Carbuncle__
This review contains spoilers
It absolutely blows me away that a re-telling/remake of Final Fantasy VII can exist in 2024 and be this damn good/have this much passion and reverence for its characters and story while also interweaving in new twists and turns. So much damn fun. Everything hits. Story, Music, Characters, Mini Games, Combat. All great. Not the "perfect" game by critic standards probably but for me personally it's pretty damn close.
2023
Game has the BIGGEST most HYPE moments of any game I have ever experienced while simultaneously having some of the LOWEST most BORING stalls to a game I've ever experienced. If you love Final Fantasy in any way I would still check it out as the moments that are good in this game are SO WORTH IT. The music is obviously a significant highpoint, I don't know how much I can really say that you haven't heard or read in other reviews praising Soken. Yes it's that good. If you mainline this story and don't worry yourself with side content or any of the slower moments of the game I can see this ranking very high for me personally but as a whole just not really there unfortunately.
Cidolfus Telamon is my GOAT.
Cidolfus Telamon is my GOAT.
This review contains spoilers
"Embrace your dreams.. and whatever happens.. protect your honor as a Soldier!"
What an ππ£π©ππ§ππ¨π©ππ£π game. Man. I really love Zack and his story but it's packaged in and around such a WEIRD story and not that fun game. Combat is better in Reunion but still nothing to write home about. Performances while being true to the original VO direction are rough and downright comical at times, although I do appreciate the commitment to the bit. Story throughout the game is nonsensical scribbles until about half way when you start to care. Genesis sucks, Angeal is tolerable. Zack absolutely rules, Cissnei is great. Returning characters like Sephiroth, Aerith and Cloud are done justice. The scene near the beginning of the game in Wutai with Yuffie is CUTE AS HELL. Music is also VERY mid 2000's but I have a soft spot for it. Obviously that ending. Dude.
All in all a mixed bag with more good than bad but still got enough bad to notice. BUT, if you like FF7 even a little you should be playing this.
What an ππ£π©ππ§ππ¨π©ππ£π game. Man. I really love Zack and his story but it's packaged in and around such a WEIRD story and not that fun game. Combat is better in Reunion but still nothing to write home about. Performances while being true to the original VO direction are rough and downright comical at times, although I do appreciate the commitment to the bit. Story throughout the game is nonsensical scribbles until about half way when you start to care. Genesis sucks, Angeal is tolerable. Zack absolutely rules, Cissnei is great. Returning characters like Sephiroth, Aerith and Cloud are done justice. The scene near the beginning of the game in Wutai with Yuffie is CUTE AS HELL. Music is also VERY mid 2000's but I have a soft spot for it. Obviously that ending. Dude.
All in all a mixed bag with more good than bad but still got enough bad to notice. BUT, if you like FF7 even a little you should be playing this.
2016
I really love my Road Trip with The Boysβ’. It's not without it's flaws but man if I don't love the journey. Campfire scene messes me up every single time without fail though.
This review contains spoilers
Kiryu makes Cancer his bitch 10/10
You deserved so much better Vincent Valentine. You will get your moment in the sun I swear.
Played this as a BABY and was my introduction to Final Fantasy and JRPG's as a whole back on the SNES. Coincidentally I can remember owning 2 SNES Final Fantasy games and trying to decide which to play first, This or Final Fantasy II (IV) and I chose Mystic Quest because I assumed it was the first one and I couldn't start with the one that had 2 in the title.
I don't know man I liked it as a literal child, the game was aimed towards kids like me and even if I was to go back today I think I'd be able to get at least something out of it, even if it's not the deepest thing in the world.
I don't know man I liked it as a literal child, the game was aimed towards kids like me and even if I was to go back today I think I'd be able to get at least something out of it, even if it's not the deepest thing in the world.
2019
This review contains spoilers
Lovelovelovelovelove this game so much man.
Mission Structure is still wholly stuck in the early 2000's but aside from that, Devil May Cry 5 does A LOT right. Story is predictable but satisfying, Combat is incredibly rewarding and cool. I personally am really attached to when a game loves its music, and this game LOVES it's music, Not all of it hits for me but a good majority of it does, So having a battle theme like DEVIL TRIGGER play every time I get into a fight with Nero feels so hype man. Speaking of Nero, When I played Devil May Cry 4 in 2008 I "liked" Nero. He was fine. I don't quite know what it is, but I love that dude this time around. I love a lot of these characters this time around. Nero and Nico are great. Dante is of course a smash hit. V is in the corner being poetic and goth and that's cool. Griffon is amazing. Vergil himself is my favourite version of himself to date. Just a great character action game. You should play please. Don't even get me started on Bury The Light brother.
