Eithi
2016
ff15 is a really bizarre and honestly broken RPG narratively. The main story has barely any focus and events keep happening for the sake of having a mini setpiece that barely matters to the ongoing story of Noctis' coming of age story. You kinda just go around with the vague goal of getting to altissia but you spend so much time in Lucis that by the time you do the game ran out of shit to make so they shit out the Altissia portion and the Empire portion in literally 6 hours and it feels like ass. Almost every main story-related event feels disconnected from itself and its very hard to form a satisfactory connection with the chain of events presented.
But the game cares so fucking much about the boys. The character writing is really strong from minute ONE and it never lets up. They're all so strongly characterized through their dialog, actions, animations and you really feel like they're real, actually real friends noctis made that you find midway through and that relationship and how they all interact carries this game hard. When they bicker or joke with eachother you truly believe these four are real people and it's genuienely the best part of the game, which makes the spots where you can see the game shine brighter hurt even more
the first 20 hours/8 chapters are the best part of the game and thankfully its the longest section. The game has a really strong core leveling loop where every system feeds into itself and rewards you with Shit and character moments. You do hunts so you get money and exp, so you can buy better items and ingredients so you can cook them, get great food buffs and go sidequesting for even more exp, all so you can cash it out at the end at a hotel and gain a bunch of levels after hours of questing and adventuring. The EXP banking system is genius because through the recontextualization of grinding as an activity that grows one single number bigger and bigger it feels all the better when you cash it out and get all the rewards at once, rather than getting one level every 20 minutes or so. While this is more or less the same as grinding like that, i think it makes the player engage with the sidequests and side material a lot more since it all feeds back into the number you're actively trying to grow and i really enjoyed taking 3 or 4 hours to do a bunch of side quests and to level up a bunch
its really frustrating seeing the game as it is. not because it could have been versus 13 and been magically better, but because its own attempts at juggling the versus 13 ideas, its own ideas and the very apparent lack of dev time makes me yearn for a version of this game where they did everything they very obviously wanted to do but couldn't
But the game cares so fucking much about the boys. The character writing is really strong from minute ONE and it never lets up. They're all so strongly characterized through their dialog, actions, animations and you really feel like they're real, actually real friends noctis made that you find midway through and that relationship and how they all interact carries this game hard. When they bicker or joke with eachother you truly believe these four are real people and it's genuienely the best part of the game, which makes the spots where you can see the game shine brighter hurt even more
the first 20 hours/8 chapters are the best part of the game and thankfully its the longest section. The game has a really strong core leveling loop where every system feeds into itself and rewards you with Shit and character moments. You do hunts so you get money and exp, so you can buy better items and ingredients so you can cook them, get great food buffs and go sidequesting for even more exp, all so you can cash it out at the end at a hotel and gain a bunch of levels after hours of questing and adventuring. The EXP banking system is genius because through the recontextualization of grinding as an activity that grows one single number bigger and bigger it feels all the better when you cash it out and get all the rewards at once, rather than getting one level every 20 minutes or so. While this is more or less the same as grinding like that, i think it makes the player engage with the sidequests and side material a lot more since it all feeds back into the number you're actively trying to grow and i really enjoyed taking 3 or 4 hours to do a bunch of side quests and to level up a bunch
its really frustrating seeing the game as it is. not because it could have been versus 13 and been magically better, but because its own attempts at juggling the versus 13 ideas, its own ideas and the very apparent lack of dev time makes me yearn for a version of this game where they did everything they very obviously wanted to do but couldn't
I liked it! a little spotty at times but i think overall it hits more than it misses. the bulk of the good writing is in the character episodes and the ending with thorn and i think it worked quite well. very excited to play 2 soon.
This review contains spoilers
I think the main theme that stretches through the insomniac spider-man trilogy is insecurity. Not insecurity in the sense that the characters go through it as a thematic throughline but the writing itself.
There's this bizarre sense of fear throughout the three games. A fear of trying to do anything but the expected, of trying to live up to the living legacy of the brand, the fans' expectations and Playstation Prestige Videogames. I felt it as i went through my ninth puzzle room where Miles spells out the answer after 3 minutes of looking around,. In the bizarre way the characters would talk to themselves about what to do next. In the truly, incredibly dire way characters would just Say their feelings with no pathos and how truly awful those segments were written and acted (the entire fight between peter and MJ was fucking cringe-inducing.)
