FlowerSunandPain
Words cannot emphasize how happy I am to see one of my all top favorite video games get a remake. I was fairly certain this game would never get a remake or remaster, and if it did, not as soon as it did!
Another Code is a must have for your Nintendo game library. Not just so a Cing title can get huge support to release more remasters/remakes from the now defunct developer Cing, but also because the story and art style of this game is absolutely wonderful. The near water paint aesthetic of the world combined with the modest 6th gen looking graphics reminds me of a simpler time; which is funny because the original game reminded me a lot of 5th gen graphics like the PS1 but smoother.
The story itself still has the same short but satisfactory pacing and original plot. No unnecessary modifications to the story which Im glad to see; also the game is treated to cinematic cutscenes that are voiced out and very well blocked out! I'd like to note that the voice actor for Ashley does an incredible job voicing her. You get the bits of angst and existentialism from a teenager from her voice acting. Im just really happy to see Ashley come to life as I think she's an excellent example of good writing for a teenage girl. Multifaceted and honest.
I will admit however, as with any remake, this game is not 1:1. As this is a remake of a DS game, some gameplay mechanics do not translate all that well to the switch, but the story and design is still genuine and authentic to the game. It's just disappointing how uninspired some of the puzzles are. The whole appeal of the original game was the intuitive and literal outside of the box thinking the game required out of the player, so to not see much of that with the switch was a bummer. Still though, I'll take a near perfect remake of a perfect video game than a perfect video game fading to obscurity.
I cannot thank Nintendo and Arc System Works for giving this title life again. Its truly a great privilege seeing some form of preservation made to an important game like Another Code.
Another Code is a must have for your Nintendo game library. Not just so a Cing title can get huge support to release more remasters/remakes from the now defunct developer Cing, but also because the story and art style of this game is absolutely wonderful. The near water paint aesthetic of the world combined with the modest 6th gen looking graphics reminds me of a simpler time; which is funny because the original game reminded me a lot of 5th gen graphics like the PS1 but smoother.
The story itself still has the same short but satisfactory pacing and original plot. No unnecessary modifications to the story which Im glad to see; also the game is treated to cinematic cutscenes that are voiced out and very well blocked out! I'd like to note that the voice actor for Ashley does an incredible job voicing her. You get the bits of angst and existentialism from a teenager from her voice acting. Im just really happy to see Ashley come to life as I think she's an excellent example of good writing for a teenage girl. Multifaceted and honest.
I will admit however, as with any remake, this game is not 1:1. As this is a remake of a DS game, some gameplay mechanics do not translate all that well to the switch, but the story and design is still genuine and authentic to the game. It's just disappointing how uninspired some of the puzzles are. The whole appeal of the original game was the intuitive and literal outside of the box thinking the game required out of the player, so to not see much of that with the switch was a bummer. Still though, I'll take a near perfect remake of a perfect video game than a perfect video game fading to obscurity.
I cannot thank Nintendo and Arc System Works for giving this title life again. Its truly a great privilege seeing some form of preservation made to an important game like Another Code.
2000
There's so much to say about this game that I feel like cannot properly capture the magic and ethereality that is Evergrace. It is an awkward, clunky, jank of a mess video game with the most atrocious dialogue and questionable story, BUT MAN does it FEEL so good to play. I'm not saying in the "oh this kinetically plays well," but in a "this game is so weird and unusual but I cannot find myself to stop playing and exploring its world" sense. The environmental design of this game is really unlike ANY game I've played, and I feel confident to say there really is no game LIKE Evergrace in terms of environmental design.
If I HAD to describe Evergrace though it would have to be a fever dream high fantasy type of game where the monsters are confusing to look at, the world doesn't make sense, and the people are just as confusing. Everything just looks desolate and macabre. I know with the limitations of the PS2 console there's only so many objects and NPCs FromSoftware could place without crashing the game (lord knows I've had some terrible frame drops just from more than one enemy spamming attacks at me as well), but something about that emptiness really brings out the macabre and desolate vibes that I want to say is more coincidental than intentional. The game just oozes atmosphere and surreality for days.
The gameplay is okay though. Aside from the dialogue and story which I will touch on in a moment, the gameplay while clunky and awkward functions well enough in the bare minimum aspect. It is not your usual hack and slash type of game. While you CAN hack and slash, it's more than just about how fast can you pull off combos, but being diligent and precise with your attacks because attacking is contextualized through pressure. Meaning, the harder you press the square button the harder you hit. So you can't just hit willy-nilly whenever you want and how often you want. It's weird, but I actually don't mind that as much. Seeing how FromSoftware went with their SoulsBorne games, I'd say its on brand with their programming and design. Just don't expect anything high paced like Devil May Cry.
I will say that this game is definitely not a "proto-souls" game as Kingsfield is probably more appropriate for that, but I will say that this game is probably more ideal for getting beginners into the Souls type games. The game feels like a "SoulsBorne for kids" type of game with its fun literal character customization where you can dress your character up in anything you want and the "grinding" aspect of the game isn't that tedious at all. You don't really need to grind to beat the game unlike most other games.
The story and dialogue is probably the worst aspect of the game, mainly the story as I don't know WHAT the hell went on, but it's not worse as in its not redeemable, but more as in its so bad its hard not to just laugh at it and say "well, they tried!" People speak so out of context and the dialogue often does not match what is subtitled so I found myself chuckling at how clumsy it is. I know some games you'd need to play through them more than once to understand the story, but I genuinely don't think this game is one of those stories because MAN I seriously do not know what the hell went on during this playthrough. I'm not hating though, I went in knowing that this game wouldn't be great story-telling wise. It very much is an A for effort kind of ordeal for me though.
