If I wrote this review in like late 2017 or early 2018, I would’ve said that PVZ 2 was superior to the original. Granted, there were microtransactions and the new map system introduced early on into the game’s updated life really fucked over the postgame content, but its positives really outweighed the negatives. The graphical upgrade was incredibly nice and gave some of the older plants nice redesigns, all the worlds felt really memorable and distinct, there were some nice quality of life features like the fast forward button and cosmetics for the plants, the soundtrack was a banger just like the first game, the harder difficulty was a nice step up from the first game that never felt too bullshitty (For the most part, there definitely were/are bullshit difficult levels, and Big Wave Beach and Dark Ages’ latter half are massive difficulty spikes compared to the rest of the game), and I really liked how despite there being plants and upgrades locked behind paywalls, the game never felt P2W. You could easily beat the main campaign without shilling a single dollar and even if did buy the Premium/Gemium plants they only made the game slightly easier. So, what made my opinion change?

Well, to put it bluntly, starting around 2018, the game became too pay-to-win and grindy thanks to things like the poorly implemented and OP leveling system, Mints, and Seedium plants, as well as a shit ton of new Premium/Seedium/Gemium plants that are noticeably more overpowered than pretty much all of the free plants and even most, if not all of the Premium/Gemium plants that came before. We also got half-baked gamemodes like Battlez/Arena and Penny’s Pursuit that were heavily biased towards those who had the Premium/Gemium/Seedium plants. And these features took up a ton of room, meaning that older content that was really fun had to be cut like Epic Quests, harder postgame levels for specific worlds, and like half of the OST.

PVZ2 nowadays is just like any other mobile game thanks to EA’s poor handling of it: Repetitive, P2W, cheap, grindy, and filled with half-baked gamemodes. I feel really bad for this game, there was a time when it was genuinely fun and I considered it unironically better than the first game. But now, I simply can’t muster the strength to even replay it, knowing how much EA has completely fucked it over. PVZ2 may not be the worst game I have ever player, but it has become one of my biggest disappointments in all of gaming.

Aside from the main campaign being a bit too easy, I love this game. It’s so addictive, but unlike most other “Addictive” games has a very nice layer of strategy and depth. It also has a nice but weird sense of humor and a colorful cast of weirdos to back that up. Also, the postgame content is really good, and it really shows how strategic and intense this game can be. The original PVZ is a classic and I reccomend picking it up at some point. Best versions are probably the GOTY edition and Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 ports, but the DS/DSi port is also really good.

Used to think this was the hardest game ever when I was 9. Replayed it a few months ago and realized it was a fairly generic, below average kids 3D platformer plagued with super forgettable levels that all blend together, powerups that feel super derivative of powerups from other platformer games, the same generic types of worlds as other platformers, weak-sauce writing, and OK at best minigames and multiplayer. Got through about 2/3 of the game but once it started recycling worlds, I dropped it in a heartbeat and have no real interest in continuing.

Also, pretty much any level that uses the Chameleon or Balloon powerups can go fuck off. Those are made needlessly more difficult by the former’s super funky timing and the latter’s strict flight time limit, and they can be some of the longest stages in the game.

God, I really wanted to give this game a perfect 10/10. But it's held back by a bunch of little things that gradually snowball into a massive disappointment. Like how the character model animations outside of battle are super stiff, limited, and uncanny. Or how the graphics range from being kinda decent to looking like something from a PS2 game or a really pretty PS1 game. Or how there are ton of missed character interaction opportunities, some of which are acknowledged directly in the game. Or how there's a noticeable dip in writing quality (And budget) from Azure Moon and Verdant Wind to Crimson Flower and especially Silver Snow. Or how there is a lot of recycled content between each story path, especially pre-timeskip and during Silver Snow. Or how this game is very time consuming, even if you're only doing one storypath. Or how some very major characters like Rhea, Sothis, and members of TWSITD are very poorly untilized and/or written. Or how you have to buy all the DLC at once and it's lowkey kinda overpriced if you do that. Or how Byleth is a generic JRPG avatar protagonist with no personality, despite previous Fire Emblem Protagonists of a similar nature having some personality traits. Or how the first portion of the game is made needlessly overwhelming to first-time players (Maybe even veteran players as well) due to how much info is dropped at once. Or how Maddening Mode is a very significant jump in difficultly compared to Normal and Hard Mode with no in-between difficulty to get players somewhat ready for how brutal Maddening Mode is. Or how the game hints at there being branching story paths within story paths similarly to Crimson Flower/Silver Snow, only to never really do that. You can tell that while the game is definitely in a finished state, it is nowhere near to completing the vision that the developers had.

That being said... I love this game. While the quality of the main story can vary wildly depending on which story path you follow, the game has surprisingly solid and in-depth lore that's fairly interesting to read up on. The gameplay is also a major plus. Though overwhelming at first and getting kinda easy the more you play it, the combat is fun, stratgic, and very intense, especially during the harder missions and Maddening Mode. The combat is also very experimental thanks to reclassing, which allows you to test different ability combinations for characters. And though they took a bit the grow on me, I really like the Monastery segments of the game. Aside from servicing as a hub for you to get items and prepare for the next mission, it's fun to wander around the Monastery while starting side quests and paralogues, playing minigames, discovering lore details about Fodlan and its inhabitents, and learning more about the characters and their relationships. There's also dating sim-esque events and mechanics thrown into the Monastery segments, which really help in making the Monastery stick out from other JRPG hub areas. I know some people aren't a particularly big fan of them, but I didn't mind them and even liked some of them like supports system and tea time. I will admit that some of them are pretty weak and/or could be more well fleshed out like the sauna event, but I liked/tolerated them for the most part as they really help in giving more insight and memorability to the characters. Speaking of the characters, I knew that the cast of characters was large going in and was afraid that most of them were going to be fairly one-note. And while there definitely are one-note characters, I was surprised with how multi-layered and engaging a lot of them are. This is mostly thanks to the writing, events like the supports system and class time, paralogues (Aka side quests), combat dialogue, and monastery segements, which do a great job at making all the major characters feel more like real people (Including the more one-note ones like Raphael and Cyril). There are lot of characters I really like from this game, such as noble hotshot Ferdinand, depressed animal lover Marianne, and skirt-chaser Sylvain. The three main lords in particular are some of the strongest written characters in the game. Dimitri, Claude, and Edelgard are all incredibly characters with very interesting arcs, goals/ambitions, personality traits, and strengths and weaknesses that really help in making the game's story much more engaging, and help make the weaker story paths much easier to get through. And though I wouldn't call it a personal favorite of mine, I really like this game's soundtrack. It gives off the right vibes in both the Monastery and combat segments, and some of these tracks can be real bangers (Personal favorites include Night of the Ball, Edge of Dawn, A Funeral of Flowers, God-Shattering Star, Fodlan Winds, and Life at Garreg Mach Monastery).

Overall, while I really love Fire Emblem: Three Houses, it has a bunch of small faults that really hinder me from giving it a 10/10. It's still a fantastic game, and a solid introduction to the series, if overwhelming at the start.