Frossenkar
ok so this is like the hardest game I've ever played because completing a chapter took me hours nearly every time because every decision can lead to so many outcomes, that made me consider every move extremely carefully and while that did grind my progress to a halt at times it was (mostly) a really fun experience which really made me master its systems and mechanics in order to succeed, I don't regret choosing this as my first fire emblem game even if it certainly wasn't the most standard pick
oh yeah and the story was like laughably bad, some decently charming characters in there though
oh yeah and the story was like laughably bad, some decently charming characters in there though
yeah I was like 10 admittedly but this game FUCKS
most memorable gba title of my childhood, really charming game, wish I could find my gameboy so I could play it again
2019
from the multiple varied and deep playstyles to engaging enemy and boss designs, this game never ever got boring for me, offering some one of the most fun gaming experiences I've ever had the pleasure to go through, with a good story and a banging sountrack to boot (Subhuman is great I will fight you)
hm I should attack Sundowner's shield
fly like a butterfly, fart like a dragon
it does take some balls to completely change your combat system from real-time to turn-based, and some moves you can acquire are funny and all, but that's about as far as I can go in complementing it
I may just not be a jrpg fan, but to my knowledge this isn't even a particularly deep system even by your regular jrpg standards, and in my experience is just very boring most of the time, you spam your most powerful moves, heal when appropriate, rinse and repeat, there's really not much to it and on top of not being very satisfying it also just...makes you feel like you're not the one in control, if that makes any sense, it feels like I'm slamming action figures against each other and making them fight rather than fighting everyone myself like I did in all the previous installments, which makes it extremely hard to make any fight particularly exciting
the music took a hit as well in my opinion, in its desperate pursuit to modernize the series it just takes away a lot of the memorable melodies and cool guitar riffs that one may be used to hearing in these games at this point in favour of trap-styled drums and wubbly almost dubsteppy synths, when I was finished with this game I could think of like 3 tracks (original to this game) that I liked
and speaking of modernizing the series, with the yakuza fading out of relevance in the real world, the same thing happens here, where it feels like the game doesn't know what to do with its lore anymore, the returning characters were nice to see but they might as well just not be in the plot at all, the game doesn't really know what to do with them anymore, it feels like
now that the complaining is out of the way (yes I know that was a lot), the actual story of this game is good! most of the new characters are charming, even if not all of them are incredibly deep, the weird party that forms around Ichiban is fun to hang out with, and the plot has a fair share of its good moments, and even if it feels like it doesn't quite want to fully commit to subverting expectations that were established by the games that came before it, it is still enjoyable
all this said, this was a fun experiment to bear witness to, but if this is the direction this series is sticking with for the foreseeable future, it's hard for me to feel excited about the next entry if its improvements on this new formula aren't gonna be substantial
it's a good game, just maybe not the best yakuza game
it does take some balls to completely change your combat system from real-time to turn-based, and some moves you can acquire are funny and all, but that's about as far as I can go in complementing it
I may just not be a jrpg fan, but to my knowledge this isn't even a particularly deep system even by your regular jrpg standards, and in my experience is just very boring most of the time, you spam your most powerful moves, heal when appropriate, rinse and repeat, there's really not much to it and on top of not being very satisfying it also just...makes you feel like you're not the one in control, if that makes any sense, it feels like I'm slamming action figures against each other and making them fight rather than fighting everyone myself like I did in all the previous installments, which makes it extremely hard to make any fight particularly exciting
the music took a hit as well in my opinion, in its desperate pursuit to modernize the series it just takes away a lot of the memorable melodies and cool guitar riffs that one may be used to hearing in these games at this point in favour of trap-styled drums and wubbly almost dubsteppy synths, when I was finished with this game I could think of like 3 tracks (original to this game) that I liked
and speaking of modernizing the series, with the yakuza fading out of relevance in the real world, the same thing happens here, where it feels like the game doesn't know what to do with its lore anymore, the returning characters were nice to see but they might as well just not be in the plot at all, the game doesn't really know what to do with them anymore, it feels like
now that the complaining is out of the way (yes I know that was a lot), the actual story of this game is good! most of the new characters are charming, even if not all of them are incredibly deep, the weird party that forms around Ichiban is fun to hang out with, and the plot has a fair share of its good moments, and even if it feels like it doesn't quite want to fully commit to subverting expectations that were established by the games that came before it, it is still enjoyable
all this said, this was a fun experiment to bear witness to, but if this is the direction this series is sticking with for the foreseeable future, it's hard for me to feel excited about the next entry if its improvements on this new formula aren't gonna be substantial
it's a good game, just maybe not the best yakuza game
the endlessly repeating content drags down what is otherwise a pretty fun experience
a lot of improvements made all across the board but the desire to go back to this is just not there
a lot of improvements made all across the board but the desire to go back to this is just not there
