Carbuncle__
2023
Soken is a god wtf
Took a lengthy break just because too many damn JRPG's came out man.
But this was a lot of fun to come back to at a relative quiet time for my gaming. Love the addition of the Reverie Corridor a lot just for the fact that I get to make my literal Trails Dream Team. Main story didn't do a TON for me but it was great to have all my friends back together for one last journey until they inevitably get pulled into another Trails game.
Also by pure coincidence I managed to finish this CELEBRATION of Trails games on the 20th Anniversary of Trails into the Sky releasing.
Please give Rean Schwarzer some rest Falcom, the boy deserves it.
But this was a lot of fun to come back to at a relative quiet time for my gaming. Love the addition of the Reverie Corridor a lot just for the fact that I get to make my literal Trails Dream Team. Main story didn't do a TON for me but it was great to have all my friends back together for one last journey until they inevitably get pulled into another Trails game.
Also by pure coincidence I managed to finish this CELEBRATION of Trails games on the 20th Anniversary of Trails into the Sky releasing.
Please give Rean Schwarzer some rest Falcom, the boy deserves it.
2024
This review contains spoilers
Still a tremendous experience, If you dig Persona as a series in any way you are missing out if you don't give this a try (AT LEAST ON GAMEPASS!) The ending still hits just as hard as I remember it hitting when I first played P3FES back in the day. Maybe a hot take? I love the OST for Reload even more than I do the original. (P3's OST being my favourite of any of the Persona's) Just tremendous work all throughout but if you've played and version of Persona 3 before I'm not sure how much there is to add. If you know it you'll love it, If you don't know it I think you should give it a try and I think you'll probably love it.
2023
I don't know how much I really needed this remake to exist but I am glad it exists. Still not my favourite Mario RPG even with "prettying" it up and adding cutscenes and cool tri attacks. Kinda wish there was an option to go back to the pixel art but I guess with the sound option having the ability to revert the graphics would kind of defeat the purpose of a remake. Unfortunately I just don't think this kind of approach to a JRPG will ever be for me but I can recognize and appreciate how damn charming this game and the original is. Music is still one of my favourites of all time tho shoutout Yoko Shimomura.
My personal favourite game of all time, the very first JRPG I remember playing at the young age of 5 years old. I don't think I really got it then but I didn't care. This cool Blonde dude in red armor transformed into a literal Dragon Knight with wings and punched a meteor. I was in awe of what I was seeing at the time. I didn't even pick up on at the time what I would realize 10 years later was one of THE COOLEST COMBAT SYSTEMS in a game for the time. ADDITIONS ARE SO RAD MAN!
Looking back yeah The Legend of Dragoon is not a perfect game, The story kind of starts to fall apart a bit in disc 3 and 4 but I really love it still.
Looking back yeah The Legend of Dragoon is not a perfect game, The story kind of starts to fall apart a bit in disc 3 and 4 but I really love it still.
1997
This review contains spoilers
An astronomical achievement in JRPG's that broke through the barrier of being just a JRPG and changed the course of the the genre and medium. FF7 is funny in that I remember the day I finished the game for the first time not being blown away but only once I came back to the game for the second and third time would I realize how truly excellent it was. The moments that need to emotionally hit, hit like a truck. I would not have thought that this ragtag crew of pipe cleaners with faces would have ended up being my #1 JRPG party if you had asked me back when I started. I thought Cloud a lone wolf too cool for school boring one note protagonist, By the end of the game he's this deeply layered man just trying to deal with SO much shit that's been dumped on him. My only half joking gripe with FF7 is goddamn Chocobo Breeding and Racing. Go to hell.
2012
Persona 4 vanilla was my very first introduction to SMT/Persona. I was in love immediately the moment the opening video played. I spent 100+ hours just falling into the story, world and characters and loved every single second of it. Then 2012 rolls around and Persona 4 Golden is released. I genuinely didn't think it'd be possible to improve upon Persona 4 and not only make me want to jump right back into the world and same story I've experienced already but actually make it MORE engaging. MORE fun. Persona 4 Golden was my first exposure to the Atlus classic of an upgraded version of an already existing Persona game, and for my money they've never done it better.
2023
This review contains spoilers
Did this remake need to exist? No. HOWEVER.
I ADORE this game. Is it as charming as the classic from 2005? Probably not, but I love that they were able to take that cheese and still intertwine it with a game that takes itself decently serious. Everything you remember about the original sans excessive cheese is present in this remake except in my opinion it all feels 10x better. Just a really damn fun, timeless video game experience. Voice performances are on 10, Nick Apostolides knocks Leon out of the park and I personally really love Lily Gao's rendition of Ada. Saddler is still small time and everyone still goes to Bingo.
I ADORE this game. Is it as charming as the classic from 2005? Probably not, but I love that they were able to take that cheese and still intertwine it with a game that takes itself decently serious. Everything you remember about the original sans excessive cheese is present in this remake except in my opinion it all feels 10x better. Just a really damn fun, timeless video game experience. Voice performances are on 10, Nick Apostolides knocks Leon out of the park and I personally really love Lily Gao's rendition of Ada. Saddler is still small time and everyone still goes to Bingo.