when V and Urizen are rejoined and an even bigger reveal is made: Vergil is Nero's father.
The final two missions are absolute kino as we get to see yet another legendary Dante vs Vergil fight, which is just as good as it was in DMC3, followed by a Nero vs Vergil victory lap where Nero unlocks his true Devil Trigger and regains his Devil Buster powers. It's truly an amazing experience and a great way for this series to go out on.
The music for this game is fucking incredible, I don't think I need to stress. Tracks like Devil Trigger, Crimson Cloud, and Bury the Light are all phenomenal bops, and I even like the track Subhuman that plays for Dante quite a bit for its really goofy charm it has despite its dark metal sound.
However, at the end of the day I still think I prefer the overall vibes of DMC3, and the sheer raw intensity that game provided in comparison. That opinion may change of course, but as of this review those are my feelings.
Devil May Cry 5 is a great game, and I definitely look forward to replaying Bloody Palace with Dante until I finish it. It is one of the best Character Action Games ever made, and I highly recommend it.
At the end of the day, I only have one thing to say about my final thoughts on the Devil May Cry franchise.
"Jackpot."
1997
It is no surprise to me that the same developers of Power Shovel made this game, they both ooze a quantifiable amount of Japanese.
This is the second game I'm tackling from my Obscure Games List, and I would like to give a massive thanks to JaxMagnetic for recommending this because holy fucking shit.
Before I go more indepth, I'm just gonna come out and say it: This game is pure unfiltered kino. Everything about it just screams cool, and honestly I think the Fifth Generation graphics only amplify that feeling for me. I also suck balls at the game, but that didn't remotely hinder my enjoyment because it is just a complete blast to go through.
Story wise to this game, well there isn't much of one that the game tells you. Based on the opening cutscene what I can infer is that you are a part of a space military and you're combating an enemy military that likes to primarily fly around in sea creature inspired space vessels. To be honest, this is a type of game that doesn't really need to have a deep narrative, and honestly it helps it because piecing the puzzles in your head for all of the weird shit that happens is far more entertaining.
Gameplay wise this game is some of the most hype shit I've ever seen. You have your typical side-scrolling shmup for the base setup, but what lies within has so many layers it's like the hidden Shrek Badge on this website. As you defeat certain enemies, (which you'll noticed based on if they're a solid color of Red, Green, Blue, or Purple) they will drop orbs. The orbs upgrade your weaponry and defenses. For example, you start off with missiles. Over the course of the first level you'll start shooting two streams of missiles, and then three, before eventually upgrading to a laser beam. The gradual progression of strength is something I have always liked in games, and seeing you start from zero and then becoming a lord of death as you rain endless fire upon your enemies is peak satisfaction.
Then, to add even more nuance, you can use these things called Capture Balls, to take enemies and add them as side pieces to your vessel, giving you either more fire power, or protection. I don't know if this is just a staple of Darius or if it's just in this game, but this mechanic is just... so good. and it makes combat I already like even more engaging and experimental.
There's also Star Fox type level progression, where you choose the path of where you want to go next, which I think is pretty neat. It even comes in the individual stages where you'll be asked to pick a zone within the area that slightly changes how the level progresses from that point.
The music in this game is baller as fuck, please listen to it, I'm begging you.
The biggest draw in my personal opinion is Beginner Mode. It's a mode with infinite continues and allows you to get practice for Arcade Mode. I tried Arcade Mode first and got my ass squarely kicked because I haven't played many Sh'mups before this point, but I still had a great time. I'll probably beat Arcade Mode some day, but for now I'm satisfied with what I experienced.
If you haven't played G-Darius, please, please try it out. One of the best games I've ever played, and one of the most interesting. Now I think it's time I do some meditation.
This is the second game I'm tackling from my Obscure Games List, and I would like to give a massive thanks to JaxMagnetic for recommending this because holy fucking shit.
Before I go more indepth, I'm just gonna come out and say it: This game is pure unfiltered kino. Everything about it just screams cool, and honestly I think the Fifth Generation graphics only amplify that feeling for me. I also suck balls at the game, but that didn't remotely hinder my enjoyment because it is just a complete blast to go through.
Story wise to this game, well there isn't much of one that the game tells you. Based on the opening cutscene what I can infer is that you are a part of a space military and you're combating an enemy military that likes to primarily fly around in sea creature inspired space vessels. To be honest, this is a type of game that doesn't really need to have a deep narrative, and honestly it helps it because piecing the puzzles in your head for all of the weird shit that happens is far more entertaining.
Gameplay wise this game is some of the most hype shit I've ever seen. You have your typical side-scrolling shmup for the base setup, but what lies within has so many layers it's like the hidden Shrek Badge on this website. As you defeat certain enemies, (which you'll noticed based on if they're a solid color of Red, Green, Blue, or Purple) they will drop orbs. The orbs upgrade your weaponry and defenses. For example, you start off with missiles. Over the course of the first level you'll start shooting two streams of missiles, and then three, before eventually upgrading to a laser beam. The gradual progression of strength is something I have always liked in games, and seeing you start from zero and then becoming a lord of death as you rain endless fire upon your enemies is peak satisfaction.
Then, to add even more nuance, you can use these things called Capture Balls, to take enemies and add them as side pieces to your vessel, giving you either more fire power, or protection. I don't know if this is just a staple of Darius or if it's just in this game, but this mechanic is just... so good. and it makes combat I already like even more engaging and experimental.
There's also Star Fox type level progression, where you choose the path of where you want to go next, which I think is pretty neat. It even comes in the individual stages where you'll be asked to pick a zone within the area that slightly changes how the level progresses from that point.
The music in this game is baller as fuck, please listen to it, I'm begging you.
The biggest draw in my personal opinion is Beginner Mode. It's a mode with infinite continues and allows you to get practice for Arcade Mode. I tried Arcade Mode first and got my ass squarely kicked because I haven't played many Sh'mups before this point, but I still had a great time. I'll probably beat Arcade Mode some day, but for now I'm satisfied with what I experienced.
If you haven't played G-Darius, please, please try it out. One of the best games I've ever played, and one of the most interesting. Now I think it's time I do some meditation.
2003
Despite this review being titled as a separate playthrough, this is more of an update of my original review now that I have completed the game.
Mega Man X7 is worthless. It's worthless dogshit that I pick off of my shoe when I'm walking down the sidewalk. The acting is horrific, the characters are unlikeable, the gameplay is horrendous, the controls do not remotely work properly, and even the music is bland and generic.
However, on a personal level this game is far less insulting than Mega Man X6. The obvious thing is that, this game was an attempt to make a 3D X game, which at least requires some smidgen of ambition and desire to create something fresh. Regardless of how terribly this game came out, there was at least something that the developers wanted to make that lies underneath.
Mega Man X6 on the other hand was a scummy cash grab game made without consulting one of the series' creators, Keiji Inafune, probably had a fuck ton of crunch, and is literally just a worse X4 & X5, games which I thought were either great or enjoyable respectively.
Back on to X7 though, this game just feels broken all over the place. Flame Hyenard is a good example, because not only is the audio broken, I mean this video is proof enough. It almost sounds like that one video remix of Fuuka's voice from Persona 3. But the little shit just keeps flying all over the fucking place and it's fucking ridiculous.
The 2D levels suck, the 3D levels suck, and I don't really think you need me to tell you that, since literally everyone else on this site can do that.
I just, hate how junk everything in this game feels, and it honestly makes me sad that there is only one X game after this because definitively this proves that X6 and X7 killed this franchise.
Also Axl is just, super annoying. I'm sure his voice actress is a very nice lady, but god is Axl's voice the most grating thing to hear, more so than even X's voice.
Also why does this game have a racist German stereotype that is also an onion?
Mega Man X7 is worthless. It's worthless dogshit that I pick off of my shoe when I'm walking down the sidewalk. The acting is horrific, the characters are unlikeable, the gameplay is horrendous, the controls do not remotely work properly, and even the music is bland and generic.
However, on a personal level this game is far less insulting than Mega Man X6. The obvious thing is that, this game was an attempt to make a 3D X game, which at least requires some smidgen of ambition and desire to create something fresh. Regardless of how terribly this game came out, there was at least something that the developers wanted to make that lies underneath.
Mega Man X6 on the other hand was a scummy cash grab game made without consulting one of the series' creators, Keiji Inafune, probably had a fuck ton of crunch, and is literally just a worse X4 & X5, games which I thought were either great or enjoyable respectively.
Back on to X7 though, this game just feels broken all over the place. Flame Hyenard is a good example, because not only is the audio broken, I mean this video is proof enough. It almost sounds like that one video remix of Fuuka's voice from Persona 3. But the little shit just keeps flying all over the fucking place and it's fucking ridiculous.
The 2D levels suck, the 3D levels suck, and I don't really think you need me to tell you that, since literally everyone else on this site can do that.
I just, hate how junk everything in this game feels, and it honestly makes me sad that there is only one X game after this because definitively this proves that X6 and X7 killed this franchise.
Also Axl is just, super annoying. I'm sure his voice actress is a very nice lady, but god is Axl's voice the most grating thing to hear, more so than even X's voice.
Also why does this game have a racist German stereotype that is also an onion?
2000
Alien Soldier + Neon Genesis Evangelion + Kingdom Hearts + The Room = Sin and Punishment
Entry number eight of the list of obscure games, though this game technically shouldn't count because I'm pretty sure it's not that obscure. It's been recommended by none other than PKMudkipz, thanks again for the recommendation.
So real talk, I actually had a majority of this review written up, but without telling me, my mother turned off the electricity in the house erasing it all. So excuse me if this review comes off a bit bizarre.
As an aside, I want to state: Please don't have your first playthrough of this game be in the Normal difficulty. I learned that the hard way and got my ass squarely kicked. The Easy Mode and the Tutorial exist for a reason, and even with those you'll still get your ass handed to you on a platter. Either way the game is still kino, but I recommend not learning to run before you can walk.
Sin and Punishment is a rail shmup (for the most part), where you are constantly moving forward and have to move left and right to avoid attacks and enemies. You have a dodge roll, the ability to change between a free aim shot that does more damage or a lock-on shot that does less damage but is "more accurate", a double jump, and close range sword strike that does massive damage to enemies.
This is all fine and good, but don't forget, this is an N64 game. This is a personal thing, but I have never been a fan of the N64 controller. Don't get me wrong, there are absolutely worse controllers than it, but I've always seen it as extremely clunky to use. I didn't use an N64 Controller to play this game, and to some extent I'm glad I didn't because of how aiming and moving works.
Unlike the other shmup's I've played so far, movement and aiming are not interlocked, and instead you aim with the analog stick and you move your character with the D-Pad. It's a little awkward at first, but you will eventually adapt. The game doesn't really ask for too much movement from the player outside of boss fights and a few other instances, so it's not too bad.
