Haypil
Bio
what.
Only including games I've played from 2023 onwards, otherwise I'll be stuck in this shithole forever.
what.
Only including games I've played from 2023 onwards, otherwise I'll be stuck in this shithole forever.
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GOTY '23
Participated in the 2023 Game of the Year Event
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Gained 10+ total review likes
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Become mutual friends with at least 3 others
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022
Total Games Played
002
Played in 2024
002
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This review contains spoilers
A perfect reminder of why the Compilation was a hot mess. It's like everything beyond FF7 exists to dilute and further damage the continuity of the original game. The game is so chock full of nostalgia baiting, trying to pull at your heart strings with its constant sprinkling of 'memberberries. It fails immensly when it attempts to portray anything new.
Genesis, Angeal and Cissnei are some of the dullest and most aimless characters I've seen in a JRPG in a long while. The meandering poetry recitals out of Genesis and motivational Tumblr swagnotes out of Angeal make every cutscene a chore to sit through. it doesn't help that almost all cutscenes get interrupted by monsters popping out of nowhere to attack you, only for Zack to question to himself "Where's Angeal/Genesis/Sephiroth gone?" once you've killed said monster.
Zack's one-note character is actually kind of refreshing and he's an uncomplicated jock who stands out amongst the more pretentious side characters. That said, playing this game as an adult compared to my teenage self, I was frustrated as to how he never questions anything around him. He partakes in a war to kill innocent Wutai soldiers protecting thier land from Shinra's greed, sees his comrades abandoned and embroiled in cover-ups and even gets betrayed by Shinra for the entirety of the final act, only to question none of it. This kind of thing happens in real life to some extent, of course. Real soldiers get indoctrinated all the time. You could say part of the intention of having him question nothing was to show how brainwashed he is by Shinra's propaganda but it's all for nought given the ending.
It all culminates in Zack continuing to praise Shinra even after he's been experimented on for years and his final words are repeating the same old shlock about protecting your SOLDIER honour. Showing more of Zack's naivety and having him recognise how Shinra completely opposed his ideals of becoming a hero would have benefitted the story a ton but it'd rather have Genesis throw endless poetic babble at you instead. Hajime Tabata is just a complete hack who misdirects people with faux-depth in wordy exposition rather than focusing his projects on anything that'd provide genuine complexity.
I should mention that the gameplay is a good improvement over the original. Being able to store your DMVs, skip their associated cutscenes and freely control your materia/items makes things so much more streamlined and fun to play. The side missions are still terribly designed but they're more satisfying to go through compared to the original given the improvements in combat. The handheld nature of everything is still evident in the game design but I'm willing to forgive it given the game is about as long as you want it to be.
Also, my lord, Zack's new nasally voice is awful. Why you would want your protagonist to sound like he makes 7 hour long video essays on why Pokémon sucks now is beyond me.
Genesis, Angeal and Cissnei are some of the dullest and most aimless characters I've seen in a JRPG in a long while. The meandering poetry recitals out of Genesis and motivational Tumblr swagnotes out of Angeal make every cutscene a chore to sit through. it doesn't help that almost all cutscenes get interrupted by monsters popping out of nowhere to attack you, only for Zack to question to himself "Where's Angeal/Genesis/Sephiroth gone?" once you've killed said monster.
Zack's one-note character is actually kind of refreshing and he's an uncomplicated jock who stands out amongst the more pretentious side characters. That said, playing this game as an adult compared to my teenage self, I was frustrated as to how he never questions anything around him. He partakes in a war to kill innocent Wutai soldiers protecting thier land from Shinra's greed, sees his comrades abandoned and embroiled in cover-ups and even gets betrayed by Shinra for the entirety of the final act, only to question none of it. This kind of thing happens in real life to some extent, of course. Real soldiers get indoctrinated all the time. You could say part of the intention of having him question nothing was to show how brainwashed he is by Shinra's propaganda but it's all for nought given the ending.