for what was supposed to be a final chapter in Kiryu's story it barely delivered on it in my opinion
there are way too many frustrating plot choices in this game for me to call this a good closer, particularly this game's refusal to use all but a handful of past characters in its plot when it clearly should have been possible
6 does have a cast of mostly likeable characters of its own however and most of them do get their chance to shine (sans the final boss, who was pretty awful and disappointing to be honest)
the gameplay is kind of just bad this time around, it's the first Yakuza game made with the dragon engine and it feels very underdeveloped, where as kiwami 2 was built on the same engine the combat was still fun and even though it wasn't the deepest thing in the world or anything, it definitely felt good, which I can't say about this game at all
this was not a bad videogame but it really could have used some more time in the oven
there are way too many frustrating plot choices in this game for me to call this a good closer, particularly this game's refusal to use all but a handful of past characters in its plot when it clearly should have been possible
6 does have a cast of mostly likeable characters of its own however and most of them do get their chance to shine (sans the final boss, who was pretty awful and disappointing to be honest)
the gameplay is kind of just bad this time around, it's the first Yakuza game made with the dragon engine and it feels very underdeveloped, where as kiwami 2 was built on the same engine the combat was still fun and even though it wasn't the deepest thing in the world or anything, it definitely felt good, which I can't say about this game at all
this was not a bad videogame but it really could have used some more time in the oven
2019
slaps roof of taxi this bad boy can hold so many yumes
in all seriousness this game was goddamn impressive, a tremendous BEHEMOTH of mostly good content and I haven't even touched the surface of it
the biggest story in the franchise so far dares to get away with so many protagonists, all of whom are likeable in different ways
the gameplay is overall very solid, with only one character never really feeling quite that great
there's some absolute peak Yakuza moments to be found in this game, I have to mention that it has probably my favourite portrayal of Kiryu in the series (it's either this or 2)
having said that Saejima's part does drag the game down a bit for me, it's not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things as the game still manages to come out very strong but the atrocious pacing and just generally not having a very interesting story to its name make Saejima's chapters hard to be excited about
well that and I think the finale could have maybe felt a bit better
but in the end, this is indeed a great Yakuza game, one of the best
in all seriousness this game was goddamn impressive, a tremendous BEHEMOTH of mostly good content and I haven't even touched the surface of it
the biggest story in the franchise so far dares to get away with so many protagonists, all of whom are likeable in different ways
the gameplay is overall very solid, with only one character never really feeling quite that great
there's some absolute peak Yakuza moments to be found in this game, I have to mention that it has probably my favourite portrayal of Kiryu in the series (it's either this or 2)
having said that Saejima's part does drag the game down a bit for me, it's not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things as the game still manages to come out very strong but the atrocious pacing and just generally not having a very interesting story to its name make Saejima's chapters hard to be excited about
well that and I think the finale could have maybe felt a bit better
but in the end, this is indeed a great Yakuza game, one of the best
2011
holy shit
this game was something else
it's obviously a wild departure from what the series is usually known for but damn it all if it wasn't fucking awesome
from the atmosphere and the spectacle to the memorable tunes of this weird apocalypse Dead Souls surprised me with genuinely decent gunplay and good characterisation of the series' beloved characters, which also features quite possibly the sickest lineup of protagonists in the series
this game broke me multiple times in ways that still keep me up at night and I hope other people will share my suffering when it hopefully gets its much deserved rerelease
this game was something else
it's obviously a wild departure from what the series is usually known for but damn it all if it wasn't fucking awesome
from the atmosphere and the spectacle to the memorable tunes of this weird apocalypse Dead Souls surprised me with genuinely decent gunplay and good characterisation of the series' beloved characters, which also features quite possibly the sickest lineup of protagonists in the series
this game broke me multiple times in ways that still keep me up at night and I hope other people will share my suffering when it hopefully gets its much deserved rerelease
2019
yeah
2018
while I enjoyed the story of this game more than I did k1's, actually playing it is a chore most of the time, with it's unsatisfying as hell combat, mind-numbing filler and an atmosphere that can be downright nauseating sometimes
however, like I said, this game has an enjoyable story with many good moments even if it's not all killer (one particular scene had me on the verge of tears, you know what I'm talking about if you played the game)
I imagine I would have enjoyed this a lot more than I did if I was more into the stuff that went on in the first 4 chapters or so if you know what I'm talking about, plus like I said the atmosphere just didn't vibe with me
still, it has enough good moments to be called a decent experience
Rikya best boy
however, like I said, this game has an enjoyable story with many good moments even if it's not all killer (one particular scene had me on the verge of tears, you know what I'm talking about if you played the game)
I imagine I would have enjoyed this a lot more than I did if I was more into the stuff that went on in the first 4 chapters or so if you know what I'm talking about, plus like I said the atmosphere just didn't vibe with me
still, it has enough good moments to be called a decent experience