Mission Structure is still wholly stuck in the early 2000's but aside from that, Devil May Cry 5 does A LOT right. Story is predictable but satisfying, Combat is incredibly rewarding and cool. I personally am really attached to when a game loves its music, and this game LOVES it's music, Not all of it hits for me but a good majority of it does, So having a battle theme like DEVIL TRIGGER play every time I get into a fight with Nero feels so hype man. Speaking of Nero, When I played Devil May Cry 4 in 2008 I "liked" Nero. He was fine. I don't quite know what it is, but I love that dude this time around. I love a lot of these characters this time around. Nero and Nico are great. Dante is of course a smash hit. V is in the corner being poetic and goth and that's cool. Griffon is amazing. Vergil himself is my favourite version of himself to date. Just a great character action game. You should play please. Don't even get me started on Bury The Light brother.
This review contains spoilers
So this is a wild ass game for a multitude of reasons. I genuinely thought Raiden as a character was pretty cool in MGS2, Like no, you're not as cool or interesting as Snake but you're alright pretty boy. Then they make him a cyborg-samurai-ninja dude is MGS4 and I'm like πππππππ. Now we've arrived at Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Insane name btw) and like opening this game with being the bodyguard for an unnamed Prime Minister of an African Country and getting into this big tutorial boss fight with a Metal Gear just absolutely blew me away the first time I saw it. I dare you if you have never seen the opening to this game to watch/play it and NOT be like πΈπ¦ππ π©π°ππ₯ π°π― π―π°πΈ. Raiden is just cool man. Speaking of, SENATOR ARMSTRONG. I don't know if I'd call him cool but man, What a villain. I'm not gonna get into exactly what his deal is and what he stands for but just know, A LOT of this games theme's and messages ring true today AND this is a game in which the main villain is a Senator for The United States of America as well as being one of the Candidates for the 2020 United States Presidential Election. That's just funny.
GAMEPLAY, man I've just been sitting here stroking this game for it's theme's and story and characters I didn't even bring up the fact that it's made by GODDAMN PLATINUM GAMES. If you're familiar at all you know the combat slaps. BUT I would like to just put it out there that BLADE MODE IS SOME OF THE COOLEST SHIT IN ANY CHARACTER ACTION GAME EVER. Entering what is essentially bullet time but for slicing up cyborg parts and ripping out there fake spines to heal yourself is some of the most rad shit ever thought up. So thank you.
Lastly I want to touch on an aspect of this game that has probably been touched on a lot and might feel redundant but I feel is just as important as the others. MUSIC. You could pick ANY of the 13 vocal tracks spread throughout MGRR and say their your favourite and I would hit you with a nod and say "yeah it's pretty good". Lending itself to the style of game the music is Fast and Heavy, with banger after banger after banger. Songs that I don't think I'll ever grow tired of and will remain having an impact on me in ways I wouldn't have thought imaginable. When I got into the boss fight with Mistral and the instrumental for A Stranger I Remain kicks in, I vividly remember this feeling of "Oh shit, this is gonna be a good one." AND THEN THE VOCALS COME IN. That moment will never leave me.
This is too long to even be considered a review I've just rambled in text form and am just putting this out into the world. I love this game truly from the bottom of my heart. Please play it.
GAMEPLAY, man I've just been sitting here stroking this game for it's theme's and story and characters I didn't even bring up the fact that it's made by GODDAMN PLATINUM GAMES. If you're familiar at all you know the combat slaps. BUT I would like to just put it out there that BLADE MODE IS SOME OF THE COOLEST SHIT IN ANY CHARACTER ACTION GAME EVER. Entering what is essentially bullet time but for slicing up cyborg parts and ripping out there fake spines to heal yourself is some of the most rad shit ever thought up. So thank you.
Lastly I want to touch on an aspect of this game that has probably been touched on a lot and might feel redundant but I feel is just as important as the others. MUSIC. You could pick ANY of the 13 vocal tracks spread throughout MGRR and say their your favourite and I would hit you with a nod and say "yeah it's pretty good". Lending itself to the style of game the music is Fast and Heavy, with banger after banger after banger. Songs that I don't think I'll ever grow tired of and will remain having an impact on me in ways I wouldn't have thought imaginable. When I got into the boss fight with Mistral and the instrumental for A Stranger I Remain kicks in, I vividly remember this feeling of "Oh shit, this is gonna be a good one." AND THEN THE VOCALS COME IN. That moment will never leave me.
This is too long to even be considered a review I've just rambled in text form and am just putting this out into the world. I love this game truly from the bottom of my heart. Please play it.
2007
you get 1 star for being a "functioning" game and for the gift of Spider-Man 3 QTE's. Don't play this.