Your double jump is allocated to the shoulder buttons, and that's where I had the hardest time with muscle memory, because my mind had me keep pressing the A button to jump because that's just the norm. It's not bad, but definitely unorthodox.
Level wise there's only a total of nine levels (ten actually, but the first is a dream sequence), split into segments of three. Each level contains multiple bosses, called commanders, which refill your time meter and give a bonus to your score. At the end of the level is the Central Commander, and once you beat them the level ends.
A majority of the levels are pretty straightforward, like the first level which has you running through a large field and shooting the fuck out of a bunch of monsters, or the second level where you blow through a section of Tokyo.
There are exceptions though, Level 1-2, or the third level, is easily my least favorite in the game. It's an Elevator Level, which is one of my least favorite tropes in video games. Elevator Levels usually shove the player into a very narrow and small space with a fuckload of enemies. In concept it's cool, but in execution I haven't played a single game with a good Elevator Level. Now, the level is definitely manageable, but it is definitely the biggest low point in the game for just feeling lazily designed with enemies just popping in and out over and over, and laser shooting robots whose beams cover the entire floor. The bosses at the end weren't bad though, but I will say the fight with Radan was a bit... odd. When most of the fights in the game are 3D On Rails fights, having a 2D shooter boss primarily relying on your melee attacks was a bit... weird.
After that the next stage I had an issue with was Stage 2-2. The stage itself is not inherently bad, my issue, and this winds up being an issue for me the entire game. While the game itself takes up to an hour, there are just points where the game feels longer than it really needs to. The Aircraft Carrier level is a decent example of that, because at various points, while I was super happy with the absolute coolness vibes of shooting a navel vessel while flying around on a levitating scrap of metal, I was also growing kind of tired with how long the level was going on.
It felt like it was dragging when it would've been way more kino for something as exciting as blowing up an Aircraft Carrier to be faster paced. That's where I feel like comparing the game to Alien Soldier, another Treasure developed game. Alien Soldier is so well paced, Chainsaw Man paced if you would, that every level feels quick, concise, and awesome. Nothing in Alien Soldier drags on (with exception to Seven Force), and that game has 25 stages.
Then there's the second to last stage of the game, Stage 3-2. It suddenly becomes a 2D Run and Gun... with the same controls. I'm sorry, but it is extremely awkward to jump in 2D with shoulder pads. It's one thing when I'm dashing with them in like, a Mega Man X game, but here it's very awkward.
You don't even really have to shoot anything for a majority of the level, it's literally better to just run right and do nothing just to get to the end. For a second to last level, it's quite the wet fart.
Final Boss Spoiler for a 22 Year Old Game Warning Because Simon Won't Leave Me Alone Over it LMAO:
Luckily the final level, and the others, fully make up for it. I mean, you literally fight a Fake Earth while standing on the real earth by shooting all of its projectiles back at it. If that isn't like, the definition of Kino I don't know what is.
SPOILER WARNING OVER.
The game is very much inspired by the likes of Evangelion, with one boss causing what looks similar to the Third Impact and being surrounded and shooting out orange tang like fluid that looks a lot like LCL. The main protagonist, when he transforms into his Ruffian form, looks very reminiscent of Unit-01. It definitely made getting to Level 1-3 extremely worth it.
The story is both bugnuts ridiculous but also absolutely hilarious and cool at the same time. You take the role of both Saki Amamiya and Airan Jo as you face off against the alien like Ruffians and the Armed Volunteers, finding yourselves in the middle of a cosmic conspiracy that could change the world forever.
You serve Achi, who is the creator of the Ruffians, which were made to stop world hunger apparently, and you fight against the Armed Volunteers who have setup these Ruffians to fight against themselves to create a narrative so that the leader, Brad (I'm sorry, I cannot help but laugh that one of the main antagonists of this game is just called fucking Brad. I have a friend named Brad and that just makes me laugh harder.), could be accepted by humanity and become a world leader I'm assuming.
Eventually it turns out that Achi was orchestrating everything to defeat her mysterious enemy (I'm guessing this gets elaborated on in the sequel), which leaves Saki to have to take her out, which he ultimately does.
I'd definitely take the story much more seriously if the acting wasn't so laughably awful. But hey, that's honestly the charm of it. Some of these deliveries are just so bad at points, though I do feel like at least the actress playing Airan tried sometimes to sound part way decent.
Overall, while I have my issues with Sin and Punishment, I still think that it's a great game and one that you should experience at least once. Just don't buy the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Please, 50 bucks for a shitty service is not worth it.
Entry number eight of the list of obscure games, though this game technically shouldn't count because I'm pretty sure it's not that obscure. It's been recommended by none other than PKMudkipz, thanks again for the recommendation.
So real talk, I actually had a majority of this review written up, but without telling me, my mother turned off the electricity in the house erasing it all. So excuse me if this review comes off a bit bizarre.
As an aside, I want to state: Please don't have your first playthrough of this game be in the Normal difficulty. I learned that the hard way and got my ass squarely kicked. The Easy Mode and the Tutorial exist for a reason, and even with those you'll still get your ass handed to you on a platter. Either way the game is still kino, but I recommend not learning to run before you can walk.
Sin and Punishment is a rail shmup (for the most part), where you are constantly moving forward and have to move left and right to avoid attacks and enemies. You have a dodge roll, the ability to change between a free aim shot that does more damage or a lock-on shot that does less damage but is "more accurate", a double jump, and close range sword strike that does massive damage to enemies.
This is all fine and good, but don't forget, this is an N64 game. This is a personal thing, but I have never been a fan of the N64 controller. Don't get me wrong, there are absolutely worse controllers than it, but I've always seen it as extremely clunky to use. I didn't use an N64 Controller to play this game, and to some extent I'm glad I didn't because of how aiming and moving works.
Unlike the other shmup's I've played so far, movement and aiming are not interlocked, and instead you aim with the analog stick and you move your character with the D-Pad. It's a little awkward at first, but you will eventually adapt. The game doesn't really ask for too much movement from the player outside of boss fights and a few other instances, so it's not too bad.
Your double jump is allocated to the shoulder buttons, and that's where I had the hardest time with muscle memory, because my mind had me keep pressing the A button to jump because that's just the norm. It's not bad, but definitely unorthodox.
Level wise there's only a total of nine levels (ten actually, but the first is a dream sequence), split into segments of three. Each level contains multiple bosses, called commanders, which refill your time meter and give a bonus to your score. At the end of the level is the Central Commander, and once you beat them the level ends.
A majority of the levels are pretty straightforward, like the first level which has you running through a large field and shooting the fuck out of a bunch of monsters, or the second level where you blow through a section of Tokyo.
There are exceptions though, Level 1-2, or the third level, is easily my least favorite in the game. It's an Elevator Level, which is one of my least favorite tropes in video games. Elevator Levels usually shove the player into a very narrow and small space with a fuckload of enemies. In concept it's cool, but in execution I haven't played a single game with a good Elevator Level. Now, the level is definitely manageable, but it is definitely the biggest low point in the game for just feeling lazily designed with enemies just popping in and out over and over, and laser shooting robots whose beams cover the entire floor. The bosses at the end weren't bad though, but I will say the fight with Radan was a bit... odd. When most of the fights in the game are 3D On Rails fights, having a 2D shooter boss primarily relying on your melee attacks was a bit... weird.
After that the next stage I had an issue with was Stage 2-2. The stage itself is not inherently bad, my issue, and this winds up being an issue for me the entire game. While the game itself takes up to an hour, there are just points where the game feels longer than it really needs to. The Aircraft Carrier level is a decent example of that, because at various points, while I was super happy with the absolute coolness vibes of shooting a navel vessel while flying around on a levitating scrap of metal, I was also growing kind of tired with how long the level was going on.
It felt like it was dragging when it would've been way more kino for something as exciting as blowing up an Aircraft Carrier to be faster paced. That's where I feel like comparing the game to Alien Soldier, another Treasure developed game. Alien Soldier is so well paced, Chainsaw Man paced if you would, that every level feels quick, concise, and awesome. Nothing in Alien Soldier drags on (with exception to Seven Force), and that game has 25 stages.
Then there's the second to last stage of the game, Stage 3-2. It suddenly becomes a 2D Run and Gun... with the same controls. I'm sorry, but it is extremely awkward to jump in 2D with shoulder pads. It's one thing when I'm dashing with them in like, a Mega Man X game, but here it's very awkward.
You don't even really have to shoot anything for a majority of the level, it's literally better to just run right and do nothing just to get to the end. For a second to last level, it's quite the wet fart.
Final Boss Spoiler for a 22 Year Old Game Warning Because Simon Won't Leave Me Alone Over it LMAO:
Luckily the final level, and the others, fully make up for it. I mean, you literally fight a Fake Earth while standing on the real earth by shooting all of its projectiles back at it. If that isn't like, the definition of Kino I don't know what is.
SPOILER WARNING OVER.
The game is very much inspired by the likes of Evangelion, with one boss causing what looks similar to the Third Impact and being surrounded and shooting out orange tang like fluid that looks a lot like LCL. The main protagonist, when he transforms into his Ruffian form, looks very reminiscent of Unit-01. It definitely made getting to Level 1-3 extremely worth it.
The story is both bugnuts ridiculous but also absolutely hilarious and cool at the same time. You take the role of both Saki Amamiya and Airan Jo as you face off against the alien like Ruffians and the Armed Volunteers, finding yourselves in the middle of a cosmic conspiracy that could change the world forever.
You serve Achi, who is the creator of the Ruffians, which were made to stop world hunger apparently, and you fight against the Armed Volunteers who have setup these Ruffians to fight against themselves to create a narrative so that the leader, Brad (I'm sorry, I cannot help but laugh that one of the main antagonists of this game is just called fucking Brad. I have a friend named Brad and that just makes me laugh harder.), could be accepted by humanity and become a world leader I'm assuming.
Eventually it turns out that Achi was orchestrating everything to defeat her mysterious enemy (I'm guessing this gets elaborated on in the sequel), which leaves Saki to have to take her out, which he ultimately does.
I'd definitely take the story much more seriously if the acting wasn't so laughably awful. But hey, that's honestly the charm of it. Some of these deliveries are just so bad at points, though I do feel like at least the actress playing Airan tried sometimes to sound part way decent.
Overall, while I have my issues with Sin and Punishment, I still think that it's a great game and one that you should experience at least once. Just don't buy the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Please, 50 bucks for a shitty service is not worth it.
2022
SPOILER WARNING
I like video games. Hell, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that I love video games. I’m not a developer, or have ever worked within the field, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that video games have been my life’s passion for most of the past two decades of my existence.