One thing about this game that I think helps add to its "what the hell am I playing" appeal is the music. I don't think the environment alone would make this game stand out so much as it does as the music is just absolutely wild. It's a fusion of many different genres, mostly just some different styles of indigenous folk and rock music, but the compositions feel very calculated and intentional. I know the composer Kota Hoshino is a making music by ear individual rather than using theory, and I think this game GREATLY benefited from that.
Overall, I'd say this game is DEFINITELY an acquired taste to beat, but I think should be experienced by almost everyone who is into JRPGs/obscure video games as it feels like such a unique and unusual game that is lost in the sands of time, but hopefully with ThorHighHeel's YouTube video on FromSoftware video games this game will have garnered more attention!
I'd recommend this game to the following:
-Fans of FromSoftware SoulsBorne games
-Fans of JRPGs who are looking for something new and weird
-Into games with really weird visuals/music
-Video game preservation enthusiast
-oddly enough, if you like Zelda you might like this game as it does capture that same dungeon design but more unforgiving.
If I HAD to describe Evergrace though it would have to be a fever dream high fantasy type of game where the monsters are confusing to look at, the world doesn't make sense, and the people are just as confusing. Everything just looks desolate and macabre. I know with the limitations of the PS2 console there's only so many objects and NPCs FromSoftware could place without crashing the game (lord knows I've had some terrible frame drops just from more than one enemy spamming attacks at me as well), but something about that emptiness really brings out the macabre and desolate vibes that I want to say is more coincidental than intentional. The game just oozes atmosphere and surreality for days.
The gameplay is okay though. Aside from the dialogue and story which I will touch on in a moment, the gameplay while clunky and awkward functions well enough in the bare minimum aspect. It is not your usual hack and slash type of game. While you CAN hack and slash, it's more than just about how fast can you pull off combos, but being diligent and precise with your attacks because attacking is contextualized through pressure. Meaning, the harder you press the square button the harder you hit. So you can't just hit willy-nilly whenever you want and how often you want. It's weird, but I actually don't mind that as much. Seeing how FromSoftware went with their SoulsBorne games, I'd say its on brand with their programming and design. Just don't expect anything high paced like Devil May Cry.
I will say that this game is definitely not a "proto-souls" game as Kingsfield is probably more appropriate for that, but I will say that this game is probably more ideal for getting beginners into the Souls type games. The game feels like a "SoulsBorne for kids" type of game with its fun literal character customization where you can dress your character up in anything you want and the "grinding" aspect of the game isn't that tedious at all. You don't really need to grind to beat the game unlike most other games.
The story and dialogue is probably the worst aspect of the game, mainly the story as I don't know WHAT the hell went on, but it's not worse as in its not redeemable, but more as in its so bad its hard not to just laugh at it and say "well, they tried!" People speak so out of context and the dialogue often does not match what is subtitled so I found myself chuckling at how clumsy it is. I know some games you'd need to play through them more than once to understand the story, but I genuinely don't think this game is one of those stories because MAN I seriously do not know what the hell went on during this playthrough. I'm not hating though, I went in knowing that this game wouldn't be great story-telling wise. It very much is an A for effort kind of ordeal for me though.
One thing about this game that I think helps add to its "what the hell am I playing" appeal is the music. I don't think the environment alone would make this game stand out so much as it does as the music is just absolutely wild. It's a fusion of many different genres, mostly just some different styles of indigenous folk and rock music, but the compositions feel very calculated and intentional. I know the composer Kota Hoshino is a making music by ear individual rather than using theory, and I think this game GREATLY benefited from that.
Overall, I'd say this game is DEFINITELY an acquired taste to beat, but I think should be experienced by almost everyone who is into JRPGs/obscure video games as it feels like such a unique and unusual game that is lost in the sands of time, but hopefully with ThorHighHeel's YouTube video on FromSoftware video games this game will have garnered more attention!
I'd recommend this game to the following:
-Fans of FromSoftware SoulsBorne games
-Fans of JRPGs who are looking for something new and weird
-Into games with really weird visuals/music
-Video game preservation enthusiast
-oddly enough, if you like Zelda you might like this game as it does capture that same dungeon design but more unforgiving.
2020
Among Us 3D platformer pretty dope
Peak 9/11 simulator
This review contains spoilers
The game’s rating is a 2.4 out of 5 as of 2/2/24.
I make this note because unfortunately this game is being criticized unfairly for its attempt to tell a story with sensitive subject matter. However, over time, as is always with misunderstood and under appreciated games, people will look back at Silent Hill: The Short Message and think “wow, this game really was not that bad.” I’ll gladly be the first to admit it is not above criticism, but holistically this game is NOWHERE near as bad as these current reviewers are making it out to be.
It’s dishonest to consider this game bad. It’s mediocre at worst, beautiful at best, but never bad. This game is a celebration of the franchise taking the bits from each installment that made the games stand out and making something new and refreshing for both new and old fans. This is as much a return to form as it is an exploration for something new.
So let’s get to the issue I see people have with the game. The subject matter and the subject.
