Dat_girl_no_sass
1996
A nice jrpg that has all the elements to be a truly legendary game but falls short in some areas, despite this the game is still a classic and a worthy ps1 jrpg full of charming characters, story and a unique style that very few games have
By far the best classic trails game with an amazing story that changes pretty much everything you knew from the previous games and manages to have some amazing heartfelt character moments and jaw dropping sequences truly an achievement in the jrpg genre and video games as a whole
An amazing evolution from the sky trilogy that improves everything gameplay wise with an incredible story that finishes some of the sky games plot points (renne scenes alone make this game great) and continues to expand the world of the series the only problem is that the game feels a little isolated from the rest of the main plot
1998
The start of the xeno series is still one of the greatest stories of any medium and is so thematically rich, has so much to tell and is told with such style that is a life changing experience and a must play
This game main problem is a lack of identity for being extremely derivative of xenogears and xenosaga, reusing story bits and plot lines of those games but lacking the detail of what made those stories so compelling and not going far enough in certain areas and character writing, gameplay wise the game is both an improvement and recession due to on the good side removing some of xb2 worst mechanics (gacha and field skills) but combat wise the return of cooldowns makes this game combat feel so frustrating at points, still the game still manages to touch on the importance of the time we have and how people should be free using as they see fit
By far the best of the xenoblade games and even if does not reach the same level as xenogears and xenosaga is still a compelling story about being there for your loved ones, this game ironically is the one that feels the closest to an old xeno game due to certain plot lines sadly this game is brought down due to certain mechanics (field skills and gacha) and the writing falling short in some characters
A amazing conclusion to the character arcs of FC and an amazing improvement gameplay wise this game is only brought down for some frustrating design decisions like the first disc feeling a little bit like filler due to not much happening and some very frustrating segments (chapter 8 being one of the worst sections of any jrpg ever as well as some annoying boss fights) but when this game shines it really does as well as setting more plot lines for the future of the series
2017
While the first game was a failure in trying to revive the survival horror genre due to a lack of emotional connection and outdated mechanics, the sequel is an emotional drama and one of the best survival horrors ever. Gameplay wise this is what the resident evil 3 remake should have been and combine with a heartfelt story of not carrying the weight of the world in your shoulders this is a must play, also the cover version of duran duran ordinary world is so kick asa and fits the game perfectly
2014
A game that tried to revived the genre of survival horror but its held back by outdated mechanics and a lack of emotional connection still a pretty fun game specially if you are looking for a challenge
Not only is the best xeno game, not only is this the best project Tetsuya Takahashi has ever worked, not only is this the best ps2 jrpg and the best game on the console in general but this is possibly the best game ever game absolutely everything in this game is done so expertly and done with so much love and care that very few problems this game has (1 plot line that is kind of unresolved and the fact you need to play xenosaga 1, xenosaga 2, read xs pied piper and watch xs: a missing year). Xs3 is a triumph in every aspect from its beautiful artistic direction and graphic, god tier soundtrack by the legend Yuki Kajiura, and its amazing story and cast of characters that deliver one of the best messages regarding accepting the end of everything and a strong critic of Nietzsche philosophy makes this game an experience and a must play, easily my favorite game ever made and an artistic triumph and tragedy that after this game Takahashi decided to settled with the mediocrity of the xenoblade series and never managed to make something as great or thought provoking as xenogears and xenosaga
Trails in the sky is a charming game that is an excellent introduction to the massive world and story of trails, the main problem with this game is its pacing since not much happens in this game (which is understandably) but for the first half of the game the story has no direction just to pick up during the later half and finally deliver an amazing and shocking ending which elevates the title, i guess this game can be compare a lot to xenosaga episode 1 which suffer from similar issues but xs1 had a lot more meat to its writing and all the thematic richness that game had helped that despite also being a prologue to the xenosaga universe it felt more satisfactory, this game also suffers from some very annoying game design choices like a lack of a party, difficulty spikes and unfair balancing, still the game is still good and an amazing introduction to the great world of trails
This review contains spoilers
AI: The Somnium Files is one of those games where you have to go blind to fully appreciate the story and its impact, what starts off as a murder mystery ends up becoming a psychological thriller revolving around the issue of identity and recognizing what is real and what is not, incredible experience and one of the best visual novels ever, having said that i think the game has 2 problems and this is qhere spoilers for both the game as well as the manga "Inside mari" by Shūzō Oshimi since both the game and manga deal with essentially the same theme at its core which is the exploration of identity through a body swap story: my main problem the the somnium files is that due to the game being a murder mystery the truth about body swaps is not reveal until almost the ending of the story and except for date and shoko we dont really see the effect that a body swap can have in a person which is where i think inside mari shines way more in this aspect, the mange whole story revolves around a big plot twist of a supposedly college drop out swapping bodies with a highschool girl and the psychological pain that what a real body swap would do to a person however in a very similar fashion to the somnium files we discover that the body swap in question was nothing more than a delusion product of the fracture psyche of said highschool girl, i would have like to see more of it in the game since the only 2 times we actually see the effect on the mind of a person after a forceful body swap is in date and shoko ( which despite only being mention once the description about the horror she experience after having her body stolen is one of the most chilling descriptions of any game ever and i would have love to see more of it) still the game is an amazing piece of storytelling and something everyone should experience once
This review contains spoilers
Caligula effect is one of those games were the game shines so much in certain aspects and struggles in other areas, because its story (written by persona 1, persona 2 duology and digital devil saga writer Tadashi Satomi) its an amazing and heartfelt look at pain and how we scape from it, the game deals with themes such as suicide, identity, gender dysphoria and the way non passing transgender people are put down by society (though this aspect of the game is constantly misrepresented) as many other modern societal issues and each and everyone of them is handle with such an edge yet human and empathetic way all while exploring the temptation of escapism, at the same time the game which one of its main themes revolves around music and the way it touches peoples has one of the best soundtracks of any game and the way its implemented on a gameplay level its genius, its battle system its an one of the most innovative systems ever and yet despite this the game also has a very mediocre level design, questionable graphics (despite having beautiful characters designs and art direction) and weak social system. Despite all of this everything the game does well its so great and leaves such an amazing impact that i cant recommend this game enough
This review contains spoilers
Despite being the most critically acclaimed game of the legendary xeno metaseries by director Tetsuya Takahashi this is by far one of the most overrated games ever released, the game took everything that made the series so special in the first place (Incredibly human emotionally potent stories full of religious and philosophical influences) and replaced it with generic Shōnen anime tropes that you can find in any jrpg, with weak character writing. On the side of the gameplay the game is the perfect example of quantity over quality with giant areas and 0 level design combine with a battle system based on cooldows and very little depth compare to both the previous xeno games as well as the new xenoblade games. The only way you could think this is a masterpiece is if its your first serious jrpg and arent used to this tropes