Every so often when playing a new game, I find myself immediately enthralled and enraptured by its world, its characters, the music, et cetera. I sink as many hours as humanly possible so I can fully absorb the experience into myself.
However, once the experience is over and the game is finished, I am left feeling unsatisfied.
This is Elden Ring.
The moment I booted up the game and saw the huge world I was meant to explore, was introduced to the Tree Sentinel who beat my ass, and witnessed the giant tree in the horizon that I knew would be my end goal, I felt like I was entering a wholly new age of the Dark Souls formula.
However, as I continued playing, and experiences were repeated en masse like it was another day going into work and clocking in and out, I felt my love for this game slowly begin to wither and crumble.
The Erdtree Avatars, reused over and over. Dragons, reused over and over. Major story bosses like the Red Wolf of Radagon being made reused minibosses, the amount of fucking times I encountered the Godskin Apostle and his chungus Noble friend, the amount of soldiers that were just flatout recolored and put into different places with no real difference to their attack patterns beside throw pot of (insert element here), it all started to wear on me.
At the best of times it reminded me of my favorite parts of Dark Souls. Entering Stormveil Castle, climbing on the rooftops and ledges gave me flashbacks to entering the treacherous Anor Londo for the first time. Entering the ominous Carian Manor reminded me of when I went through a creepy yet similar situation in Aldia’s Keep. Finding the underground rivers with stars in the underworld skies brought similar feelings to venturing into the Nightmare Frontier.
At the worst of times it reminded me of my least favorite parts of Dark Souls. Bosses being reused as regular enemies like in Dark Souls 1, some enemies being placed right next to a Grace Point just like in Dark Souls 2, and bosses that are either overly boring or overly ridiculous with no inbetween like Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne.
Elden Ring winds up feeling like a mishmash of all of these games and open world games, which I know is not a new take. What it results in is a game where exploration becomes dull after about 20 hours, and the remainder of the game just leaves you asking “why?”
I knew something was wrong when I got to the Snowtops of the Giants area and just noticed that all of the bosses felt broken in some way. Commander Niall, a harder version of a fight from earlier in the game. It wasn’t enough that the area he resides in, Castle Sol, is one of the least enjoyable locations in the game due to enemies that can teleport behind you while you’re stealthed, making that mechanic practically worthless (and I know it's a meme, but I still think that it’s just brutally unfair for no reason). But he’s a fucking Flunky Boss, with two knight dudes who he summons that are basically their own boss fights.
This wouldn’t be so bad if the arena was at least large enough to compensate for this, but it’s a very small square shaped room and the knights can basically jump across the entire length of it with a single leap. The only way you can reasonably win the fight is either being overleveled, using summons (which weren’t there when I first attempted it), or rely on the Mimic Tear summon dust. Even then, the fucker has a phase 2 that is almost nothing but AOE attacks that stretch for three quarters of the arena, and he’s required to fight the game’s Superboss.
Then, there’s the Fire Giant which is a mandatory fight for the game’s progression. This fight is flat out nonfunctional because the terrain that makes up the arena is so uneven that the Giant can just be 10 feet in the air with you being unable to hit his only weakspot, and it turns the camera to shit. It’s bad when phase two of a fight feels like a more relaxing time than phase one.
It feels like the ending sections of the game just weren’t playtested at all. Like, why should Godfrey be able to stomp the ground that does an arena wide AOE like 5 times in a row. Did nobody think that was excessive? Why does Malenia have to have a healing power and an attack where she can just instantly end runs if you don’t run away the second the disorienting camera pops in? Did nobody think that was a bit much?
The plot also kind of disinterested me after you visit the capital for the first time. Reaching Lyndell feels like this massive achievement, but after that it all just feels like a massive downhill. You go and have Melina set herself on fire, but why do we go to Farum Azula after that. What purpose does this location serve? Why do we have to fight the Beast Clergymen dude, and why does he repeat similar dialogue to Ludwig? What does any of this have to do with the rest of the game? It’s never really explained so the whole area kind of just feels like filler and out of place.
Honestly though what I think the biggest low point in the entire game was when after I finished Ranni’s Plotline, which involves fighting this interdimensional being named Astel, who has this very intriguing design and lore, I went exploring the Consecrated Snowfield area, and in the mine there, Astel was reused as a boss.
Why is this interdimensional beast the boss of a random ass mining cave that had almost zero signs that it was going to go down that path? It’s like watching an episode of the Flintstones but it just ends with the dinosaurs becoming realistic and eating the cavemen who have been riding them this whole time, it just comes out of nowhere with no buildup, and in the worst of ways.
It takes what was a huge story beat for me and turns it into an extra challenge for the sake of having a challenge. What happened to making bosses that told a story? What happened to having those moments sink in? Did From Soft and Miyazaki forget what Boss Fights meant as a whole for this genre?
Content Warning:I’m going to be discussing some uncomfortable subjects in regards to rape and incest.
That isn’t going into the nature of stuff already discussed, like the fact that there is a sidequest that has you using what is basically a date rape drug on whomever you like. Sure, there are multiple endings where the person who gives you that drug can be killed, but the fact that there is still even a semblance of the concept of rape in this game and that you can inflict that fate onto other characters is horrific and more so ADDS NOTHING TO THE GAME in regards to good narrative beats or function. It’s just a nasty and unneeded moment that serves no purpose other than to satisfy creepy fucking people.
Then there’s the incestual subtext of Mohg. Sure, he is portrayed as the worst of the worst, but this man wanted to consummate marriage with his half-brother who didn’t want it in the first place, and when that didn’t work, he killed his half-brother and has been forcing his blood inside of his dead/unconscious body, which I can only interpet as necrophilia and rape given that the dude literally says that “Miquella is mine and mine alone”. Again, what does any of this genuinely add to the game? I don’t care that the setting is medieval fantasy, I don’t care that incest was a “normal thing” in medieval times among royals, we live in 2022. It’s creepy ass shit that doesn’t really push the plot along and only serves to be a backstory to a guy who was already evil as shit.
You could take both of these moments out of the game, and no harm would be done.
My ultimate take on this is that I hope From does not repeat this in future games, because Rape isn’t something to haphazardly use in your narrative like a toy. It is a serious subject matter that shouldn’t just be waved around as a way to add “stakes”.
Content Warning Over
Overall, I still can’t erase the first 20 hours I played of this game, and they will always be some of my most treasured memories with any game ever, but this game has left me mixed in a lot of ways.
For the record, even though I’m giving the game a three star rating I want to make it clear that that is only the rating as a Soulsborne game.
I think all of the Soulsborne games (barring 3 and Sekiro), are 4 star video games, but I want to rate them as I would in their own genre.
At the end of the day, the Elden Ring wasn’t merely another rune, it was the experiences positive and negative that changed my outlook. Here’s hoping that in a year when things have been properly patched, it’ll be a better experience.
‘Don’t quit.’
“Quitting is for those who are not serious about their goals. If you give up trying, you will never achieve your goal. Life is full of eager people who try to succeed at everything they do. What all these people have in common is that they never quit.”
“Much Success,” - Mike Tyson, World Heavyweight Champion.
Never give up my fellow gamers.
I like video games. Hell, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that I love video games. I’m not a developer, or have ever worked within the field, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that video games have been my life’s passion for most of the past two decades of my existence.
Every so often when playing a new game, I find myself immediately enthralled and enraptured by its world, its characters, the music, et cetera. I sink as many hours as humanly possible so I can fully absorb the experience into myself.
However, once the experience is over and the game is finished, I am left feeling unsatisfied.
This is Elden Ring.
The moment I booted up the game and saw the huge world I was meant to explore, was introduced to the Tree Sentinel who beat my ass, and witnessed the giant tree in the horizon that I knew would be my end goal, I felt like I was entering a wholly new age of the Dark Souls formula.
However, as I continued playing, and experiences were repeated en masse like it was another day going into work and clocking in and out, I felt my love for this game slowly begin to wither and crumble.
The Erdtree Avatars, reused over and over. Dragons, reused over and over. Major story bosses like the Red Wolf of Radagon being made reused minibosses, the amount of fucking times I encountered the Godskin Apostle and his chungus Noble friend, the amount of soldiers that were just flatout recolored and put into different places with no real difference to their attack patterns beside throw pot of (insert element here), it all started to wear on me.
At the best of times it reminded me of my favorite parts of Dark Souls. Entering Stormveil Castle, climbing on the rooftops and ledges gave me flashbacks to entering the treacherous Anor Londo for the first time. Entering the ominous Carian Manor reminded me of when I went through a creepy yet similar situation in Aldia’s Keep. Finding the underground rivers with stars in the underworld skies brought similar feelings to venturing into the Nightmare Frontier.
At the worst of times it reminded me of my least favorite parts of Dark Souls. Bosses being reused as regular enemies like in Dark Souls 1, some enemies being placed right next to a Grace Point just like in Dark Souls 2, and bosses that are either overly boring or overly ridiculous with no inbetween like Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne.
Elden Ring winds up feeling like a mishmash of all of these games and open world games, which I know is not a new take. What it results in is a game where exploration becomes dull after about 20 hours, and the remainder of the game just leaves you asking “why?”
I knew something was wrong when I got to the Snowtops of the Giants area and just noticed that all of the bosses felt broken in some way. Commander Niall, a harder version of a fight from earlier in the game. It wasn’t enough that the area he resides in, Castle Sol, is one of the least enjoyable locations in the game due to enemies that can teleport behind you while you’re stealthed, making that mechanic practically worthless (and I know it's a meme, but I still think that it’s just brutally unfair for no reason). But he’s a fucking Flunky Boss, with two knight dudes who he summons that are basically their own boss fights.
This wouldn’t be so bad if the arena was at least large enough to compensate for this, but it’s a very small square shaped room and the knights can basically jump across the entire length of it with a single leap. The only way you can reasonably win the fight is either being overleveled, using summons (which weren’t there when I first attempted it), or rely on the Mimic Tear summon dust. Even then, the fucker has a phase 2 that is almost nothing but AOE attacks that stretch for three quarters of the arena, and he’s required to fight the game’s Superboss.
Then, there’s the Fire Giant which is a mandatory fight for the game’s progression. This fight is flat out nonfunctional because the terrain that makes up the arena is so uneven that the Giant can just be 10 feet in the air with you being unable to hit his only weakspot, and it turns the camera to shit. It’s bad when phase two of a fight feels like a more relaxing time than phase one.
It feels like the ending sections of the game just weren’t playtested at all. Like, why should Godfrey be able to stomp the ground that does an arena wide AOE like 5 times in a row. Did nobody think that was excessive? Why does Malenia have to have a healing power and an attack where she can just instantly end runs if you don’t run away the second the disorienting camera pops in? Did nobody think that was a bit much?