Having played Dissidia very sparingly in the past, Most of my time playing Dissidia in the past being NT, I was excited to go back and play this first entry and for the most part I was pleasantly surprised. For a fighting game that released on a portable handheld console in 2009 in NA, This game is really good. Tons of fun, a unique concept for a competitive fighting game that I still don't know if I completely have wrapped my head around, with a relatively simple story featuring the Heroes and Villains of the respective first 10 Final Fantasy games. Coming back to this first entry in the Dissidia series I have a slightly altered perspective to the voice cast for this game. Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth exist and are out at the point of writing this review. The majority of this voice cast I actually surprisingly liked a lot. Genuinely fun performances from most of the cast with some funny interactions in the story mode. Cloud however.. I don't know man. This is the same actor who had portrayed him from Kingdom Hearts onward in every subsequent project Cloud Strife was featured in, most of which I played and have fond memories of. This just felt bad. Normally I would chalk it up to bad VO Direction or something like that but I genuinely like every other performance in the game. That being said it doesn't really take any of my enjoyment out of playing this game or any future titles in the Dissidia series.
Every character I've touched has felt relatively easy to pick up figure out, which I think was intentional with the goal of this game being something different from your average fighting game. This one feels less competitive in nature and more so focused on just getting this collection of "Action Figures" together in one setting and trying to tell a story with all of them together and interacting and I think it succeeds in that aspect. That's not to say you can't play this like a competitive game, Dissidia Final Fantasy also features Competitive Multiplayer Versus matches through the PSP's ad-hoc. A really cool decision that I don't really remember about this game coming out back in the day but I super appreciate in retrospect.
All in all I enjoyed my time coming back to Dissidia Final Fantasy and all the ground work it layed for the eventual sequels it set up. I genuinely really hope that they can maybe bring it back at some point although how likely that is at this point with how well NT did remains to be seen. Definitely a high point of the PSP library in my opinion.
Every character I've touched has felt relatively easy to pick up figure out, which I think was intentional with the goal of this game being something different from your average fighting game. This one feels less competitive in nature and more so focused on just getting this collection of "Action Figures" together in one setting and trying to tell a story with all of them together and interacting and I think it succeeds in that aspect. That's not to say you can't play this like a competitive game, Dissidia Final Fantasy also features Competitive Multiplayer Versus matches through the PSP's ad-hoc. A really cool decision that I don't really remember about this game coming out back in the day but I super appreciate in retrospect.
All in all I enjoyed my time coming back to Dissidia Final Fantasy and all the ground work it layed for the eventual sequels it set up. I genuinely really hope that they can maybe bring it back at some point although how likely that is at this point with how well NT did remains to be seen. Definitely a high point of the PSP library in my opinion.
"GO,GO,GOOOOOO"
Panel de Pon aka Tetris Attack is really fun and so is PPL. There really isn't much to it beyond that. It's a fun Puzzle game now with a Pokemon anime skin circa 2000. If that's your thing you'll love it. The voicelines will be etched into my memory until I die. Whether it be anything Tracy says ever, Lt.Surge screaming "Aw, Poor Baby", Blaine's gravelly voice saying "When you're hot, you're hot". The game has iconic lines all over it.
Panel de Pon aka Tetris Attack is really fun and so is PPL. There really isn't much to it beyond that. It's a fun Puzzle game now with a Pokemon anime skin circa 2000. If that's your thing you'll love it. The voicelines will be etched into my memory until I die. Whether it be anything Tracy says ever, Lt.Surge screaming "Aw, Poor Baby", Blaine's gravelly voice saying "When you're hot, you're hot". The game has iconic lines all over it.
IT DON'T MAKE NO DAMN SENSE.
..But I kind of love it for that. My earliest memories of Yu-Gi-Oh! are of watching the anime on Saturday at 8am and this damn game. Maybe I never really thought about how much this breaks the rules because of how much the anime just constantly breaks the rules.
On a real note, if you can get past the grindy nature of acquiring cards this is a real short romp with familiar enough characters and cards. The RNG on what cards your opponent pulls is really B.S though, That's unforgivable.
..But I kind of love it for that. My earliest memories of Yu-Gi-Oh! are of watching the anime on Saturday at 8am and this damn game. Maybe I never really thought about how much this breaks the rules because of how much the anime just constantly breaks the rules.
On a real note, if you can get past the grindy nature of acquiring cards this is a real short romp with familiar enough characters and cards. The RNG on what cards your opponent pulls is really B.S though, That's unforgivable.
2023
Soken is a god wtf
Pumpking? Busted.
Childhooooooood. First time playing any kind of "strategy" type of game as a kid. I didn't know why they didn't call Yugi by his name but I didn't care I had my cards and that's all that mattered to me. Returning to this game some odd 20 years later, I really appreciate what they went for with this. A super fun, creative, grid movement based strategy game while still being a Yu-Gi-Oh! card game with two sides to a story to explore.
Childhooooooood. First time playing any kind of "strategy" type of game as a kid. I didn't know why they didn't call Yugi by his name but I didn't care I had my cards and that's all that mattered to me. Returning to this game some odd 20 years later, I really appreciate what they went for with this. A super fun, creative, grid movement based strategy game while still being a Yu-Gi-Oh! card game with two sides to a story to explore.