Silent Hill: The Short Message stars a mentally ill high school teenage girl, Anita, processing various forms of trauma. Just like our beloved 17 year old Heather Mason of Silent Hill 3 fame, she has behaviors and monologues/dialogues that can come off kinda cringe and irrational to the unknowing eye, but it’s honest behavior coming from a teenage girl still figuring out her emotions and place in the world. Keep in mind she is alone through all of this as well, so the constant self-talking while jarring is merely a coping mechanism when dealing with stressful situations alone. She’s definitely not the first person to behave the way she does or think the thoughts she has as dealing with mental illness as a teenager leads to irrational and anti-social behaviors.
Our impaired judgments are caused by the anxiety and depression we experience. This game isn’t about what you, the player, would do or how you would react. It’s a story about a teenage girl facing her demons as she spirals.
It’s pragmatic for a developer using adolescence to explore topics of mental health and bullying. We all tend to experience intense, complex emotions and trauma during these ages. Womanhood also has the unfortunate inheritance of violence, so under that same guise it is also accessible to relate to and understand a teenage girl starring in a game about psychological horrors. Nothing is more nightmarishly relatable than being a teenage girl; especially, whose anxieties and depressions are amplified through the “Silent Hill Phenomenon.” Such horrors are shown throughout the game:
Through context clues spread around a certain room in a game, we find out a girl kills herself out of defense against facing incestual rape from her own brother after finding out her parents cannot afford her college education, something she relied on to escape her brother’s abuse.
Anita, dealing with dysmorphia (a phenomenon very common with teenagers), was coerced online into posting a selfie of her smiling after her followers complained she never smiles in her photos. Shortly after they proceed to sexualize her despite the photo just being a modest, 100% SFW photo. An issue almost every girl online has experienced at least once.
Even in death there is also a need to appear beautiful and elegant as one of Anita’s friends obsesses over “becoming like a cherry blossom, elegant even when rotting off the tree, falling to the ground.” Alluding to her eventual suicide.
My point being, just like how horror through the experiences of women was explored in Silent Hill 3, Short Message does the same. That is why I believe people who strongly dislike the game are not approaching it honestly, or at the very least appropriately. I could think of no better set up for mental health and its nightmarish conditions being manifested from the “Silent Hill phenomenon” than using the perspective of a high school teenage girl with the addition of social media and a world damaged from a pandemic thrown in.
I know people have complained about the world building lacking severely, but I have to ask. What use is world building for a game that lasts 3 hours and is intended to be a demo to something bigger? Sometimes the world building doesn’t need to be an epic about a god casting a curse on humanity. Sometimes it's just a world affected by a pandemic and a German town faced with a curse for killing a witch. To demand intricate world building from a game like Short Message is just unnecessary.
Which brings me to my next point. The bullying aspect of the story while plausible does come off weak, but allow me to give context. Anita is a victim of parental abuse formed by generational trauma. Her mom, an abuse victim by her own mother, felt insecure of never finding a husband to help her take care of her and her children. She felt like her children ruined her life because men didn’t want to bear the responsibility of being a father when dating the mom, so she slowly started believing it was because of Anita and her brother that she struggled to remarry instead of just a lack of community not being there to help her and her children. After coming to this conclusion she starts to blame them and make it their problem. She abused and neglected her children from forcing them to starve to locking them in closets/the apartment to the destroying of their self esteem with words like “you should have never been born.” It went on till her brother died from the abuse, leading to the mother getting arrested for the murder.
With this context in mind, once Anita’s own insecurities and diminished self esteem got to the best of her we eventually discover that Anita bullied her own friend Maya, and is what drove Maya to suicide. In Anita’s eyes Maya was a far better artist than Anita. She not only looked up to Maya as a female role model that she lacked in her life, but she also compared herself to Maya. She also felt like she didn’t get the attention she wanted from Maya (very allusive to how social media affects our desire of attention from others as well as how her mother neglected her often) as someone else shows up in their relationship and makes Anita feel more nervous of the idea of losing Maya to someone else. This paranoia led to Anita weirdly enough bullying her friend to the point of suicide.
This is part of the story where it starts to fall apart a bit. While this kind of scenario is not impossible, it is a weird conclusion for someone to resort to bullying when insecure about possibly losing a friend to someone else. However, as I previously mention, mental illnesses can and will cause irrational behaviors and thought process out of all of us. At Anita’s age I have seen friends act self-destructive over ridiculous reasons, so it is not far-fetched for Anita to act this way, but definitely unusual. This part of the story could have used more work than what was received, but it still fits the overall message the game is trying to convey.
Short Message has a lot of subtext that definitely could have been done better as well as subject matter that could've been approached better too, I have no problem admitting that; however, the criticisms about Anita, the subject of mental health, suicide, and bullying feel more cynical than honest. Especially, considering the topics explored in Short Message, they are nothing new to Silent Hill. There is the horror we witness in our very eyes and then there is the horror in subtext if we take the time to process what we experience holistically. Alessa isn’t some ghost haunting Silent Hill, she’s a victim of abuse from a cult. James Sunderland isn’t some dude caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time. His guilt of murdering his ill wife has manifested in Silent Hill forcing him to literally face his demons. Heather Mason isn’t some 17 year old girl caught in some nightmarish cult, she is the metaphor of the horrors that women face in their everyday life. Silent Hill: The Short Message is not the exception or some kind of weird mistake, it is revisit of what has been done before, that was loved by fans of previous games but for modern audiences. It is a celebration of how far and beloved the franchise is and is an exciting first step in what will hopefully be a welcome revival after being dominant for nearly a decade.
For god's sake, it is a free high quality Silent Hill game made by some of the original Team Silent members!!!!! And there's no gacha/in-game purchases required to play the game!!!! Can nothing please you all??????