The plot also kind of disinterested me after you visit the capital for the first time. Reaching Lyndell feels like this massive achievement, but after that it all just feels like a massive downhill. You go and have Melina set herself on fire, but why do we go to Farum Azula after that. What purpose does this location serve? Why do we have to fight the Beast Clergymen dude, and why does he repeat similar dialogue to Ludwig? What does any of this have to do with the rest of the game? It’s never really explained so the whole area kind of just feels like filler and out of place.
Honestly though what I think the biggest low point in the entire game was when after I finished Ranni’s Plotline, which involves fighting this interdimensional being named Astel, who has this very intriguing design and lore, I went exploring the Consecrated Snowfield area, and in the mine there, Astel was reused as a boss.
Why is this interdimensional beast the boss of a random ass mining cave that had almost zero signs that it was going to go down that path? It’s like watching an episode of the Flintstones but it just ends with the dinosaurs becoming realistic and eating the cavemen who have been riding them this whole time, it just comes out of nowhere with no buildup, and in the worst of ways.
It takes what was a huge story beat for me and turns it into an extra challenge for the sake of having a challenge. What happened to making bosses that told a story? What happened to having those moments sink in? Did From Soft and Miyazaki forget what Boss Fights meant as a whole for this genre?
Content Warning:I’m going to be discussing some uncomfortable subjects in regards to rape and incest.
That isn’t going into the nature of stuff already discussed, like the fact that there is a sidequest that has you using what is basically a date rape drug on whomever you like. Sure, there are multiple endings where the person who gives you that drug can be killed, but the fact that there is still even a semblance of the concept of rape in this game and that you can inflict that fate onto other characters is horrific and more so ADDS NOTHING TO THE GAME in regards to good narrative beats or function. It’s just a nasty and unneeded moment that serves no purpose other than to satisfy creepy fucking people.
Then there’s the incestual subtext of Mohg. Sure, he is portrayed as the worst of the worst, but this man wanted to consummate marriage with his half-brother who didn’t want it in the first place, and when that didn’t work, he killed his half-brother and has been forcing his blood inside of his dead/unconscious body, which I can only interpet as necrophilia and rape given that the dude literally says that “Miquella is mine and mine alone”. Again, what does any of this genuinely add to the game? I don’t care that the setting is medieval fantasy, I don’t care that incest was a “normal thing” in medieval times among royals, we live in 2022. It’s creepy ass shit that doesn’t really push the plot along and only serves to be a backstory to a guy who was already evil as shit.
You could take both of these moments out of the game, and no harm would be done.
My ultimate take on this is that I hope From does not repeat this in future games, because Rape isn’t something to haphazardly use in your narrative like a toy. It is a serious subject matter that shouldn’t just be waved around as a way to add “stakes”.
Content Warning Over
Overall, I still can’t erase the first 20 hours I played of this game, and they will always be some of my most treasured memories with any game ever, but this game has left me mixed in a lot of ways.
For the record, even though I’m giving the game a three star rating I want to make it clear that that is only the rating as a Soulsborne game.
I think all of the Soulsborne games (barring 3 and Sekiro), are 4 star video games, but I want to rate them as I would in their own genre.
At the end of the day, the Elden Ring wasn’t merely another rune, it was the experiences positive and negative that changed my outlook. Here’s hoping that in a year when things have been properly patched, it’ll be a better experience.
‘Don’t quit.’
“Quitting is for those who are not serious about their goals. If you give up trying, you will never achieve your goal. Life is full of eager people who try to succeed at everything they do. What all these people have in common is that they never quit.”
“Much Success,” - Mike Tyson, World Heavyweight Champion.
Never give up my fellow gamers.
So, it's been about a month since I finished playing Etrian Odyssey Untold, and I was initially going to write this review as like a subtweet to a review to the original Etrian Odyssey due to myself thinking said review is spreading misinformation. However, that's not what I want to do and so this will just be a straightforward review, though I will bring up some minor complaints I have with said review regardless.
Of course, Spoiler Warnings for Etrian Odyssey and Etrian Odyssey Untold.
I had first heard about this game when a friend of mine showed me said review for the original Etrian Odyssey. We had a laugh about how ridiculous we thought the review was, but I didn't ultimately get interested in the game until our friend Alan got to talking about it.
That's when my buddy Simon started his playthrough of the original Etrian Odyssey. The game was very intriguing due to it's nature as a dungeon crawler.
Unlike other Dungeon Crawlers I've played that automatically map for you as you go along, Etrian Odyssey requires the player to chart their own maps utilizing the touchscreen of the DS/3DS. This results in an immersive process I can only compare to how people used to play adventure games back when the Internet was far less accessible and players had to rely on drawing out their own maps to track their locations and findings.
And that was only part of the experience. For alongside navigating blind through these labyrinthian halls of forest, were creatures of pure terror and despair.
FOEs, these imposing Orange Orbs, which contained enemies far deadlier than any other, were plentiful throughout the winding paths and gaping corridors. If you want an accurate description of what FOEs are like, imagine Mr. X from the Resident Evil 2 Remake, but there's more than one and they are everywhere.
Watching Simon wander terrified with his Guild was a sight to behold, and while I was thinking of hopping on the original EO, I quickly changed my mind when I heard this.
Etrian Odyssey Untold's soundtrack, with it's pure orchestrated glory convinced me to play that version, and so I did.
I started the greatest of all the Guilds, the Alan Cock Guild. With myself as the Ronin leader, Alan as our Dark Hunter Mascot, Yuiz as our Masterful Medic, Godman as our Triumphing Troubadour, and Simon as our Helpful Hexer, we were sent out into the Yggdrasil Labyrinth to discover its many environments and venture into its very depths.
At the start, it was brutal. We were barely equipped to fight even the weakest of foes, they weren't so much battles as much as they were fights just to survive. The FOEs were the most terrifying, especially given how the remake opts to show what they actually look like, and because of the use of 3D models, could provide the most terrifying of scenarios like with these Boars shaped like Boulders that wake up when you walk in front of them.
I'd argue that Etrian Odyssey is a better horror game than most on the market. Every new FOE, every new Floor Boss is built up too steadily, and makes encountering them for the first time an absolute shock to the core.
Of course, that only made it all the more satisfying when the Alan Cock Guild grew strong enough to kill these ferocious creatures. As we continued to explore, as Forests gave way to Jungles, and Jungles gave way to Coral Reefs, we got ever stronger.
Along the way, we wind up encountering this Forest Girl who clearly does not want us there. Eventually the Radha, the people who we have been working for the entire game, demand that we do one more thing if we seek to venture further into the labyrinth: "Annihilate the Forest Folk".
So, back onto the minor complaints thing. The review that I read that initially introduced me to this game tried to make this argument that this final mission was Atlus saying that Genocide is good and acceptable. It was also at the point that the mission was introduced that they stopped playing the game.
Now, I'm not going to say Genocide isn't bad, or that the game doesn't have you partake in it. However, I do want to point out that at no point does the game actively relish in the actions.
From the very start of the mission, it is made clear how unsettling this demand is. Quinn, the Mission Giver, is clearly upset about the whole ordeal, mentioning how he "wished they would resolve this peacefully" revealing that the Radha Chieftan, Visil, has been acting strange in regards to these demands.
Throughout the entire quest, it is commented on how your guild does not want to do this, and that the whole thing is a setup by Visil to try and get you killed before you discover more about the Yggdrasil Labyrinth.
The game does not try to glorify the act of genocide, and I think claiming that Atlus was attempting to do so here is disingenuous.
Even then, I'd like to posit this argument. Why is it suddenly that when it is specifically the Forest Folk that it is this moral dilemma?
Think about what you and your party do all game.
From the very start you have been invading the habitats of the various creatures you come across, killing leagues of rats and wolves, slaughtering without end and without mercy. To come to this mission and think that your guild is innocent when they've already decimated an entire eco-system is just a bit hypocritical to be quite frank. (Also just want to say, assuming that Explorers are going to automatically be good is kind of naïve given history, most explorers have done terrible shit.)
And even then, by the end of the game you fight back against those who sent you to commit these heinous acts, and foil their plans with the Yggdrasil Tree.
If I had to make an argument about what I think the game is trying to show is that it shows the results of Capitalism on the environment.
You kill, you take in order to gain wealth and fame for your guild. The entire reason the genocide thing is set up to begin with to get your guild killed is to keep the mystery of the labyrinth going so that more explorers seeking the same fame you do will come to Etria.
More Explorers means more business, and you actively see these effects just by how the Shop's wares increase based on the drops you sell. Watching in real time as you becoming richer makes prices go up, and mercantile empires expand.
But at the end, you turn your back on that. You fight Visil in one last duel and strike him down, ending his plans, and eventually revealing the truth to everyone. Capitalism may have been what drove the guild before, but at the end, you fought to stop the cycle of destruction.
I realize that hey, this is probably an entirely subjective perspective on the whole thing... but I think this idea is interesting to me so I'm sticking with it.
The game is hard, but from the map-making, to the incredible score, to the deeper themes, to the areas themselves being absolutely beautiful, I think it is worth your time.
Also people who think this is boring haven't played enough DMC2.
Anyways this review is probably real messy but I don't think there was much of an overly coherent way of making this. Next review will be more organized.
Of course, Spoiler Warnings for Etrian Odyssey and Etrian Odyssey Untold.
I had first heard about this game when a friend of mine showed me said review for the original Etrian Odyssey. We had a laugh about how ridiculous we thought the review was, but I didn't ultimately get interested in the game until our friend Alan got to talking about it.
That's when my buddy Simon started his playthrough of the original Etrian Odyssey. The game was very intriguing due to it's nature as a dungeon crawler.
Unlike other Dungeon Crawlers I've played that automatically map for you as you go along, Etrian Odyssey requires the player to chart their own maps utilizing the touchscreen of the DS/3DS. This results in an immersive process I can only compare to how people used to play adventure games back when the Internet was far less accessible and players had to rely on drawing out their own maps to track their locations and findings.
And that was only part of the experience. For alongside navigating blind through these labyrinthian halls of forest, were creatures of pure terror and despair.
FOEs, these imposing Orange Orbs, which contained enemies far deadlier than any other, were plentiful throughout the winding paths and gaping corridors. If you want an accurate description of what FOEs are like, imagine Mr. X from the Resident Evil 2 Remake, but there's more than one and they are everywhere.
Watching Simon wander terrified with his Guild was a sight to behold, and while I was thinking of hopping on the original EO, I quickly changed my mind when I heard this.
Etrian Odyssey Untold's soundtrack, with it's pure orchestrated glory convinced me to play that version, and so I did.
