DMCameron99
Enjoyer of action games, platformers, racers, RPGs, and overall good games.
My goal is to keep track of the games I've got on the backlog and have beaten over the years, giving my thoughts on each in hopes that somebody's reading. I'm gonna die one day, so I wanna have something for people to remember me by when I'm gone.
I'm ADHD as fuck so I might change a game's rating every now and again, and I feel like I spend more time writing and thinking about games than actually playing them, so make of that what you will. ¯\(ツ)/¯
Favourite Titles Here
Ranking System Explained Here
Badges
Trend Setter
Gained 50+ followers
GOTY '23
Participated in the 2023 Game of the Year Event
Treasured
Gained 750+ total review likes
Pinged
Mentioned by another user
1 Years of Service
Being part of the Backloggd community for 1 year
Elite Gamer
Played 500+ games
Adored
Gained 300+ total review likes
Roadtrip
Voted for at least 3 features on the roadmap
GOTY '22
Participated in the 2022 Game of the Year Event
Busy Day
Journaled 5+ games in a single day
Well Written
Gained 10+ likes on a single review
Popular
Gained 15+ followers
Best Friends
Become mutual friends with at least 3 others
Shreked
Found the secret ogre page
Loved
Gained 100+ total review likes
Noticed
Gained 3+ followers
Donor
Liked 50+ reviews / lists
Liked
Gained 10+ total review likes
Gone Gold
Received 5+ likes on a review while featured on the front page
Gamer
Played 250+ games
N00b
Played 100+ games
Favorite Games
650
Total Games Played
042
Played in 2024
522
Games Backloggd
Recently Played See More
Recently Reviewed See More
While Toree 1 and 2 felt like really cool speedrun games that got a bit of inspiration from Sonic with their emphasis on the fact, Kiwi goes for more of an N64 collectathon inspired design, while still keeping true to what makes Toree what it is. That being, a dirt cheap 3D platformer that you can get through in about an hour or so, and being pretty good! The small handful of levels on offer have enough to explore in order to find all the mcguffins, that you only need 40 of to complete the game, even if the platforming isn't the most insanely intricate or in depth of its genre. Rather, Kiwi focuses on aerial movement, with a single jump, but also a glide and the ability to impale yourself into a wall to scale them. The levels give you plenty of chances to cruise through the air, and it's really fun to just let loose and glide over grand stretches of landmass, like Knuckles in Sonic Frontiers if he was actually fun. The movement really resonating with me in the same way as plenty of the 3D Mario games and the like. The environments might not be as big as the average other title in the genre, but the movement on offer is plenty fun, even if I personally am partial to Toree's more breakneck ground-based gameplay.
But you know what Kiwi really nails? Those vibes. It nails the N64 aesthetic without being hampered by the draw distance issues, complete with a catchy OST. Between the beach, desert and haunted castle, it all just feels like an N64 game that got lost in time, in all the right ways. Its difficulty is also pretty chill, so it's a great game to just unwind with if you're home from work and wanna kill some time before bed. Might leave players in search of a harder experience wanting, but I can get behind the dev team's commitment to making short burst experiences that just about anybody can play. And at the end of the day, even if the game doesn't end up clicking with you? It isn't gonna cost you much in the way of either time or money, so there's no harm in giving it a shot!
Sure enough, Yakuza 2 manages to be bigger than its predecessor in just about every way, even if it's due to a lot of the groundwork with both combat and the overworld being laid out from the 2005 original. The vibes of Kamurocho, as well as the new Sotenbori and brief trip to Shinseicho are as on point as ever, as they were in the original. The combat's taken a massive jump, with a few essential moves from Yakuza 1 being unlocked from the start; a really cool and handy feature! There's also a lot less lock-on related issues, and small but appreciated quality of life improvements like weapons taking up their own slots on the inventory, and the ability to send an item back to the hideout if you collect something with a full inventory. There's a few new moves, some insane new Heat Moves, the good stuff. It's everything a good sequel should be, and that especially extends to the OST, and the story.
While the OST is something I'd need to give a few more listens to, mostly so I know track names and can hear them better over the sounds of punching and weapons, the music of the game was absolutely fantastic. From regular battles in the streets, to the major bosses closing off the chapters, just about every battle track had me gripping my controller, locked into the moment and only served to hype me up to kick ass. The good shit, definitely going to have it on the Spotify playlist for a bit.
And man, that story. Between expanding upon Kiryu as a character, both on his own and with his relationships with the extended cast of both returning and new cast members alike, to the much grander scope it goes onto take with Japan and Korea going to blows. Ryuji has gotta be one of the sickest rivals I've seen in a game in some time; basically the closest this series would have to a Vergil, if I had to guess. Sayama was a great female lead to tag along with Kiryu, with the pair getting a ton of both heartfelt and somber moments throughout. And Daigo was a chad who I wish got more screentime, but I'm pretty sure he shows up later throughout the series, so hell yeah. But without giving too much away, one of the best things Yakuza 2 manages to do is absolutely throttle the players with twists, especially by the end of the title. From the cold opening covering the Jingweon Massacre, all the way through to the climax, it's sincere, heartfelt, dramatic, hype, everything I look for in a great story.
And all in all? Yakuza 2's just about everything I look for in a great game. Long as it took me to complete, thanks mostly to work kicking my ass, I had an absolute blast with it from start to finish. It's one of those cases where I'm basically bordering on giving the game a flat 10/10, so consider my 9/10 subject to change. Might be my favourite of the series thus far, at least until I replay 0 at some point later down the line, though it's really the DMC3 VS 5 sort of toss up, where I could go back and forth. Excellent game regardless of any internal debate, sure glad I didn't play that whack ass remake as my first experience with the game!
Uhhh yeah it's a real fucking boring infinite runner-shooter hybrid with bland visuals that I got all the achievements in over the course of 45 minutes. I'll probably forget I played this at all by next week.