I make this note because unfortunately this game is being criticized unfairly for its attempt to tell a story with sensitive subject matter. However, over time, as is always with misunderstood and under appreciated games, people will look back at Silent Hill: The Short Message and think “wow, this game really was not that bad.” I’ll gladly be the first to admit it is not above criticism, but holistically this game is NOWHERE near as bad as these current reviewers are making it out to be.
It’s dishonest to consider this game bad. It’s mediocre at worst, beautiful at best, but never bad. This game is a celebration of the franchise taking the bits from each installment that made the games stand out and making something new and refreshing for both new and old fans. This is as much a return to form as it is an exploration for something new.
So let’s get to the issue I see people have with the game. The subject matter and the subject.
Silent Hill: The Short Message stars a mentally ill high school teenage girl, Anita, processing various forms of trauma. Just like our beloved 17 year old Heather Mason of Silent Hill 3 fame, she has behaviors and monologues/dialogues that can come off kinda cringe and irrational to the unknowing eye, but it’s honest behavior coming from a teenage girl still figuring out her emotions and place in the world. Keep in mind she is alone through all of this as well, so the constant self-talking while jarring is merely a coping mechanism when dealing with stressful situations alone. She’s definitely not the first person to behave the way she does or think the thoughts she has as dealing with mental illness as a teenager leads to irrational and anti-social behaviors.
Our impaired judgments are caused by the anxiety and depression we experience. This game isn’t about what you, the player, would do or how you would react. It’s a story about a teenage girl facing her demons as she spirals.
It’s pragmatic for a developer using adolescence to explore topics of mental health and bullying. We all tend to experience intense, complex emotions and trauma during these ages. Womanhood also has the unfortunate inheritance of violence, so under that same guise it is also accessible to relate to and understand a teenage girl starring in a game about psychological horrors. Nothing is more nightmarishly relatable than being a teenage girl; especially, whose anxieties and depressions are amplified through the “Silent Hill Phenomenon.” Such horrors are shown throughout the game:
Through context clues spread around a certain room in a game, we find out a girl kills herself out of defense against facing incestual rape from her own brother after finding out her parents cannot afford her college education, something she relied on to escape her brother’s abuse.
Anita, dealing with dysmorphia (a phenomenon very common with teenagers), was coerced online into posting a selfie of her smiling after her followers complained she never smiles in her photos. Shortly after they proceed to sexualize her despite the photo just being a modest, 100% SFW photo. An issue almost every girl online has experienced at least once.
Even in death there is also a need to appear beautiful and elegant as one of Anita’s friends obsesses over “becoming like a cherry blossom, elegant even when rotting off the tree, falling to the ground.” Alluding to her eventual suicide.
My point being, just like how horror through the experiences of women was explored in Silent Hill 3, Short Message does the same. That is why I believe people who strongly dislike the game are not approaching it honestly, or at the very least appropriately. I could think of no better set up for mental health and its nightmarish conditions being manifested from the “Silent Hill phenomenon” than using the perspective of a high school teenage girl with the addition of social media and a world damaged from a pandemic thrown in.
I know people have complained about the world building lacking severely, but I have to ask. What use is world building for a game that lasts 3 hours and is intended to be a demo to something bigger? Sometimes the world building doesn’t need to be an epic about a god casting a curse on humanity. Sometimes it's just a world affected by a pandemic and a German town faced with a curse for killing a witch. To demand intricate world building from a game like Short Message is just unnecessary.
Which brings me to my next point. The bullying aspect of the story while plausible does come off weak, but allow me to give context. Anita is a victim of parental abuse formed by generational trauma. Her mom, an abuse victim by her own mother, felt insecure of never finding a husband to help her take care of her and her children. She felt like her children ruined her life because men didn’t want to bear the responsibility of being a father when dating the mom, so she slowly started believing it was because of Anita and her brother that she struggled to remarry instead of just a lack of community not being there to help her and her children. After coming to this conclusion she starts to blame them and make it their problem. She abused and neglected her children from forcing them to starve to locking them in closets/the apartment to the destroying of their self esteem with words like “you should have never been born.” It went on till her brother died from the abuse, leading to the mother getting arrested for the murder.
With this context in mind, once Anita’s own insecurities and diminished self esteem got to the best of her we eventually discover that Anita bullied her own friend Maya, and is what drove Maya to suicide. In Anita’s eyes Maya was a far better artist than Anita. She not only looked up to Maya as a female role model that she lacked in her life, but she also compared herself to Maya. She also felt like she didn’t get the attention she wanted from Maya (very allusive to how social media affects our desire of attention from others as well as how her mother neglected her often) as someone else shows up in their relationship and makes Anita feel more nervous of the idea of losing Maya to someone else. This paranoia led to Anita weirdly enough bullying her friend to the point of suicide.
This is part of the story where it starts to fall apart a bit. While this kind of scenario is not impossible, it is a weird conclusion for someone to resort to bullying when insecure about possibly losing a friend to someone else. However, as I previously mention, mental illnesses can and will cause irrational behaviors and thought process out of all of us. At Anita’s age I have seen friends act self-destructive over ridiculous reasons, so it is not far-fetched for Anita to act this way, but definitely unusual. This part of the story could have used more work than what was received, but it still fits the overall message the game is trying to convey.