I started the greatest of all the Guilds, the Alan Cock Guild. With myself as the Ronin leader, Alan as our Dark Hunter Mascot, Yuiz as our Masterful Medic, Godman as our Triumphing Troubadour, and Simon as our Helpful Hexer, we were sent out into the Yggdrasil Labyrinth to discover its many environments and venture into its very depths.
At the start, it was brutal. We were barely equipped to fight even the weakest of foes, they weren't so much battles as much as they were fights just to survive. The FOEs were the most terrifying, especially given how the remake opts to show what they actually look like, and because of the use of 3D models, could provide the most terrifying of scenarios like with these Boars shaped like Boulders that wake up when you walk in front of them.
I'd argue that Etrian Odyssey is a better horror game than most on the market. Every new FOE, every new Floor Boss is built up too steadily, and makes encountering them for the first time an absolute shock to the core.
Of course, that only made it all the more satisfying when the Alan Cock Guild grew strong enough to kill these ferocious creatures. As we continued to explore, as Forests gave way to Jungles, and Jungles gave way to Coral Reefs, we got ever stronger.
Along the way, we wind up encountering this Forest Girl who clearly does not want us there. Eventually the Radha, the people who we have been working for the entire game, demand that we do one more thing if we seek to venture further into the labyrinth: "Annihilate the Forest Folk".
So, back onto the minor complaints thing. The review that I read that initially introduced me to this game tried to make this argument that this final mission was Atlus saying that Genocide is good and acceptable. It was also at the point that the mission was introduced that they stopped playing the game.
Now, I'm not going to say Genocide isn't bad, or that the game doesn't have you partake in it. However, I do want to point out that at no point does the game actively relish in the actions.
From the very start of the mission, it is made clear how unsettling this demand is. Quinn, the Mission Giver, is clearly upset about the whole ordeal, mentioning how he "wished they would resolve this peacefully" revealing that the Radha Chieftan, Visil, has been acting strange in regards to these demands.
Throughout the entire quest, it is commented on how your guild does not want to do this, and that the whole thing is a setup by Visil to try and get you killed before you discover more about the Yggdrasil Labyrinth.
The game does not try to glorify the act of genocide, and I think claiming that Atlus was attempting to do so here is disingenuous.
Even then, I'd like to posit this argument. Why is it suddenly that when it is specifically the Forest Folk that it is this moral dilemma?
Think about what you and your party do all game.
From the very start you have been invading the habitats of the various creatures you come across, killing leagues of rats and wolves, slaughtering without end and without mercy. To come to this mission and think that your guild is innocent when they've already decimated an entire eco-system is just a bit hypocritical to be quite frank. (Also just want to say, assuming that Explorers are going to automatically be good is kind of naïve given history, most explorers have done terrible shit.)
And even then, by the end of the game you fight back against those who sent you to commit these heinous acts, and foil their plans with the Yggdrasil Tree.
If I had to make an argument about what I think the game is trying to show is that it shows the results of Capitalism on the environment.
You kill, you take in order to gain wealth and fame for your guild. The entire reason the genocide thing is set up to begin with to get your guild killed is to keep the mystery of the labyrinth going so that more explorers seeking the same fame you do will come to Etria.
More Explorers means more business, and you actively see these effects just by how the Shop's wares increase based on the drops you sell. Watching in real time as you becoming richer makes prices go up, and mercantile empires expand.
But at the end, you turn your back on that. You fight Visil in one last duel and strike him down, ending his plans, and eventually revealing the truth to everyone. Capitalism may have been what drove the guild before, but at the end, you fought to stop the cycle of destruction.
I realize that hey, this is probably an entirely subjective perspective on the whole thing... but I think this idea is interesting to me so I'm sticking with it.
The game is hard, but from the map-making, to the incredible score, to the deeper themes, to the areas themselves being absolutely beautiful, I think it is worth your time.
Also people who think this is boring haven't played enough DMC2.
Anyways this review is probably real messy but I don't think there was much of an overly coherent way of making this. Next review will be more organized.
Guh... mmmmngh ghhhhhhh... oh fuck...
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is... oh god... ohhhhhh...... such a soulful video game. Everything it... gnnnnn... includes is just pure artistry, Sakurai is simply perfect ungaaaaaaaahhhhhh... insert additional Sakurai Dickriding here
I love playing Smash Tour, such a great game mode. I love spending a half hour alone playing a game mode where I don't understand how it works and the game just kind of ends and stuff.
Oh and Classic Mode, fuck I'm ejaculating like I'm Shiki Tohno. Such an amazing breath of fresh air. I love moving my piece across a board with absolutely no rhyme or reason to anything that I'm doing, no theming or anything interesting whatsoever while I get to the Master Forms and cream at the thought of beating the little Master Core at the end that totally doesn't feel like the team who worked on this game's lack of a will to live.
I absolutely love the lack of any adventure mode after the Subspace Emissary. Not having any form of interesting singleplayer content is my fucking jam. Fuck singleplayer content, Singleplayer content should die in a ditch. Spitting noise
Most of all I'm so glad the Smash 4 community is such a safe and accepting community, especially for children, and that absolutely ZeRo people who got popular from this community turned out to be sexual predators.
All in all, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is simply the greatest game of all time, and if you don't agree well you simply hate Sakurai and want him to not survive the cold winters. You know Masahiro Sakurai really only has as much influence as a janitor, and Masahiro Sakurai cannot make any bad games.
Anyways check the date.
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is... oh god... ohhhhhh...... such a soulful video game. Everything it... gnnnnn... includes is just pure artistry, Sakurai is simply perfect ungaaaaaaaahhhhhh... insert additional Sakurai Dickriding here
I love playing Smash Tour, such a great game mode. I love spending a half hour alone playing a game mode where I don't understand how it works and the game just kind of ends and stuff.
Oh and Classic Mode, fuck I'm ejaculating like I'm Shiki Tohno. Such an amazing breath of fresh air. I love moving my piece across a board with absolutely no rhyme or reason to anything that I'm doing, no theming or anything interesting whatsoever while I get to the Master Forms and cream at the thought of beating the little Master Core at the end that totally doesn't feel like the team who worked on this game's lack of a will to live.
I absolutely love the lack of any adventure mode after the Subspace Emissary. Not having any form of interesting singleplayer content is my fucking jam. Fuck singleplayer content, Singleplayer content should die in a ditch. Spitting noise
Most of all I'm so glad the Smash 4 community is such a safe and accepting community, especially for children, and that absolutely ZeRo people who got popular from this community turned out to be sexual predators.
All in all, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is simply the greatest game of all time, and if you don't agree well you simply hate Sakurai and want him to not survive the cold winters. You know Masahiro Sakurai really only has as much influence as a janitor, and Masahiro Sakurai cannot make any bad games.
Anyways check the date.
My biggest problem with Dead Money stems from a gameplay perspective. New Vegas is already not the pinnacle regarding the first/third-person shooter mechanics it has; This is just something I can acknowledge. I can look past it most of the time, thanks to exploring the various locales or roleplaying with the different narrative pieces. I cannot do that in Dead Money.
This stems from two significant things: The enemies (and their design) and the setting. The Ghost People and, eventually, the Holograms are the only types of enemies you'll be facing for the 6~8 hours of playtime you'll experience in the DLC. Both enemies are not so terrifying as they are annoying to deal with, especially in the case of the Ghost People and their broken Perception stat. Both require extra work to kill entirely; in some issues with the holograms, killing isn't an option.
Now I understand that Dead Money was meant to be like a survival horror. In that respect, making enemies that can be virtually impossible to kill and difficult to deal with is a respectable concept; it falls flat on its face when you realize that if you get enough Sierra Madre Chips, you can just buy over 100 stimpacks and completely negate the entire challenge; This is what I did this playthrough. I found the Sierra Madre Snowglobe (which is very easy to obtain) and automatically got 2000 Chips on top of what I already had. Even then, chip collection can be as easy as talking to Christine and getting the perk to make your own using Fission Batteries and Scrap Metal or looking in every container.
So what? Ultimately, we're left with only two enemy types for an entire 6~8 hour duration, which visually and mechanically gets very stale relatively quickly.
Then there's the setting; by that, I mean I do not care for the Villa. Unlike the DLCs that came after (barring Lonesome Road, which is the worst one), Dead Money's Villa focuses on being a very narrow, linear experience through and through. Exploration, while encouraged for survival, is not nearly as satisfying as in the main game.
This isn't helped by the sameness of every location, having that Spanish architecture and dark red smokey color palette. And yes, I know that it is all intentional, but I still find it to get really mundane quickly, and eventually, areas start to blur. I prefer the far more varied environments you can find in the base game despite that mainly being desert.
Despite my complaints, Dead Money easily has the best narrative and thematic resonance of any DLC without being pretentious and preachy like Lonesome Road. Every character you encounter is incredibly well-developed, and the performances are stellar across the board.
However, some of it is undercut by the pacing. You spend so much time gathering the team, sending them to their specific places, and then activating the Gala event that it feels bizarre when you enter the Casino and everything starts ending.
To summarize, this is my second least favorite of the New Vegas DLC, but it still has charm.
However, the PC Version must be incredibly unstable because I have dealt with more crashes, specifically in this playthrough of Dead Money than I have with any other part of the game (and this is with the anti-crash files installed).
PS I snuck out with all the gold and trapped Elijah in the vault like a boss; now I shall break the Mojave Economy.
This stems from two significant things: The enemies (and their design) and the setting. The Ghost People and, eventually, the Holograms are the only types of enemies you'll be facing for the 6~8 hours of playtime you'll experience in the DLC. Both enemies are not so terrifying as they are annoying to deal with, especially in the case of the Ghost People and their broken Perception stat. Both require extra work to kill entirely; in some issues with the holograms, killing isn't an option.
Now I understand that Dead Money was meant to be like a survival horror. In that respect, making enemies that can be virtually impossible to kill and difficult to deal with is a respectable concept; it falls flat on its face when you realize that if you get enough Sierra Madre Chips, you can just buy over 100 stimpacks and completely negate the entire challenge; This is what I did this playthrough. I found the Sierra Madre Snowglobe (which is very easy to obtain) and automatically got 2000 Chips on top of what I already had. Even then, chip collection can be as easy as talking to Christine and getting the perk to make your own using Fission Batteries and Scrap Metal or looking in every container.
So what? Ultimately, we're left with only two enemy types for an entire 6~8 hour duration, which visually and mechanically gets very stale relatively quickly.
Then there's the setting; by that, I mean I do not care for the Villa. Unlike the DLCs that came after (barring Lonesome Road, which is the worst one), Dead Money's Villa focuses on being a very narrow, linear experience through and through. Exploration, while encouraged for survival, is not nearly as satisfying as in the main game.