Nothing about spider-man 2 feels human. The smear of corporate-approved brand synergy is the only thing that ties the game together. There's no friction in its writing, no pull in its combat, no hook in its traversal; you spend the whole game swinging and flying and doing Content and you're done with it after 25 hours of nothing except seeing insomniac's tech team show off their shit with the SSD, admittedly an actually cool part that's mildly impressive during the Sandman fight and is never cool again.
If this is the future of the superhero game genre then i'd rather go back to 2007
There's this bizarre sense of fear throughout the three games. A fear of trying to do anything but the expected, of trying to live up to the living legacy of the brand, the fans' expectations and Playstation Prestige Videogames. I felt it as i went through my ninth puzzle room where Miles spells out the answer after 3 minutes of looking around,. In the bizarre way the characters would talk to themselves about what to do next. In the truly, incredibly dire way characters would just Say their feelings with no pathos and how truly awful those segments were written and acted (the entire fight between peter and MJ was fucking cringe-inducing.)
Nothing about spider-man 2 feels human. The smear of corporate-approved brand synergy is the only thing that ties the game together. There's no friction in its writing, no pull in its combat, no hook in its traversal; you spend the whole game swinging and flying and doing Content and you're done with it after 25 hours of nothing except seeing insomniac's tech team show off their shit with the SSD, admittedly an actually cool part that's mildly impressive during the Sandman fight and is never cool again.
If this is the future of the superhero game genre then i'd rather go back to 2007
2002
came into it expecting a tech prototype for 2, came out of it really liking the ways it played with command-based RPG flow into an ARPG. The level design being generally cramped and segmented makes every area unique and interesting, and the ways a lot of the system play into each other is really fun. I mainly disliked how some enemy interactions worked out and how unremarkable some levels ended up being. Story's great though, we all love tales of depression and friendship.
Main game: Functionally serviceable but really fucking dogshit by the end. Marluxia phase 2 had me by the balls and i had a blast but i dont think it really teaches you how to play it right until Larxene and no boss really comes back to challenge you like her. It was pretty fun to break by the end
Reverse Rebirth: Incredible addition to Riku's arc. His gimmick is great and plays with the strengths of the combat while offering a unique challenge that Sora never has to face. The shorter levels makes the campaign tighter and the bosses are actually challenging and interesting. Worth it for it alone.
Reverse Rebirth: Incredible addition to Riku's arc. His gimmick is great and plays with the strengths of the combat while offering a unique challenge that Sora never has to face. The shorter levels makes the campaign tighter and the bosses are actually challenging and interesting. Worth it for it alone.
2021
This review contains spoilers
(Played up to Volume 4 Chapter 2 with Volume 5 on the horizon)
Mid gameplay. Really dislike how much it heats my phone up. The app feels like it's about to break the moment i take my eyes off of it and makes interacting with it a bigger chore than it needs to be. Got that? good.
Blue archive is concerned about our youth from the perspective of someone who's out of it but still hasn't gotten pounded out by the world. It presents a generally idyllic world of cute girls and guns and cool clothes and fun times and contrasts it with the seriousness it takes itself when those elements are taken away from the characters. The player takes on the role of someone who respects the agency of the girls as people and contrasts it with a world that seeks to take away their carefreeness through different elements: debt, security managment, politics, ideology and grief all threaten the daily lives of the students of Kivotos and the game explores the ways these ideas are entrusted to these kids and who's liable for what.
What i found most interesting in this aspect is how the main player character, Sensei, plays into this. As the only human adult in Kivotos, they've been entrusted with the role of an advisor to these girls. Not someone who can manage their lives, but someone they can rely on when the need arises. Sensei is explicitely someone who's against the removal of agency from the characters in the story, someone who's there to help guide the girls into finding and protecting what they personally want but can't bring themselves to admit they want to do. So you get this back and forward with a lot of characters who find their resolve by themselves without needing to be saved by Main Character Man who can save everyone. In a lot of chapters it's very easy to forget they're even in the story as the girls take center stage and do stuff for themselves. It finds this really interesting balance between semi self-insertness and giving them a voice that i found really compelling after years of playing gacha games with no real character to their name.
