GCDeadshot
23 reviews liked by GCDeadshot
Sonic Mania
2017
Man... This really is That Game huh.
This isn't my first time playing Sonic Mania, I did play it for a little bit when it first came out. Back then, I was still in my "meh, I'm not into Sonic anymore" phase, so I didn't appreciate it nearly as much as I do now.
The perfect* 2D Sonic game, hands down. The presentation alone mops the floor with any possible competition; fan game or official, it doesn't matter, none of them come close to matching the attention to detail here. The spritework is SO. GOOD. And the low poly models! Ahhhhhh!
I won't even get into the music, the entire fucking soundtrack is top notch. I can't pick any favorites, ALL tracks are beyond stellar.
I LOVE the special stages, they're my new favorites. And it's clear that the team had a real soft spot for Sonic CD, which immediately earns some brownie points from me. Time traveling again after completing Stardust Speedway Act 1 had my cheeks hurting from smiling so much.
BUUUUUUUUUUUT... There was no need to bring so many classic zones back. Granted, they all have some spice added in on Act 2 that makes them unique in their own way(the smog in Oil Ocean was very anxiety inducing), but still, my eyes were glued to the screen whenever a brand new zone showed up, they were the real highlights.
Elemental shields, movement options that you can unlock through Blue Sphere, tons of playable characters, classic setpieces with new spins, a very active modding community, great visuals, great soundtrack... What else can I say?
By the mania, for the mania, indeed.
This isn't my first time playing Sonic Mania, I did play it for a little bit when it first came out. Back then, I was still in my "meh, I'm not into Sonic anymore" phase, so I didn't appreciate it nearly as much as I do now.
The perfect* 2D Sonic game, hands down. The presentation alone mops the floor with any possible competition; fan game or official, it doesn't matter, none of them come close to matching the attention to detail here. The spritework is SO. GOOD. And the low poly models! Ahhhhhh!
I won't even get into the music, the entire fucking soundtrack is top notch. I can't pick any favorites, ALL tracks are beyond stellar.
I LOVE the special stages, they're my new favorites. And it's clear that the team had a real soft spot for Sonic CD, which immediately earns some brownie points from me. Time traveling again after completing Stardust Speedway Act 1 had my cheeks hurting from smiling so much.
BUUUUUUUUUUUT... There was no need to bring so many classic zones back. Granted, they all have some spice added in on Act 2 that makes them unique in their own way(the smog in Oil Ocean was very anxiety inducing), but still, my eyes were glued to the screen whenever a brand new zone showed up, they were the real highlights.
Elemental shields, movement options that you can unlock through Blue Sphere, tons of playable characters, classic setpieces with new spins, a very active modding community, great visuals, great soundtrack... What else can I say?
By the mania, for the mania, indeed.
Red Dead Redemption
2010
john marston im in love with you
Lies of P
2023
Is it a sin that this is my favorite souls like?
...Yes, that includes all of Fromsoft's titles....
...Yes, that includes all of Fromsoft's titles....
Animal Well
2024
haven't played it yet, classic
Super Mario Galaxy 2
2010
Its more of one of the greatest games of all time, which makes it one of the greatest games of all time
ichiban kasuga lives rent free in my mind
im glad they changed the gameplay to turn based,finally a fresh air
Pikmin 3
2013
My only regret is that I haven't played this game sooner
I wish to be like Ichiban when I grow up
This review contains spoilers
I have been formulating my thoughts on this game for a few weeks now. And now the the hype and excitement of the game has died down and think its time.
Wow. This game is breathtaking
The first thing i want to touch on is the gameplay. I haven't played as many as I would have liked but so far, this is the best turn-based JRPG gameplay I've ever experienced. It is so charming an refreshing. I love how dynamic the combat can be at times with how the battles take place right where you're standing. If you start a battle in the middle of a road, that's where you'll fight and theres a good chance someone is getting hit by a car, whether that be you or an enemy. I liked being able to move the characters around slightly in battle. Back attacks and proximity bonuses were a nice touch too. Kiryu's switchable styles are such a cool mechanic but it meant that I never really used any other jobs for him unless trying to get specific skills to inherit, which by the way, is another great thing about this game. (I believe it was in Y:LaD too but it was never really explained well nor was it as easy to do, so I never really got the chance.)