Short Message has a lot of subtext that definitely could have been done better as well as subject matter that could've been approached better too, I have no problem admitting that; however, the criticisms about Anita, the subject of mental health, suicide, and bullying feel more cynical than honest. Especially, considering the topics explored in Short Message, they are nothing new to Silent Hill. There is the horror we witness in our very eyes and then there is the horror in subtext if we take the time to process what we experience holistically. Alessa isn’t some ghost haunting Silent Hill, she’s a victim of abuse from a cult. James Sunderland isn’t some dude caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time. His guilt of murdering his ill wife has manifested in Silent Hill forcing him to literally face his demons. Heather Mason isn’t some 17 year old girl caught in some nightmarish cult, she is the metaphor of the horrors that women face in their everyday life. Silent Hill: The Short Message is not the exception or some kind of weird mistake, it is revisit of what has been done before, that was loved by fans of previous games but for modern audiences. It is a celebration of how far and beloved the franchise is and is an exciting first step in what will hopefully be a welcome revival after being dominant for nearly a decade.
For god's sake, it is a free high quality Silent Hill game made by some of the original Team Silent members!!!!! And there's no gacha/in-game purchases required to play the game!!!! Can nothing please you all??????
2023
Insane to think people considered this game the inferior Quake. I very much prefer this one over the original Quake with all due respect (Before you start typing, I still very much enjoyed the original Quake. You can find my review of it on my profile).
Nightdive studios is quite literally doing the lord's work bringing these games back to modern consoles. I can't get enough of this series, I need a Quake 3 and 4 remaster and a new Quake installment YESTERDAY.
Nightdive studios is quite literally doing the lord's work bringing these games back to modern consoles. I can't get enough of this series, I need a Quake 3 and 4 remaster and a new Quake installment YESTERDAY.
2021
This review contains spoilers
I tried putting myself into the lens of what it’d be like to play this game in 1987, and honestly playing a game like this would’ve blown my mind.
While the story is not all that incredible how it ends is very poignant of the title Final Fantasy. You go back in time to stop the villain from achieving their villainous goal and when you are victorious future generations will not know of your achievement as you will have undone the chaos that the villain tried to spread in the future. While the world is saved and its inhabitants can live happily, no one will know of your great deeds. It truly is the final fantasy.
the gameplay is very basic and simple, but is it ever timeless. A game this old I only had to refer to a walkthrough twice whereas most games this old would’ve required me to use a walkthrough entirely. It’s nice being able to rely on context clues through civilians and persistent map exploration to get me to progress through the game with little to no help. It’s definitely the most unexpected aspect of the game that I very much love.
The music is sexy as hell too. Nobuo Uematsu was in his musician-ussy creating the battle theme.
For a bare bones basic RPG, it’s a must play for all RPG and Final Fantasy fans. Hell, even if you’re like a video game preservationist or just like gaming I think you should play this game.
While the story is not all that incredible how it ends is very poignant of the title Final Fantasy. You go back in time to stop the villain from achieving their villainous goal and when you are victorious future generations will not know of your achievement as you will have undone the chaos that the villain tried to spread in the future. While the world is saved and its inhabitants can live happily, no one will know of your great deeds. It truly is the final fantasy.
the gameplay is very basic and simple, but is it ever timeless. A game this old I only had to refer to a walkthrough twice whereas most games this old would’ve required me to use a walkthrough entirely. It’s nice being able to rely on context clues through civilians and persistent map exploration to get me to progress through the game with little to no help. It’s definitely the most unexpected aspect of the game that I very much love.
The music is sexy as hell too. Nobuo Uematsu was in his musician-ussy creating the battle theme.
For a bare bones basic RPG, it’s a must play for all RPG and Final Fantasy fans. Hell, even if you’re like a video game preservationist or just like gaming I think you should play this game.
2021
I went in expecting a better experience than the first Final Fantasy, but the overall experience was underwhelming. I love the huge emphasis in story telling and how evolved the magic system is, but I’m not too big a fan of how the stats work with the equipment. It’s not bad but I don’t see much of a difference in magic defense and physical defense. It felt kind of unnecessary but the attempt is appreciated nonetheless.
The story did feel like a copy cat of Star Wars, but it became it’s own thing about 1/3 of the way through the game. The plot twists were predictable, yet they were executed well despite it all.
You start seeing more final fantasy staples in this game like the introduction of the dragoon class, chocobos <3, and the influence of Star Wars.
Unless you’re a final fantasy fan or enjoy old school RPGs I’d skip this one. Its impact doesn’t feel as strong as the first game but at a bare minimum it’s still very enjoyable!
The story did feel like a copy cat of Star Wars, but it became it’s own thing about 1/3 of the way through the game. The plot twists were predictable, yet they were executed well despite it all.
You start seeing more final fantasy staples in this game like the introduction of the dragoon class, chocobos <3, and the influence of Star Wars.
Unless you’re a final fantasy fan or enjoy old school RPGs I’d skip this one. Its impact doesn’t feel as strong as the first game but at a bare minimum it’s still very enjoyable!
2005
emo culture didn't peak till the advent of this game and The Black Parade album
2021
I didn't see the appeal to this game at first, but I gave it a try anyways because I love boomer shooters. Four episodes and an end game boss later I'm left craving more.
Safe to say this shit holds up almost 30 years later.
Safe to say this shit holds up almost 30 years later.
2017
Collection of Mana is probably the best way to get into the Mana series without paying for their respective consoles if you don't have them or emulating them (although emulating will probably grant you the same results, if not better) and see what all the hype is if you've never grew up with the franchise or even heard of it until the Collection came out, which would be both for me.