And this all culminates in Volume Final: a four chapter-long story about Sensei's role in the stories of these characters and how they respond to crises. It's an extremely satisfying end to this part of the story that ties up a lot of loose ends thematically and opens the way for the more mystic elements of the setting to take place in the future.
The real joy of blue archive is set within that framework. It's always bright and poppy and idealistic and always willing to stand up for the kids who don't deserve any of the horrors of the world; and in a real world where it's hard to see that happening to people all over, it feels...reassuring, i'd say, to see someone believe with their whole heart and soul that no, a better world is possible, and it's up to the adults of the world to pave it for the next generation.
Mid gameplay. Really dislike how much it heats my phone up. The app feels like it's about to break the moment i take my eyes off of it and makes interacting with it a bigger chore than it needs to be. Got that? good.
Blue archive is concerned about our youth from the perspective of someone who's out of it but still hasn't gotten pounded out by the world. It presents a generally idyllic world of cute girls and guns and cool clothes and fun times and contrasts it with the seriousness it takes itself when those elements are taken away from the characters. The player takes on the role of someone who respects the agency of the girls as people and contrasts it with a world that seeks to take away their carefreeness through different elements: debt, security managment, politics, ideology and grief all threaten the daily lives of the students of Kivotos and the game explores the ways these ideas are entrusted to these kids and who's liable for what.
What i found most interesting in this aspect is how the main player character, Sensei, plays into this. As the only human adult in Kivotos, they've been entrusted with the role of an advisor to these girls. Not someone who can manage their lives, but someone they can rely on when the need arises. Sensei is explicitely someone who's against the removal of agency from the characters in the story, someone who's there to help guide the girls into finding and protecting what they personally want but can't bring themselves to admit they want to do. So you get this back and forward with a lot of characters who find their resolve by themselves without needing to be saved by Main Character Man who can save everyone. In a lot of chapters it's very easy to forget they're even in the story as the girls take center stage and do stuff for themselves. It finds this really interesting balance between semi self-insertness and giving them a voice that i found really compelling after years of playing gacha games with no real character to their name.
And this all culminates in Volume Final: a four chapter-long story about Sensei's role in the stories of these characters and how they respond to crises. It's an extremely satisfying end to this part of the story that ties up a lot of loose ends thematically and opens the way for the more mystic elements of the setting to take place in the future.
The real joy of blue archive is set within that framework. It's always bright and poppy and idealistic and always willing to stand up for the kids who don't deserve any of the horrors of the world; and in a real world where it's hard to see that happening to people all over, it feels...reassuring, i'd say, to see someone believe with their whole heart and soul that no, a better world is possible, and it's up to the adults of the world to pave it for the next generation.
The perfect video game
2005
Really interesting dive on people who commit their lives to the blade. Liked it a lot
Fun and hilarious adventure game that’s always doing new stuff and doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Kusoge from the 90’s with an alright story and terrible combat but neat character interactions. I love shizuka
Lovely! The cast is incredible and the gameplay loop is immaculate though the actual plot is kinda really boring. I like the combat but it really needs some fine tuning lol. Definitely getting 2 and 3 later on
2006
technically finished around the end of march but no matter
peak videogames
peak videogames
One of the most ambitious remakes ever made. It manages to strike a balance between recreating the feel of the original and having an original voice to FF7 as a 20 year old legacy. Super excited for Rebirth in February
2023
in my quest to keep finishing short games this is probably the best one yet. perfect movement that knows exactly what it wants to be and level design that accommodates being broken in fun, cool ways. i wish we had more games like this
might be the tightest videogame ever created. not a single minute wasted and it ends as soon as the game needs to. seeing the pre-city versions of every single gadget and tool was fascinating too. However it still kind of feels like an incomplete idea of a full game so it’s not super satisfying mechanically for me. Honestly if anything this makes me like city more in hindsight because of how much that improved this game’s mechanics