This is the first RGG game where I have completed all the substories. Some of them are really entertaining. And just like most other RGG games, there are a few boring substories that are essentially 30 minute long cutscenes with a super easy fight at the end.
Dondoko island is probably my least favourite of all the business minigames. It was so monotonous and obnoxious (Which may be my fault as i completed the whole thing in one go. But even still I did the whole ichiban confections minigame in one sitting and loved it.)
I quite enjoyed the sujimon battles, a lot more than I thought I thought I would. I did that entire quest in about 2 hours and was quite fond of it.
Kiryu's memoir of a dragon quests are great little fan service bits that i enjoyed finding all of. His life links with Date are SO good that I believe they should be main story quests. ESPECIALLY the ones Kaoru, Akiyama and above all else, Haruka.
The story of this game is wonderful. Once again I love Ichiban, he is such a great protagonist that I can't wait to see more of in the future. Kiryu in this game is so well fleshed out in comparison to older games, these new writers and directors are doing wonders for his character. There is one glaring problem with this game's story that i found personally. I love kiryu too much. Around the last few chapters I was just itching to switch back to kiryu. I do believe once the game splits between the dual protagonists, all the attention was focused on kiryu. Kiryu has such a great and well written story filled with tension and cliffhangers. So good that by the time I would switch back to Ichi, I just thought "Oh yeah this is still happening". I was so much more invested in kiryu's side of things in comparison to Ichiban's.
Another issue that comes with that is the final bosses for each protagonist. I was quite disappointed by Ichiban's final boss being just an old guy with a gun and a few goons. I enjoyed Kiryu's fight much more. I think mechanically it was a more interesting fight and, once again, I was more invested in kiryu's story.
That isn't to say ichiban's story is bad. Quite the opposite. I think Eiji is a much more interesting character than Bryce and would've much rather a fight with him instead. The first half of Ichiban's story is really interesting and I do believe it would hold up just fine on it's own. Kiryu just steals the spotlight once again.
I enjoyed ichiban's side of the ending with him carrying Eiji to the police station. Very sweet, very wholesome, very Ichiban.
I am still on the fence about kiryu's ending. It was very bittersweet. I enjoyed seeing him get to reclaim his name. Especially when that trophy popped. But I really wanted a concrete ending for Kiryu in this game, even if that meant death. I'm certain he will NEVER be playable again after this game however. I am very curious to see what they do with him next. If I had to guess, probably a mentor figure for Ichiban. They were building this whole game up as "The end of the Dragon of Dojima" and then left the game on a huge cliffhanger. I really wanted it to be more final.
Some quick footnotes:
I'm still very annoyed they dropped the fact that kiryu has cancer in the trailer.
New party members: I didn't care too much for Tomizawa, I fucking LOVE chitose and I was glad to see seonhee as a playable character as I love her too. Drink links are fun and I enjoyed the bond bingo mechanic.
There's a lot of stuff that I mentioned that could probably be applied to Y:LaD, especially the gameplay stuff however this is the first Yakuza game i've played where there hasn't been another one to play after, so I really took my time to play this game and enjoy it for all it had to offer.
This game is absolutely wonderful and a must play for Yakuza fans, and if you aren't a fan, I implore that you get started.