I was very surprised to find out Square Enix had a whole franchise born from Final Fantasy after finding out about the Collection -although in retrospect not as surprised seeing as Square rarely acknowledges their older titles rip- and I immediately wanted to check them out seeing as I love the Final Fantasy series, Kingdom Hearts series, and Dragon Quest XI (I don't consider DQ games before VIII belonging to SE seeing as that was Enix's creation before their merge w Square). After finishing all three games, I can confidently say that these games are VERY much worth trying out at the least.
Seiken Densetsu (Final Fantasy Adventure) is probably the most surprising game for me out of all three games from the Collection. I expected a very poorly aged and frustrating game to play, but it would be the exact opposite for me! The combat is very simple and straight forward! Just hack and slash your way through enemies! The world is probably the least impressive, but seeing it as it was a GameBoy game originally I'll give them some slack. The story for this game however? It's a very big part as to why I was surprised by this game. I was anticipating a very bare bones, simple and dated story since the game is only like three decades old, but instead what I got was a very emotionally moving and engaging experience. There were multiple instances from the game's story that were very memorable stuck with me to this day like finding out that one of the inns you stay at to recover ends up being hosted by a nefarious individual who kidnaps your partner away from you, to getting a freaking chocobo companion to help you get around quicker!!! to having a robot companion go through hell and back with you
(SPOILER) (SPOILER) (SPOILER) only for them to sacrifice their life for you to survive. That scene absolutely made me shed a few tears that I would never expect from a GameBoy game! And then after beating the end game boss you find out your partner is part of an ethereal lineage that is sworn to protect the world by sacrificing themselves to protect the mana tree and your character promising them to guard the tree for all their life. Its stuff like that while cliche feels very different and heartwarming when Seiken Densetsu does it (END OF SPOILER). Seiken Densetsu's story is probably the absolute best of the trilogy (IMO) which reassured me that we would be off to a great start.
Seiken Densetsu II (Secret of Mana) I actually do remember hearing about back in like 2016, but I didn't really correlate the game with the Mana series till the Collection of Mana release. I'll be honest, I didn't have all that great of a time with this game. Its not a bad game, but I can tell it was trying to reinvent the wheel with its combat and menu system and... its not a good reinvention. I appreciate any and all experimentation done in video games as I think artistic expression and practices should be experimented with just for the sake of it, but I personally think it has not aged all that well after all these years. I'm glad it happened, but I'm glad it never caught on with other games. Combat also just feels a bit clumsy. Having to navigate through a menu to use items or spell just gets tedious and disrupts the flow of the gameplay. I'd understand if this was due to technical limitations of the GameBoy, but Seiken Densetsu was on a home console! I just think again they got caught up with reinventing the wheel and I don't blame them for it, but I just did not have a great time with it. It wasn't game breaking though thankfully! I still managed to beat the boss with little to no fuss after getting use to the awkward controls and combat. The story though is honestly not as memorable as Seiken Densetsu (Final Fantasy Adventure). I really cannot remember anything about it other than the beginning and the end. I wouldn't say its a bad thing though just because not all stories need to be memorable, but I will say I did leave feeling satisfied with the story. I know I didn't hate it, I just didn't feel impressed with it nor with their characters.
Seiken Densetsu III (Trials of Mana) I think is the second best of the Collection overall. Its story is far more memorable and engaging than previous and the combat is fine tuned a bit more w the gameplay feeling not as disruptive. I like that this game allows you to not only pick out your main character and party but their classes as well! I think thats the best thing about the game is the variety and accessibility of play style! It also does a good job at not causing the "fear of missing out" if you can't decide on a party as any characters left out will still show up throughout the entire game. I know for sure this game has a lot of replay value just from that alone. I'd say the stories this game has are about as memorable as Seiken Densetsu II, but not for the same reasons this time. Seiken Densetsu III has a lot of events that take place between main character, party, and extras so its a lot to take in just from one playthrough. I'm sure if one were to play it multiple times with a different party per playthrough the stories will become more memorable and interesting since everyone's story intertwines in one way or another. I guess you could say its like Octopath Traveler before Octopath Traveler was a thing!
After the many hours devoted to this Collection, I really am glad I got to experience it as a JRPG fan and video game preservation enthusiast. Even though I came out of this not really being a big fan of the Mana series I can say I still appreciate its presence in JRPG history and that I will for sure play its other titles just to see where the Mana series goes.
I'd recommend it for the following:
-Avid JRPG fans
-'90s video game enthusiasts
-looking for a fantastical story that's outside of the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest universe despite this series being a spin-off of FF
I was very surprised to find out Square Enix had a whole franchise born from Final Fantasy after finding out about the Collection -although in retrospect not as surprised seeing as Square rarely acknowledges their older titles rip- and I immediately wanted to check them out seeing as I love the Final Fantasy series, Kingdom Hearts series, and Dragon Quest XI (I don't consider DQ games before VIII belonging to SE seeing as that was Enix's creation before their merge w Square). After finishing all three games, I can confidently say that these games are VERY much worth trying out at the least.