This isn't helped by the sameness of every location, having that Spanish architecture and dark red smokey color palette. And yes, I know that it is all intentional, but I still find it to get really mundane quickly, and eventually, areas start to blur. I prefer the far more varied environments you can find in the base game despite that mainly being desert.
Despite my complaints, Dead Money easily has the best narrative and thematic resonance of any DLC without being pretentious and preachy like Lonesome Road. Every character you encounter is incredibly well-developed, and the performances are stellar across the board.
However, some of it is undercut by the pacing. You spend so much time gathering the team, sending them to their specific places, and then activating the Gala event that it feels bizarre when you enter the Casino and everything starts ending.
To summarize, this is my second least favorite of the New Vegas DLC, but it still has charm.
However, the PC Version must be incredibly unstable because I have dealt with more crashes, specifically in this playthrough of Dead Money than I have with any other part of the game (and this is with the anti-crash files installed).
PS I snuck out with all the gold and trapped Elijah in the vault like a boss; now I shall break the Mojave Economy.
There is no concrete way I can write this review. There is the part of me that wants to incessantly go into detail about all of the high points about the narrative, what I think about the romantic writing for each of the three routes, the improvement of the artstyle by Takeuchi since Tsukihime and the absolutely spectacular soundtrack.
There is also another part of me that desperately wants to hold back to keep from spoiling the experience for others.
That is how important this game is to me.
Throughout my many years in playing video games, there has never been a story that made me break down into tears. I've played emotional games like Celeste, I've experienced heartbreaking moments like in Stranger of Paradise's final hours, hell I've gone through the Mojave Wasteland more times than I can count experiencing all of the emotions that journey brings... and yet I did not cry.
It's not that I think I'm a tough guy, I'm very much not, but no game had ever connected with me completely in such a way to get that emotional response out of me. To some extent it was upsetting because I felt like there was something wrong with my emotions, whether because I'm depressed or what I can't truly say.
So, in truth I had always been looking for the game that would eventually cause the tears to well up, and for the strings of my heart to be pulled. To know that the game had fully and completely resonated with me.
Then I got to the end of the Unlimited Blade Works route of Fate/Stay Night.
And I cried.
I don't know how to speak to the sheer volume of importance this game has to popular culture, Japanese Popular Culture in particular, but I can say that this is one of the most important games I've experienced in my life personally.
It has a lot to say about guilt, the self, the building of love between others, and so much more that I don't want to ruin for you all by spilling it here.
Maybe someday I'll be able to write something truly concrete about this game, but maybe I don't need to.
Maybe all you need to know is that this game got me to feel in a way no other game has before, and maybe it can do that for you too.
There is also another part of me that desperately wants to hold back to keep from spoiling the experience for others.
That is how important this game is to me.
Throughout my many years in playing video games, there has never been a story that made me break down into tears. I've played emotional games like Celeste, I've experienced heartbreaking moments like in Stranger of Paradise's final hours, hell I've gone through the Mojave Wasteland more times than I can count experiencing all of the emotions that journey brings... and yet I did not cry.
It's not that I think I'm a tough guy, I'm very much not, but no game had ever connected with me completely in such a way to get that emotional response out of me. To some extent it was upsetting because I felt like there was something wrong with my emotions, whether because I'm depressed or what I can't truly say.
So, in truth I had always been looking for the game that would eventually cause the tears to well up, and for the strings of my heart to be pulled. To know that the game had fully and completely resonated with me.
Then I got to the end of the Unlimited Blade Works route of Fate/Stay Night.
And I cried.
I don't know how to speak to the sheer volume of importance this game has to popular culture, Japanese Popular Culture in particular, but I can say that this is one of the most important games I've experienced in my life personally.
It has a lot to say about guilt, the self, the building of love between others, and so much more that I don't want to ruin for you all by spilling it here.
Maybe someday I'll be able to write something truly concrete about this game, but maybe I don't need to.
Maybe all you need to know is that this game got me to feel in a way no other game has before, and maybe it can do that for you too.
Y'know, having now replayed this like, 3 times, one time on hard, doing several entire levels without taking damage I think I can unequivocally say the gameplay in this game is ass outside of the bosses.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance lives and dies on its hype factor, and y'know what, I am completely fine with that. It is a game that is balls to the walls in your face, firing off all cylinders to give you that sweet, addictive dopamine while the funny Darwinian Senator says not to fuck with him, and asking if you want to play hide and seek you little bitch.
Outside of that, a lot of what this game says about the nature of violence and accepting the past I find is pretty relevant, even if the game doesn't go too deep with it like Kojima's works, and of course the spreading of meme culture discussion this game brings up has only made this game remain viral to this day as compilation after compilation of MGR characters cockblocking you have continued to pervade every inch of Youtube and the rest of the internet.
However, this game is very much a pump and dump kind of game. The gameplay just isn't mechanically deep enough to keep players coming back, myself an exception because I WANTED TO PLAY AS SOMBRERO RAIDEN AND GREY FOX, OK, I WANTED MY PEAK FAN FICTION FANTASIES.
If you do decide to replay MGR, I suggest getting the Fox Blade and buying its Special Ability because it trivializes most encounters by basically being an instant kill. That or just refight the bosses, they're easily the best part of the game (minus Monsoon, that fucker can eat my ass).
This review is pretty negative but yeah, the game gets 4 stars from hype alone so I think it's fair for me to be negative about it. The DLC is also pretty good, Sam is fun to use and Blade Wolf has better stealth mechanics than Raiden so it all works out.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance lives and dies on its hype factor, and y'know what, I am completely fine with that. It is a game that is balls to the walls in your face, firing off all cylinders to give you that sweet, addictive dopamine while the funny Darwinian Senator says not to fuck with him, and asking if you want to play hide and seek you little bitch.
Outside of that, a lot of what this game says about the nature of violence and accepting the past I find is pretty relevant, even if the game doesn't go too deep with it like Kojima's works, and of course the spreading of meme culture discussion this game brings up has only made this game remain viral to this day as compilation after compilation of MGR characters cockblocking you have continued to pervade every inch of Youtube and the rest of the internet.
However, this game is very much a pump and dump kind of game. The gameplay just isn't mechanically deep enough to keep players coming back, myself an exception because I WANTED TO PLAY AS SOMBRERO RAIDEN AND GREY FOX, OK, I WANTED MY PEAK FAN FICTION FANTASIES.
If you do decide to replay MGR, I suggest getting the Fox Blade and buying its Special Ability because it trivializes most encounters by basically being an instant kill. That or just refight the bosses, they're easily the best part of the game (minus Monsoon, that fucker can eat my ass).
This review is pretty negative but yeah, the game gets 4 stars from hype alone so I think it's fair for me to be negative about it. The DLC is also pretty good, Sam is fun to use and Blade Wolf has better stealth mechanics than Raiden so it all works out.
This isn't so much a review as much as it is a story I want to tell.
(Mild FE4 spoilers)
When I first played Genealogy of the Holy War, I was awed by its enormous cast. The fact that you could use every unit available to you was such an interesting concept to me that I did my very best to try and get every unit either promoted (minus Dew), or married.
And while I found most of the characters to be fundamentally useful including Arden, the blatant joke character, there was a unit that just could not seem to reach any kind of expectation for me.
Have I ever mentioned what my favorite color is on here before? The color is Red, and I've loved the color ever since I was a child. Red has always been a color that for me, represented the coolest possible things: Zero from Mega Man X, Spider-Man, Knuckes, all of these characters I have loved from a relatively young age, and still hold true to me today as representations of the color Red.
And then, then there's Noishe...
Noishe, Noish, Naoise, however the fuck you pronounce it is a character I absolutely despise. They're not cool in any sense, they only have one piece of dialogue in the entire game (two if you have him get married but we'll get onto why that's a mistake), and they can't kill enemies for shit.
Noishe is a Cavalier unit, which is what has given him the claim of being a "good" unit because FE4's maps being so large accentuates the usage of horse units, but in my honest opinion he is worse than most of the infantry units.
He doesn't have the Follow-Up Skill by default, which in FE4 means he cannot double at all, and to make it worse, he has an abysmal starting speed stat of 8, and a growth rate of 20%, meaning that even if you give him the Pursuit Ring that you can find in Chapter 2, he will still not kill units half the time.
While he does start with the Critical skill, which for some would be a good reason to have him marry one of the female units, it's borderline pointless because of how weapon kills work in this game. If you have a weapon that has killed 50 or more units, that weapon comes with the Critical skill inherent to itself.
The only way to make Noishe be up to par is to give him both the Pursuit Ring and the Brave Sword which you can get in Chapter 3 (which is actually 4 Chapters into the game, and only 2 Chapters from the end of Gen 1), but at the same time that requires him to compete with multiple other units who could use those weapons. Personally why would I have Noishe keep the Pursuit Ring when I can give it to the already extremely powerful Lewyn so he can quadruple damage thanks to having the Adept skill (which itself allows Lewyn to strike twice consecutively, that and Lewyn also comes with Critical himself. He can crit and double attack by default already making him leagues better than Noishe), or giving the Brave Sword to someone like Lachesis so she can kill enemies faster and attain that all powerful Master Knight class even sooner? Why should I give power to a mediocre unit when I can have more powerful units be even more powerful?
Hell, Fire Emblem Wiki where I am sourcing the information from says, and I quote "Naoise requires adequate equipment to surpass mediocrity." To that I say, if that is the case... why bother using him at all?
In my first run of FE4 I did everything I could to make this unit work because all of the people I asked said "Noishe is a good unit", but time and time again Noishe would simply not perform, even with things like the Pursuit Ring. He simply had terrible fucking growths.
Even after promoting him to a Paladin, the only use I had for Noishe was letting him be the only unit I didn't reset for. Letting him die to the Mjolnir tome in Chapter 5 so that Sigurd could get the kill.
Ever since I finished FE4 my hatred for Noishe continued to burn. Whenever I played other FEs and saw how the Red Cavalier units in those games were performing far better than he ever did, I just remembered my sheer disappointment and disgust I had with him. He made me feel ashamed of liking the color Red.
And so I finally reached a conclusion. After joking about it for a good chunk of the year, I decided to do the one thing with Noishe that could bring me joy and happiness...
I would speedrun his death.
Yes, what I spent most of today doing was trying to find the fastest, most efficient way to get Noishe killed in the Prologue of Genealogy of the Holy War.
It was adrenaline pumping, figuring out a strategy that required me to sell Sigurd's Iron Lance so Noishe could buy it on Turn 2, allowing for him to attack an ax unit so that he would get two shot on enemy phase and die.
The process took several hours, first I did a 1:35.4 Minute Run where I paused during the cutscene and started at turn one. My buddy Simon told me that wasn't legitimate, so then I moved on to trying to do it legit the fastest way possible.