"This cancer is Like a Dragon, Kasuga, I can't afford my chemotherapy, even with all this Infinite Wealth." - Kazuma Kiryu (2023)
Wow. This game is breathtaking
The first thing i want to touch on is the gameplay. I haven't played as many as I would have liked but so far, this is the best turn-based JRPG gameplay I've ever experienced. It is so charming an refreshing. I love how dynamic the combat can be at times with how the battles take place right where you're standing. If you start a battle in the middle of a road, that's where you'll fight and theres a good chance someone is getting hit by a car, whether that be you or an enemy. I liked being able to move the characters around slightly in battle. Back attacks and proximity bonuses were a nice touch too. Kiryu's switchable styles are such a cool mechanic but it meant that I never really used any other jobs for him unless trying to get specific skills to inherit, which by the way, is another great thing about this game. (I believe it was in Y:LaD too but it was never really explained well nor was it as easy to do, so I never really got the chance.)
This is the first RGG game where I have completed all the substories. Some of them are really entertaining. And just like most other RGG games, there are a few boring substories that are essentially 30 minute long cutscenes with a super easy fight at the end.
Dondoko island is probably my least favourite of all the business minigames. It was so monotonous and obnoxious (Which may be my fault as i completed the whole thing in one go. But even still I did the whole ichiban confections minigame in one sitting and loved it.)
I quite enjoyed the sujimon battles, a lot more than I thought I thought I would. I did that entire quest in about 2 hours and was quite fond of it.
Kiryu's memoir of a dragon quests are great little fan service bits that i enjoyed finding all of. His life links with Date are SO good that I believe they should be main story quests. ESPECIALLY the ones Kaoru, Akiyama and above all else, Haruka.
The story of this game is wonderful. Once again I love Ichiban, he is such a great protagonist that I can't wait to see more of in the future. Kiryu in this game is so well fleshed out in comparison to older games, these new writers and directors are doing wonders for his character. There is one glaring problem with this game's story that i found personally. I love kiryu too much. Around the last few chapters I was just itching to switch back to kiryu. I do believe once the game splits between the dual protagonists, all the attention was focused on kiryu. Kiryu has such a great and well written story filled with tension and cliffhangers. So good that by the time I would switch back to Ichi, I just thought "Oh yeah this is still happening". I was so much more invested in kiryu's side of things in comparison to Ichiban's.
Another issue that comes with that is the final bosses for each protagonist. I was quite disappointed by Ichiban's final boss being just an old guy with a gun and a few goons. I enjoyed Kiryu's fight much more. I think mechanically it was a more interesting fight and, once again, I was more invested in kiryu's story.
That isn't to say ichiban's story is bad. Quite the opposite. I think Eiji is a much more interesting character than Bryce and would've much rather a fight with him instead. The first half of Ichiban's story is really interesting and I do believe it would hold up just fine on it's own. Kiryu just steals the spotlight once again.
I enjoyed ichiban's side of the ending with him carrying Eiji to the police station. Very sweet, very wholesome, very Ichiban.
I am still on the fence about kiryu's ending. It was very bittersweet. I enjoyed seeing him get to reclaim his name. Especially when that trophy popped. But I really wanted a concrete ending for Kiryu in this game, even if that meant death. I'm certain he will NEVER be playable again after this game however. I am very curious to see what they do with him next. If I had to guess, probably a mentor figure for Ichiban. They were building this whole game up as "The end of the Dragon of Dojima" and then left the game on a huge cliffhanger. I really wanted it to be more final.
Some quick footnotes:
I'm still very annoyed they dropped the fact that kiryu has cancer in the trailer.
New party members: I didn't care too much for Tomizawa, I fucking LOVE chitose and I was glad to see seonhee as a playable character as I love her too. Drink links are fun and I enjoyed the bond bingo mechanic.
There's a lot of stuff that I mentioned that could probably be applied to Y:LaD, especially the gameplay stuff however this is the first Yakuza game i've played where there hasn't been another one to play after, so I really took my time to play this game and enjoy it for all it had to offer.
This game is absolutely wonderful and a must play for Yakuza fans, and if you aren't a fan, I implore that you get started.
"This cancer is Like a Dragon, Kasuga, I can't afford my chemotherapy, even with all this Infinite Wealth." - Kazuma Kiryu (2023)