Seiken Densetsu (Final Fantasy Adventure) is probably the most surprising game for me out of all three games from the Collection. I expected a very poorly aged and frustrating game to play, but it would be the exact opposite for me! The combat is very simple and straight forward! Just hack and slash your way through enemies! The world is probably the least impressive, but seeing it as it was a GameBoy game originally I'll give them some slack. The story for this game however? It's a very big part as to why I was surprised by this game. I was anticipating a very bare bones, simple and dated story since the game is only like three decades old, but instead what I got was a very emotionally moving and engaging experience. There were multiple instances from the game's story that were very memorable stuck with me to this day like finding out that one of the inns you stay at to recover ends up being hosted by a nefarious individual who kidnaps your partner away from you, to getting a freaking chocobo companion to help you get around quicker!!! to having a robot companion go through hell and back with you
(SPOILER) (SPOILER) (SPOILER) only for them to sacrifice their life for you to survive. That scene absolutely made me shed a few tears that I would never expect from a GameBoy game! And then after beating the end game boss you find out your partner is part of an ethereal lineage that is sworn to protect the world by sacrificing themselves to protect the mana tree and your character promising them to guard the tree for all their life. Its stuff like that while cliche feels very different and heartwarming when Seiken Densetsu does it (END OF SPOILER). Seiken Densetsu's story is probably the absolute best of the trilogy (IMO) which reassured me that we would be off to a great start.
Seiken Densetsu II (Secret of Mana) I actually do remember hearing about back in like 2016, but I didn't really correlate the game with the Mana series till the Collection of Mana release. I'll be honest, I didn't have all that great of a time with this game. Its not a bad game, but I can tell it was trying to reinvent the wheel with its combat and menu system and... its not a good reinvention. I appreciate any and all experimentation done in video games as I think artistic expression and practices should be experimented with just for the sake of it, but I personally think it has not aged all that well after all these years. I'm glad it happened, but I'm glad it never caught on with other games. Combat also just feels a bit clumsy. Having to navigate through a menu to use items or spell just gets tedious and disrupts the flow of the gameplay. I'd understand if this was due to technical limitations of the GameBoy, but Seiken Densetsu was on a home console! I just think again they got caught up with reinventing the wheel and I don't blame them for it, but I just did not have a great time with it. It wasn't game breaking though thankfully! I still managed to beat the boss with little to no fuss after getting use to the awkward controls and combat. The story though is honestly not as memorable as Seiken Densetsu (Final Fantasy Adventure). I really cannot remember anything about it other than the beginning and the end. I wouldn't say its a bad thing though just because not all stories need to be memorable, but I will say I did leave feeling satisfied with the story. I know I didn't hate it, I just didn't feel impressed with it nor with their characters.
Seiken Densetsu III (Trials of Mana) I think is the second best of the Collection overall. Its story is far more memorable and engaging than previous and the combat is fine tuned a bit more w the gameplay feeling not as disruptive. I like that this game allows you to not only pick out your main character and party but their classes as well! I think thats the best thing about the game is the variety and accessibility of play style! It also does a good job at not causing the "fear of missing out" if you can't decide on a party as any characters left out will still show up throughout the entire game. I know for sure this game has a lot of replay value just from that alone. I'd say the stories this game has are about as memorable as Seiken Densetsu II, but not for the same reasons this time. Seiken Densetsu III has a lot of events that take place between main character, party, and extras so its a lot to take in just from one playthrough. I'm sure if one were to play it multiple times with a different party per playthrough the stories will become more memorable and interesting since everyone's story intertwines in one way or another. I guess you could say its like Octopath Traveler before Octopath Traveler was a thing!
After the many hours devoted to this Collection, I really am glad I got to experience it as a JRPG fan and video game preservation enthusiast. Even though I came out of this not really being a big fan of the Mana series I can say I still appreciate its presence in JRPG history and that I will for sure play its other titles just to see where the Mana series goes.
I'd recommend it for the following:
-Avid JRPG fans
-'90s video game enthusiasts
-looking for a fantastical story that's outside of the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest universe despite this series being a spin-off of FF
2002
This is probably one of the coolest ninja hack and slash type of game I've ever played, but I just wish it didn't feel so frustratingly difficult to play for me. Some of the enemy spawn points are just ridiculous in terms of context. You'll find frustrating scenarios like fighting a tank with a swarm of flying monsters shooting fireballs at you with a hole full of lava separating you and your enemies. I was able to defeat all of them, but the amount of restarts I had to do just to get it right was frustrating. I know that since this is a SEGA arcade classic it's replicating some of that original design, but I honestly want to call that bs because arcade games back in the day were annoying unforgiving because it got gamers to spend more money on their products. For a home console game, I really feel like they could have toned it down a bit. Maybe make the enemy spawn points not so ridiculous.
The controls for this game also feel awkward. Being use to the most modern hack and slash games, the context of the button mapping in this game has me confusing my jumps and dashes. Several levels in and I still tripped over myself with the buttons. I know I could get use to it if I continued playing the game, but this game tests my patience too much to care lmfao. It just feels like a sloppy Devil May Cry.
The story to this game is also kind of non-existent. Cutscenes happen but that's kind of it. I feel like there could have been more effort put into the story. I do love the character design and environment design a lot though! Probably its strongest aspect in the game.
Overall the game isn't horrible, it just has too many annoying small things that normally I could care less about that ruin it for me that I just had to retire the game. Maybe one day I'll go back to it, but for now I'm okay not finishing the story.
I really wouldn't recommend this game unless you like the following:
-hack and slash games from the 2000s. Devil May Cry comes to mind when I think of this game.
-arcade levels of difficulty, aka unforgiving enemy and level design
The controls for this game also feel awkward. Being use to the most modern hack and slash games, the context of the button mapping in this game has me confusing my jumps and dashes. Several levels in and I still tripped over myself with the buttons. I know I could get use to it if I continued playing the game, but this game tests my patience too much to care lmfao. It just feels like a sloppy Devil May Cry.