As the first person to attempt the Noishe Death% Speedrun, I learned a lot about the optimal strategy. It requires skills not tied to Fire Emblem, if anything I'd say it's more akin to Mario Party.
Step 1.
Mash as much as humanly possible.
Mashing the start button is the only way to skip dialogue, and if you do it fast enough, you won't even see portraits of speech bubbles. The scene will simply fade in and out instantaneously.
This is the ideal scenario as given the map movement cutscenes are entirely unskippable, being able to fully skip dialogue scenes is imperative to saving time on the run.
Step 2:
Put everyone except Arden into the castle on Turn 1, while also changing your options as quickly as possible.
In FE4, you cannot change options in the main menu, and are required to do so once you are in play. This requires precision so as to not slip up and accidentally waste time.
The menuing is required simply because removing animations as well as raising enemy speed reduces the amount of time enemy phase takes, allowing for a better time.
Putting all of the units into the castle on Turn 1 prevents enemies from targeting your other units, that way they won't be killed when you send Noishe out on Turn 2 in order to finish the run.
It also allows you to fulfill the requirements for successful completion of the run on Enemy Turn 2 by allowing Sigurd to sell his Iron Lance for Noishe to buy, giving him a disadvantage to the enemy Axe units whom he otherwise would have a high avoid rate against.
That's not Noishe being good but rather Axes' being shit against Swords. Giving Noishe the Iron Lance also gives the enemies as 100% hit rate against him, guaranteeing death in three attacks.
Step 3:
Mash even harder.
This is the second hardest part because after turn one, there is an entire 25-45 second scene where you have no control while characters move on the map and have multiple lines of dialogue. There is even a fight which is animated, even if you have animations off.
Simply mash as fast as you can to skip dialogue so that the movement goes faster, allowing for enemy phase to actually start, which should go smoothly if you successfully menued to make enemy movement faster on Turn 1.
Step 4.
Menu the Iron Lance as fast as humanly possible.
This is the absolute hardest part and requires exact precision. Any mispress and you will doom the run here. You need to go into the castle, sell the Iron Lance with Sigurd, exit out of that menu, and press down to select Noishe.
Then immediately after go and buy the Iron Lance for Noishe, exit that menu and send him out to attack.
Step 5.
Attack the Axe unit closest to the castle.
By attacking this unit with the Iron Lance, you are guaranteed to take 11 damage, which is more than enough for Noishe to get two shot on enemy phase. After the attack, move Noishe to the left close to the next axe unit to deliver the coup de grace.
Step 6.
Watch him die.
At this point, you just watch as Noishe dies painfully to two slashes of the axe, ending your run.
By doing this you will have successfully completed your Noishe Death% run, killing the whitest unit in the army with more effort than it takes to actually beat the prologue of this game.
And I know what you're probably thinking: "Wow, this is such an extremely petty thing to do over a video game character from one game in a franchise of 17 mainline games and multiple spinoffs," and to you I say, yes. Yes it is petty. But it was so worth it.
You can call it petty, you can call it a joke in bad taste, call me a shit eating bastard who is not worthy of the ground upon which he stands or the games of which he plays but that will never make me feel ashamed of the absolute pop-off I had when I got a Sub 3 Minute Run.
Pettiness results in some pretty special moments.
(Mild FE4 spoilers)
When I first played Genealogy of the Holy War, I was awed by its enormous cast. The fact that you could use every unit available to you was such an interesting concept to me that I did my very best to try and get every unit either promoted (minus Dew), or married.
And while I found most of the characters to be fundamentally useful including Arden, the blatant joke character, there was a unit that just could not seem to reach any kind of expectation for me.
Have I ever mentioned what my favorite color is on here before? The color is Red, and I've loved the color ever since I was a child. Red has always been a color that for me, represented the coolest possible things: Zero from Mega Man X, Spider-Man, Knuckes, all of these characters I have loved from a relatively young age, and still hold true to me today as representations of the color Red.
And then, then there's Noishe...
Noishe, Noish, Naoise, however the fuck you pronounce it is a character I absolutely despise. They're not cool in any sense, they only have one piece of dialogue in the entire game (two if you have him get married but we'll get onto why that's a mistake), and they can't kill enemies for shit.
Noishe is a Cavalier unit, which is what has given him the claim of being a "good" unit because FE4's maps being so large accentuates the usage of horse units, but in my honest opinion he is worse than most of the infantry units.
He doesn't have the Follow-Up Skill by default, which in FE4 means he cannot double at all, and to make it worse, he has an abysmal starting speed stat of 8, and a growth rate of 20%, meaning that even if you give him the Pursuit Ring that you can find in Chapter 2, he will still not kill units half the time.
While he does start with the Critical skill, which for some would be a good reason to have him marry one of the female units, it's borderline pointless because of how weapon kills work in this game. If you have a weapon that has killed 50 or more units, that weapon comes with the Critical skill inherent to itself.
The only way to make Noishe be up to par is to give him both the Pursuit Ring and the Brave Sword which you can get in Chapter 3 (which is actually 4 Chapters into the game, and only 2 Chapters from the end of Gen 1), but at the same time that requires him to compete with multiple other units who could use those weapons. Personally why would I have Noishe keep the Pursuit Ring when I can give it to the already extremely powerful Lewyn so he can quadruple damage thanks to having the Adept skill (which itself allows Lewyn to strike twice consecutively, that and Lewyn also comes with Critical himself. He can crit and double attack by default already making him leagues better than Noishe), or giving the Brave Sword to someone like Lachesis so she can kill enemies faster and attain that all powerful Master Knight class even sooner? Why should I give power to a mediocre unit when I can have more powerful units be even more powerful?
Hell, Fire Emblem Wiki where I am sourcing the information from says, and I quote "Naoise requires adequate equipment to surpass mediocrity." To that I say, if that is the case... why bother using him at all?
In my first run of FE4 I did everything I could to make this unit work because all of the people I asked said "Noishe is a good unit", but time and time again Noishe would simply not perform, even with things like the Pursuit Ring. He simply had terrible fucking growths.
Even after promoting him to a Paladin, the only use I had for Noishe was letting him be the only unit I didn't reset for. Letting him die to the Mjolnir tome in Chapter 5 so that Sigurd could get the kill.
Ever since I finished FE4 my hatred for Noishe continued to burn. Whenever I played other FEs and saw how the Red Cavalier units in those games were performing far better than he ever did, I just remembered my sheer disappointment and disgust I had with him. He made me feel ashamed of liking the color Red.
And so I finally reached a conclusion. After joking about it for a good chunk of the year, I decided to do the one thing with Noishe that could bring me joy and happiness...
I would speedrun his death.
Yes, what I spent most of today doing was trying to find the fastest, most efficient way to get Noishe killed in the Prologue of Genealogy of the Holy War.
It was adrenaline pumping, figuring out a strategy that required me to sell Sigurd's Iron Lance so Noishe could buy it on Turn 2, allowing for him to attack an ax unit so that he would get two shot on enemy phase and die.
The process took several hours, first I did a 1:35.4 Minute Run where I paused during the cutscene and started at turn one. My buddy Simon told me that wasn't legitimate, so then I moved on to trying to do it legit the fastest way possible.
As the first person to attempt the Noishe Death% Speedrun, I learned a lot about the optimal strategy. It requires skills not tied to Fire Emblem, if anything I'd say it's more akin to Mario Party.
Step 1.
Mash as much as humanly possible.
Mashing the start button is the only way to skip dialogue, and if you do it fast enough, you won't even see portraits of speech bubbles. The scene will simply fade in and out instantaneously.
This is the ideal scenario as given the map movement cutscenes are entirely unskippable, being able to fully skip dialogue scenes is imperative to saving time on the run.
Step 2:
Put everyone except Arden into the castle on Turn 1, while also changing your options as quickly as possible.
In FE4, you cannot change options in the main menu, and are required to do so once you are in play. This requires precision so as to not slip up and accidentally waste time.
The menuing is required simply because removing animations as well as raising enemy speed reduces the amount of time enemy phase takes, allowing for a better time.
Putting all of the units into the castle on Turn 1 prevents enemies from targeting your other units, that way they won't be killed when you send Noishe out on Turn 2 in order to finish the run.
It also allows you to fulfill the requirements for successful completion of the run on Enemy Turn 2 by allowing Sigurd to sell his Iron Lance for Noishe to buy, giving him a disadvantage to the enemy Axe units whom he otherwise would have a high avoid rate against.
That's not Noishe being good but rather Axes' being shit against Swords. Giving Noishe the Iron Lance also gives the enemies as 100% hit rate against him, guaranteeing death in three attacks.
Step 3:
Mash even harder.
This is the second hardest part because after turn one, there is an entire 25-45 second scene where you have no control while characters move on the map and have multiple lines of dialogue. There is even a fight which is animated, even if you have animations off.
Simply mash as fast as you can to skip dialogue so that the movement goes faster, allowing for enemy phase to actually start, which should go smoothly if you successfully menued to make enemy movement faster on Turn 1.
Step 4.
Menu the Iron Lance as fast as humanly possible.
This is the absolute hardest part and requires exact precision. Any mispress and you will doom the run here. You need to go into the castle, sell the Iron Lance with Sigurd, exit out of that menu, and press down to select Noishe.
Then immediately after go and buy the Iron Lance for Noishe, exit that menu and send him out to attack.
Step 5.
Attack the Axe unit closest to the castle.
By attacking this unit with the Iron Lance, you are guaranteed to take 11 damage, which is more than enough for Noishe to get two shot on enemy phase. After the attack, move Noishe to the left close to the next axe unit to deliver the coup de grace.
Step 6.
Watch him die.
At this point, you just watch as Noishe dies painfully to two slashes of the axe, ending your run.
By doing this you will have successfully completed your Noishe Death% run, killing the whitest unit in the army with more effort than it takes to actually beat the prologue of this game.
And I know what you're probably thinking: "Wow, this is such an extremely petty thing to do over a video game character from one game in a franchise of 17 mainline games and multiple spinoffs," and to you I say, yes. Yes it is petty. But it was so worth it.
You can call it petty, you can call it a joke in bad taste, call me a shit eating bastard who is not worthy of the ground upon which he stands or the games of which he plays but that will never make me feel ashamed of the absolute pop-off I had when I got a Sub 3 Minute Run.
Pettiness results in some pretty special moments.
2022
Sonic Frontiers is going to be one of those Sonic games I think. One that determines the direction of the series going forward, for better or worse.
The type of game that will have Youtube "Reviewers" make statements similar to "Sonic has had a rough transition to 3D", I mean it's not like certain Youtube "Reviewers" haven't already tried to completely shoot this game out of the sky like they're trying for a High Score in Duck Hunt.
