Bio
I don't remember every game I've played but I think I got most of them.

I am a whore for JRPGs lol. I'm a massive fan of Final Fantasy, Persona, anything Tetsuya Takahashi touches ... you get the idea. I also really like fighting games.

That's about it.
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Played 1000+ games

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Favorite Games

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy IX
Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
Xenogears
Xenogears

1133

Total Games Played

001

Played in 2024

164

Games Backloggd


Recently Played See More

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Mar 28

Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2

Sep 19

Final Fantasy XVI
Final Fantasy XVI

Aug 25

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

Jun 30

Koudelka
Koudelka

Jun 27

Recently Reviewed See More

After completing FF7 Remake, the first part of this remake project trilogy, I knew it was gonna derail from the original. I knew that whatever the writers wrote for this new journey would be something I won't like and would bring in convoluted concepts of fate and destiny, deterministic philosophy and multiverse theory that the original story didn't have in the first place, or atleast not in the forefront of the themes.

Let me say my negatives first; when I finished the game and say the ending, I didn't like it all. It was just like every other Square rpg where the 2nd half of the story would be convoluted and paced in a weird direction for the sake of ambiguity and for players to continually discuss with. A lot of the twists felt like the writers wanted the player to be emotionally confused and use those twists for the sake of shock value and fanservice. However, after some time thinking about it, I do appreciate the devs being this risky with this kind of story. It's like they trusted the players with their new vision of the game. Not many games this generation have ever went to this direction. When I finished FF7 Remake, I've already accepted the original FF7 that I've loved is gone and that whatever new stuff the devs bring to the table wouldn't be what I wanted but I'm still curious how things will turn out. Rebirth left me questioning more but wanting more. I know for a fact the next and final part will leave some unresolved plot points as red hearings but I've already accepted that. There's no getting off this crazy train.

Now positives; the gameplay and exploration is phenomenal. In terms of gameplay and graphics, this is by far the best square game they have made in the past decade or 2. I have spent so many hours just exploring every nook and crany, battling every enemy, just sucking out every enjoyable aspect that game has to offer. I could easily go over the 100 hour mark. This game made FF7 Remake look bad, like really bad. It's gonna be hard to go back to Remake. This game has even more strategy, more role playing aspects, more player expression, its the whole package. Another positive is how they basically nailed every character; each character as if I remembered it but in the modern age. There were some story beats that were actually better and more actualized in this game compared to the original because it added more character and understanding on each character, main or side. Scenes like the Dyne scene, cosmo canyon, and gold saucer in general where I genuinely felt it was better executed in rebirth than in the original.

I didn't hate this game, not at all. I did have expectations that I wouldn't like it after completing Remake, but I've gained an appreciation for this project and want to see more of the devs new vision on this beloved story. I'm just curious on how this will end, even if it does end up as a car crash or train wreck. This game did have too much going on, making the story even more convulted and messy than it should be. Any newcomer that hasn't played any FF7 game in the compilation would be completely lost in rebirth but I felt the basic, bare bones interpretation of the themes and message its trying to convey is there. But the complex ideas of psychology, theology, and philosophy from the original are present here but it's just different. That's one word I can sum for this game: "different." In a good and bad way. It has its pros and cons but I've learned to outweigh the pros from the cons and appreciate what the devs are trying to do. There's no getting off this train.

Amazing experience. What makes this game so unbelievably good is how it doesn’t use any cheap/forced horror or jumpscares to make it come across as scary but more on the psychological side of horror. The fear of the unknown is the kind of fear that is the most terrifying and the Silent Hill team did this in spades. I don’t want to spoil any major plot points but it is so fascinating finding out why each character is in silent hill to begin with, all the trauma they have gone through, and the devs really dig deep into their psyche, to the point that it is too painful to bear witness. As a psychology nerd, James’ character is a character arc that I’ll probably never forget. Everything that was built up til the end of the game was profoundly written and made me gitty seeing all the references to Carl Jung’s shadow theory and repressed emotions/memories. My main gripe with the game is how easy it is to get lost in this game. Granted, this could have been intentional for the purpose of being thematically accurate but sometimes it felt like I was wasting huge chunks of my time just trying to figure out where to go. I appreciate how the enemy designs were very symbolic of what James perceives but some of them were just easy to deal with and didn’ horrify me after being saturated with them. All in all, this is the kind of horror I am deeply into, it is by far the best horror game I’ve ever played and deserves all the praise it gets.

After spending some time reflecting on this game, I can't help but remember its flaws overshadowing its strengths. FFXVI has some of the most incredible moments in the series but it also has some of the slowest parts the series has to offer. The gameplay, which heavily focuses on action and individual combat doesn't align well with the games storyline. While the story itself embodies the essence of a fantasy tale it lacks a sense of collective overcoming adversity due, to how Clive, the character handles everything on his own, embodying the individualistic mindset.

Without spoiling I must say that the resolution to the struggles faced by the oppressed characters was quite disappointing and unrealistic. It felt rather simplistic and doesn't reflect reality.

The game does explore themes and topics that could evoke emotions and have a profound impact. However it falls short in conveying these ideas leaving them feeling somewhat flat. It saddens me because I can see the potential for greatness in the story.

Another drawback of the game is how it leaves many questions unanswered and presents many questionable scenes without proper context. One significant example is Barnabas character; while his motivations or details about his mother are not addressed in the storyline they are explained in the Active Time Lore, though not at a time when players would prefer to read more.
The way the ATL was implemented in this game didn't quite meet my expectations. There were moments when I had questions or mysteries that weren't adequately explored and I wanted to read the ATL to learn more but it mostly provided me nothing. It felt the ATL was necessary to piece together what has happened in the story which didnt fit in with the kind of story FFXVI was trying to tell. It felt like the ATL didn't seamlessly fit into this story driven game unlike games such, as Elden Ring where lore is explained through item descriptions but still maintains a sense of exploration and combat in From Software games. In my opinion the implementation of the ATL fell short.

FFXV was what I hoped for in a dark, modern Final fantasy for the most part. The story was executed well on some parts, although there were moments where I felt certain plot points could have had an impact. Clive facing his shadow still gives me some goosebumps thinking about it but it couldve went even further. I also wished that it delved deeper into the concepts explored by its characters. However it does touch upon their struggles to some extent. There is "some" payoff for their dilemmas so I can't fault the game entirely in that regard.

The pacing was solid in the half of the game. Things got a bit strange once the second half kicked in. As for gameplay, it was incredibly enjoyable to play; I didn't get bored fighting the enemies. However, the repetitive game design of how the side quests were handled made the action gameplay didnt mesh with the rpg elements.

I'm sure you've heard criticism about the side quests being lackluster. Not all of them were bad. Some side quests actually built upon themes like breaking free from fate or discrimination, confronting ones shadow and forging paths for people to live and die on their terms. They weren't all incredible but not every single one was terrible either; it was sadly bogged down to repetitive game design.

I genuinely appreciate the attention, to detail in the world and lore. The bosses were truly a spectacle to behold and Clive proved to be a protagonist seamlessly joining the ranks of the main characters, in the Final Fantasy series. I just want to clarify that I'm not criticizing or being negative, towards the game. As a fan of the Final Fantasy series I simply want to understand what the developers intended for us to grasp with FFXVI. My aim is to provide constructive criticism and feedback. Overall, I do believe FFXVI is a good game. I've mostly enjoyed my time with it. Although it has many flaws, my experience with the game was more or less positive, especially compared to other flawed games.