The story to this game is also kind of non-existent. Cutscenes happen but that's kind of it. I feel like there could have been more effort put into the story. I do love the character design and environment design a lot though! Probably its strongest aspect in the game.
Overall the game isn't horrible, it just has too many annoying small things that normally I could care less about that ruin it for me that I just had to retire the game. Maybe one day I'll go back to it, but for now I'm okay not finishing the story.
I really wouldn't recommend this game unless you like the following:
-hack and slash games from the 2000s. Devil May Cry comes to mind when I think of this game.
-arcade levels of difficulty, aka unforgiving enemy and level design
2016
When fans have proclaimed that this was the best Final Fantasy game I figured it was all just exaggeration seeing as the same fandom has a lot of fans praising Final Fantasy VII as the best Final Fantasy game. I can attest that these claims for FFIX are not off-base or exaggerated.
The combat of Final Fantasy IX, as with pretty much everything else in this game, is a callback to the early days of Final Fantasy before its modern era which I'm sure those reading this have heard time and time again. Very simple turn based combat with nothing special other than like a super Saiyan mode when your ATB meter is filled. I feel like this game is one of the first 3D Final Fantasy games that also properly does open world exploration right. A lot of FFVII "open world" aspects still felt very linear and small, and FFVIII wasn't much of an improvement either. FFIX on the other hand feels just about right. It still has a linear approach to open world maps, but the areas you explore feel far more explorable and massive than the last two games had. Also, the environments also just look really well made!
The story for FFIX is truly one of the most charming and endearing stories I've had the pleasure to witness in a Final Fantasy game. It has a children's fairytale story to it that I'm also sure the people reading this have heard about it as well. The characters themselves are all memorable and lovable to the very end. I think this is also one of the few Final Fantasy games where I actually don't have a problem with the characters. The story and characters have this symbiotic relationship where they both improve each other after each event taking place, or in other words, the game's story and characters are really well written.
There's just a lot about this game that you cannot go wrong with and that is a good entry for a Final Fantasy fan who wants to experience the older titles, but has neither the means or confidence to do so. This game is definitive Final Fantasy experience for sure.
I'd highly recommend this for the following:
-JRPG fans
-Incoming or relatively new Final Fantasy fans
-a low poly enthusiast
-looking for a wonderfully written cast and story in a video game
-loves video games in high fantasy settings
The combat of Final Fantasy IX, as with pretty much everything else in this game, is a callback to the early days of Final Fantasy before its modern era which I'm sure those reading this have heard time and time again. Very simple turn based combat with nothing special other than like a super Saiyan mode when your ATB meter is filled. I feel like this game is one of the first 3D Final Fantasy games that also properly does open world exploration right. A lot of FFVII "open world" aspects still felt very linear and small, and FFVIII wasn't much of an improvement either. FFIX on the other hand feels just about right. It still has a linear approach to open world maps, but the areas you explore feel far more explorable and massive than the last two games had. Also, the environments also just look really well made!
The story for FFIX is truly one of the most charming and endearing stories I've had the pleasure to witness in a Final Fantasy game. It has a children's fairytale story to it that I'm also sure the people reading this have heard about it as well. The characters themselves are all memorable and lovable to the very end. I think this is also one of the few Final Fantasy games where I actually don't have a problem with the characters. The story and characters have this symbiotic relationship where they both improve each other after each event taking place, or in other words, the game's story and characters are really well written.
There's just a lot about this game that you cannot go wrong with and that is a good entry for a Final Fantasy fan who wants to experience the older titles, but has neither the means or confidence to do so. This game is definitive Final Fantasy experience for sure.
I'd highly recommend this for the following:
-JRPG fans
-Incoming or relatively new Final Fantasy fans
-a low poly enthusiast
-looking for a wonderfully written cast and story in a video game
-loves video games in high fantasy settings
2016
They don't make gay cyberpunk fiction like this anymore
A masterclass in DS game design that is horribly under appreciated and recognized. It's one of the few DS games that not only uses most if not all of its functions, but uses it so cleverly!!! Without spoiling too much, the game requires you to think outside the box quite literally and when I discovered how literal it was I couldn't help but giggle like the doofus I am.
The story to this game was also just as delightful too. It's nothing too convoluted or grand. Just a very engaging adventure about a 13 year old girl learning about her father's location being on a private island after being gone for 10 years and discovering the secrets of said island.
The puzzles and exploration of this game feel very similar to a point and click PS1 style adventure game. The game felt surprisingly ahead of its time in terms of graphics and exploration, but then again its exploration is very bare bones. Not in a boring way mind you just in an efficient straight to the point way.
A shame the title is stuck on the DS and DS emulation because I think it's a title that is worth remastering for a console like the Switch. It feels like a very important piece of video game history just from how technologically creative it is. I'd hate for it to be widely forgotten.
The story to this game was also just as delightful too. It's nothing too convoluted or grand. Just a very engaging adventure about a 13 year old girl learning about her father's location being on a private island after being gone for 10 years and discovering the secrets of said island.
The puzzles and exploration of this game feel very similar to a point and click PS1 style adventure game. The game felt surprisingly ahead of its time in terms of graphics and exploration, but then again its exploration is very bare bones. Not in a boring way mind you just in an efficient straight to the point way.
A shame the title is stuck on the DS and DS emulation because I think it's a title that is worth remastering for a console like the Switch. It feels like a very important piece of video game history just from how technologically creative it is. I'd hate for it to be widely forgotten.