Hell, I'm sure there will be a review in the near future that will completely demonize this game and refuse to see any remote positives whatsoever, because that's just what Sonic as a franchise gets at this point.
So moving on from this preamble, what exactly is Sonic Frontiers?
Well, I would make the comparison that it is what Sonic CD attempted to be. A sandbox game focused on using Sonic's movement in satisfying ways, but instead of having completely dogshit levels and the horrid Robot Generators, we have other, not spectacular collectathon stuff.
Yeah, I won't beat around the bush, the general collectathon stuff this game has you do isn't really too interesting. You mostly go through little obstacle courses and do short little bursts of Sonic to get a collectable, usually the one to progress the plot.
However, while these sections aren't really that amazing, the process of traveling in the open world is the most fun I've had in a 3D Sonic game since Generations in 2011. The sheer amount of flying off of things at super sonic speeds to traverse over miles worth of land all while doing air tricks is just inherently satisfying to me. Drop Dashing down a long slope and rolling super fast across the ground, using the maximum boost, all of it was just a joy for me.
They even fixed what I thought was most broken about the boost, that being that it no longer damages enemies. This forces the player to consider their movements more than they had to in the previous boost games.
It also puts an emphasis on combat which... isn't good, but it is nowhere near the sense of tedium and misery of Sonic Heroes. Combat is much faster, and very automated, which while resulting in a boring CAG feel, is much better than the absolute sloggy shit from Heroes and 06 where enemy health bars were massive and took so long (and in Heroes' case you had to do everything FOUR FUCKING TIMES OVER).
The Cyberspace Levels were fun, but yeah they're not nearly as good as Generations, made even more noticeable when the game outright uses level design from that game wholesale with barely any changes. The best levels were easily the ones referencing SA2, but even then I still don't like one specific thing about them.
The Cyberspace Levels only have 4 aesthetics, two of which I am already tired of.
Short little rant here: I am so tired of seeing Green Hill and Chemical Plant. They've been borderline stock aesthetics for Sonic for the past half decade now and I am fucking exhausted of seeing them. Please, Sonic Team, use any other fucking level aesthetics I beg of you. I get that Green Hill and Chemical Plants are staple levels of the franchise but still, they've been overused so much to the point of just being a visual bore.
Another major issue I have with this game does come down to the worlds themselves aesthetically. None of the worlds feel like a place Sonic would belong.
For what I think, and keep in mind this is just me being subjective, a better concept would be to use the "Zone" concept of the classic games to have Sonic go through more colorful areas, and have them all connect to one another like a Metroidvania. That way we can have beautiful, cartoony areas to run through with hopefully less melancholic music as we blaze through loops and the like.
This is because while I enjoy boosting through these islands, I still think that they don't suit Sonic as a character. Maybe that's the point, but I'd still prefer something that goes back to the visuals of Classic/Adventure Era Sonic, or hell even the early boost games like Unleashed and Colors, because what we have in this game is just incredibly forgettable as a world.
Boss Fights are peak, I'm not gonna spoil on that, just know I think they're peak.
The plot itself, while I don't think is super deep, I do like how the characters all interact. For the first time in years we probably have the best character writing I've seen in a Sonic game. They don't feel like one-dimensional jokes, but rather multifaceted people all with their own sets of problems. Amy goes from being one of the most obnoxious characters to being a sensible girl who wants to spread positivity to the world around her, Knuckles and Sonic easily have my favorite dynamic in the entire game with their rivalry being given a good focus as we see them goof off with one another and even having Knuckles have an introspective moment on his place in the world. They even fixed the problems with Tails that were made in Forces, making him not fully dependent on Sonic, and given that Tails is my favorite Sonic character, this made me super happy.
If I had to say who the best written characters were though, the relationship between Eggman and new character Sage takes the cake. I will not go into details, though I will say it's kind of fucked up that the stuff showing their relationship is locked behind Big the Cat fishing, because it's so fucking good.
Oh yeah, Big the Cat fishing, almost forgot. This is basically an alternate way to get the collectables the game provides. It's really simple and honestly a relaxing break, it also is the only way to get the Eggman Records which I definitely recommend getting.
The ending too, god it's so good.
Minor Spoilers Ahead:
Firstly, this game gets the "forced shmup section" right by
A. Having you experience the gameplay multiple times before hand so you get practice instead of it completely blindsiding the player.
B. It's essentially optional as it's only in the Hard Mode of the game, and there isn't anything other than a different ending theme locked behind it.
This is how you get me to want to play shmups, not shoving the shit in at the last minute and calling it a day, resulting in a complete halfassed section.
Then there's the scene right before the credits...
Egg
Spoilers over
I'm sure in time this game will be culturally reevaluated as either the game that sent Sonic down an even worse downward spiral or as the beginning of a new era of Sonic titles that people genuinely enjoyed. I'm hoping for the latter, but as a Sonic fan, I can never be too sure.
There was another review I saw here that complimented how Sonic as a franchise is always experimenting, and how admirable that is. I think that's ultimately what's kept me coming back to the Blue Dude in these past 10 years. Regardless of whether it absolutely sucks or is a great time, Sonic isn't afraid of shaking things up. It's what makes it more than just another platformer to me.
So I salute you Frontiers, may you be the stepping stone to a brighter future to the Snarky Speedster.
The type of game that will have Youtube "Reviewers" make statements similar to "Sonic has had a rough transition to 3D", I mean it's not like certain Youtube "Reviewers" haven't already tried to completely shoot this game out of the sky like they're trying for a High Score in Duck Hunt.
Hell, I'm sure there will be a review in the near future that will completely demonize this game and refuse to see any remote positives whatsoever, because that's just what Sonic as a franchise gets at this point.
So moving on from this preamble, what exactly is Sonic Frontiers?
Well, I would make the comparison that it is what Sonic CD attempted to be. A sandbox game focused on using Sonic's movement in satisfying ways, but instead of having completely dogshit levels and the horrid Robot Generators, we have other, not spectacular collectathon stuff.
Yeah, I won't beat around the bush, the general collectathon stuff this game has you do isn't really too interesting. You mostly go through little obstacle courses and do short little bursts of Sonic to get a collectable, usually the one to progress the plot.
However, while these sections aren't really that amazing, the process of traveling in the open world is the most fun I've had in a 3D Sonic game since Generations in 2011. The sheer amount of flying off of things at super sonic speeds to traverse over miles worth of land all while doing air tricks is just inherently satisfying to me. Drop Dashing down a long slope and rolling super fast across the ground, using the maximum boost, all of it was just a joy for me.
They even fixed what I thought was most broken about the boost, that being that it no longer damages enemies. This forces the player to consider their movements more than they had to in the previous boost games.
It also puts an emphasis on combat which... isn't good, but it is nowhere near the sense of tedium and misery of Sonic Heroes. Combat is much faster, and very automated, which while resulting in a boring CAG feel, is much better than the absolute sloggy shit from Heroes and 06 where enemy health bars were massive and took so long (and in Heroes' case you had to do everything FOUR FUCKING TIMES OVER).
The Cyberspace Levels were fun, but yeah they're not nearly as good as Generations, made even more noticeable when the game outright uses level design from that game wholesale with barely any changes. The best levels were easily the ones referencing SA2, but even then I still don't like one specific thing about them.
The Cyberspace Levels only have 4 aesthetics, two of which I am already tired of.
Short little rant here: I am so tired of seeing Green Hill and Chemical Plant. They've been borderline stock aesthetics for Sonic for the past half decade now and I am fucking exhausted of seeing them. Please, Sonic Team, use any other fucking level aesthetics I beg of you. I get that Green Hill and Chemical Plants are staple levels of the franchise but still, they've been overused so much to the point of just being a visual bore.
Another major issue I have with this game does come down to the worlds themselves aesthetically. None of the worlds feel like a place Sonic would belong.
For what I think, and keep in mind this is just me being subjective, a better concept would be to use the "Zone" concept of the classic games to have Sonic go through more colorful areas, and have them all connect to one another like a Metroidvania. That way we can have beautiful, cartoony areas to run through with hopefully less melancholic music as we blaze through loops and the like.
This is because while I enjoy boosting through these islands, I still think that they don't suit Sonic as a character. Maybe that's the point, but I'd still prefer something that goes back to the visuals of Classic/Adventure Era Sonic, or hell even the early boost games like Unleashed and Colors, because what we have in this game is just incredibly forgettable as a world.
Boss Fights are peak, I'm not gonna spoil on that, just know I think they're peak.
The plot itself, while I don't think is super deep, I do like how the characters all interact. For the first time in years we probably have the best character writing I've seen in a Sonic game. They don't feel like one-dimensional jokes, but rather multifaceted people all with their own sets of problems. Amy goes from being one of the most obnoxious characters to being a sensible girl who wants to spread positivity to the world around her, Knuckles and Sonic easily have my favorite dynamic in the entire game with their rivalry being given a good focus as we see them goof off with one another and even having Knuckles have an introspective moment on his place in the world. They even fixed the problems with Tails that were made in Forces, making him not fully dependent on Sonic, and given that Tails is my favorite Sonic character, this made me super happy.
If I had to say who the best written characters were though, the relationship between Eggman and new character Sage takes the cake. I will not go into details, though I will say it's kind of fucked up that the stuff showing their relationship is locked behind Big the Cat fishing, because it's so fucking good.
Oh yeah, Big the Cat fishing, almost forgot. This is basically an alternate way to get the collectables the game provides. It's really simple and honestly a relaxing break, it also is the only way to get the Eggman Records which I definitely recommend getting.
The ending too, god it's so good.
Minor Spoilers Ahead:
Firstly, this game gets the "forced shmup section" right by
A. Having you experience the gameplay multiple times before hand so you get practice instead of it completely blindsiding the player.
B. It's essentially optional as it's only in the Hard Mode of the game, and there isn't anything other than a different ending theme locked behind it.
This is how you get me to want to play shmups, not shoving the shit in at the last minute and calling it a day, resulting in a complete halfassed section.
Then there's the scene right before the credits...
Egg
Spoilers over
I'm sure in time this game will be culturally reevaluated as either the game that sent Sonic down an even worse downward spiral or as the beginning of a new era of Sonic titles that people genuinely enjoyed. I'm hoping for the latter, but as a Sonic fan, I can never be too sure.
There was another review I saw here that complimented how Sonic as a franchise is always experimenting, and how admirable that is. I think that's ultimately what's kept me coming back to the Blue Dude in these past 10 years. Regardless of whether it absolutely sucks or is a great time, Sonic isn't afraid of shaking things up. It's what makes it more than just another platformer to me.
So I salute you Frontiers, may you be the stepping stone to a brighter future to the Snarky Speedster.