Rikya best boy
this, this is where the beloved status of this franchise finally started to make sense to me
the at last realised combat system with its many playstyles has to be the first topic of discussion here, since it is just such an exhilarating system now, with so many approaches to combat with its multiple weapons, guns, style switching and other cool shit I'm probably not even aware of yet
the level design is mostly great, with it's challenging enemies and tough bosses (fighting Vergil is one of the coolest fucking things I've ever experienced in a videogame), with the only annoying parts being the occasional meh puzzle sections
there's an actual story now, with characters that have, well, character and stuff, it's fun and campy and very enjoyable all the way through
even the music got a serious upgrade, with some legitimately great battle tracks here and there
with DMC3 I can finally see why people like these games so much, I'll round this up to a 10/10 even though it's not quite perfect and has some flaws and is closer to a 9.5/10 really but I'm feeling generous since I had to go through the disasters that are 1 and 2 for this
man am I gonna be coming back to this a lot
the at last realised combat system with its many playstyles has to be the first topic of discussion here, since it is just such an exhilarating system now, with so many approaches to combat with its multiple weapons, guns, style switching and other cool shit I'm probably not even aware of yet
the level design is mostly great, with it's challenging enemies and tough bosses (fighting Vergil is one of the coolest fucking things I've ever experienced in a videogame), with the only annoying parts being the occasional meh puzzle sections
there's an actual story now, with characters that have, well, character and stuff, it's fun and campy and very enjoyable all the way through
even the music got a serious upgrade, with some legitimately great battle tracks here and there
with DMC3 I can finally see why people like these games so much, I'll round this up to a 10/10 even though it's not quite perfect and has some flaws and is closer to a 9.5/10 really but I'm feeling generous since I had to go through the disasters that are 1 and 2 for this
man am I gonna be coming back to this a lot
2017
k2 is an absolute blast, the story is engaging right from the start, full of great character moments and memorable scenes, it frankly makes its predecessor look shallow in comparison, considering just how much confidence this games exudes
the gameplay while critiqued by some, has been pretty enjoyable for me, with a satisfying progression loop and a fun physics engine to boot it was almost never boring for me, although I do understand the complaints about the game eventually becoming "too easy"
in general there's a lot more respect for player's time, with way less unnecessary downtime between everything and barely any story filler
the finale had me worried at first but turned out to be an immensely gratifying conclusion anyway, which at one point I thought was nearly impossible
I have not done much side content (save for the Majima saga, which was enjoyable) at the moment of writing this but I will absolutely go back for it, and from what little I've seen of it it promises to be quite good
this was an absolute fucking capital J Journey of a game and I adored the overwhelming majority of my time with it
the gameplay while critiqued by some, has been pretty enjoyable for me, with a satisfying progression loop and a fun physics engine to boot it was almost never boring for me, although I do understand the complaints about the game eventually becoming "too easy"
in general there's a lot more respect for player's time, with way less unnecessary downtime between everything and barely any story filler
the finale had me worried at first but turned out to be an immensely gratifying conclusion anyway, which at one point I thought was nearly impossible
I have not done much side content (save for the Majima saga, which was enjoyable) at the moment of writing this but I will absolutely go back for it, and from what little I've seen of it it promises to be quite good
this was an absolute fucking capital J Journey of a game and I adored the overwhelming majority of my time with it
2016
while at first this game isn't the most engaging thing in the universe, it picks up a lot during its second half and becomes a lot more compelling as it starts being apparent that this game is not going to have a happy ending
a certain someone's flashbacks were the best part of the game, illustrating their believable and chilling descent into madness, which means they turn out to be a pretty good villain as a result
considering the fact that this combat system is pretty much just recycled from 0, the gameplay happened to be somewhat tiring, Kiryu's combat was already not great in the prequel and here it's the entire goddamn game, the penultimate boss fight in particular was so bad that I was tempted to lower my rating
concerning the side content I have not done that much of it so I can't really say how good it is (shoutout to Shinohara tho, best boy) which means I might update my review in the future if I go back to do some
all and all this was a solid first attempt at this sort of crime drama, and although some kinda clumsy bits of writing hold this story back from reaching its true potential, this game is a worthwhile experience nonetheless
a certain someone's flashbacks were the best part of the game, illustrating their believable and chilling descent into madness, which means they turn out to be a pretty good villain as a result
considering the fact that this combat system is pretty much just recycled from 0, the gameplay happened to be somewhat tiring, Kiryu's combat was already not great in the prequel and here it's the entire goddamn game, the penultimate boss fight in particular was so bad that I was tempted to lower my rating
concerning the side content I have not done that much of it so I can't really say how good it is (shoutout to Shinohara tho, best boy) which means I might update my review in the future if I go back to do some
all and all this was a solid first attempt at this sort of crime drama, and although some kinda clumsy bits of writing hold this story back from reaching its true potential, this game is a worthwhile experience nonetheless