It all culminates in Zack continuing to praise Shinra even after he's been experimented on for years and his final words are repeating the same old shlock about protecting your SOLDIER honour. Showing more of Zack's naivety and having him recognise how Shinra completely opposed his ideals of becoming a hero would have benefitted the story a ton but it'd rather have Genesis throw endless poetic babble at you instead. Hajime Tabata is just a complete hack who misdirects people with faux-depth in wordy exposition rather than focusing his projects on anything that'd provide genuine complexity.
I should mention that the gameplay is a good improvement over the original. Being able to store your DMVs, skip their associated cutscenes and freely control your materia/items makes things so much more streamlined and fun to play. The side missions are still terribly designed but they're more satisfying to go through compared to the original given the improvements in combat. The handheld nature of everything is still evident in the game design but I'm willing to forgive it given the game is about as long as you want it to be.
Also, my lord, Zack's new nasally voice is awful. Why you would want your protagonist to sound like he makes 7 hour long video essays on why Pokémon sucks now is beyond me.
Hard game to give a real rating to. The game really doesn't pick up until around 20 odd hours in and I was convinced I just wasn't enjoying it up until I started actually unlocking the elements of the game that're desperately required to get the combat going. Three out of four of your styles feel largely useless up until you unlock crafting, the combat masters and the troops. Having a brawling style that feels like a pillow punching YouTube boxer is insanity for a series that revolves around punching the shit out of people.
Having unlocked those gameplay mechanics though, you come to realise just how insanely grindy this game is. Everything in the game costs a fucking fortune and the grind for good swords, guns and gear is endless. I sympathise for the people 100%'ing this game because I could never. Granted, you don't actually need to do any of it to progress through the story--even on Legend difficulty really.
The story is pretty middling and can feel difficult to get accustomed to thanks to the large list of historical factions, domains and characters. You'll get the grasp of it eventually but I wouldn't blame anyone for finding it difficult to understand, especially given how piss poor the glossary is in deciding what terms it even wants to translate for you. It doesn't help that 90% of the story just has you going to Teradaya Inn and then the Shinsengumi Barracks over and over with a poor fast travel system and a map that's a chore to navigate through.
Usually, the substories make up for it on my end and I was pretty pumped to see there were 72 substories to dive into. But almost half of them end up being a 30 second encounter that lead into another grindy friend sim where you have to continiously gift items in order to raise their metres. You're ultimately rewarded with an Amon fight that ends up being easier than the dungeon bosses before it.
I'm ragging on the game a lot but it was worth a play in the end. Though they obviously take extreme liberties with the history and the story turns into heavy Japanese propaganda towards the end, it was still cool to see characters we're familiar with in an otherwise unfamiliar setting. The Wild Dancer style can be pretty fun when you've got everything unlocked. The game's also got a pretty good amount of content to explore too with a good spread of variety between them.
I just desperately wish we got the original release because these half-baked remakes RGG Studios pump out are so chock full of flaws thanks to how half arsed they are. These remakes completely strip the atmosphere from the original games with how they put zero effort into replicating any of the lighting or even the facial animations. Kiwami 1 & 2 couldn't even replicate the animations of a PS2 game, for fuck's sake. I'm grateful the game was localised, it's just a shame we'll never get the original.
Also as an aside, FUCK that 15-20 second animation that plays every time you pick up a prize ticket holy fuck just get on with it
Having unlocked those gameplay mechanics though, you come to realise just how insanely grindy this game is. Everything in the game costs a fucking fortune and the grind for good swords, guns and gear is endless. I sympathise for the people 100%'ing this game because I could never. Granted, you don't actually need to do any of it to progress through the story--even on Legend difficulty really.
The story is pretty middling and can feel difficult to get accustomed to thanks to the large list of historical factions, domains and characters. You'll get the grasp of it eventually but I wouldn't blame anyone for finding it difficult to understand, especially given how piss poor the glossary is in deciding what terms it even wants to translate for you. It doesn't help that 90% of the story just has you going to Teradaya Inn and then the Shinsengumi Barracks over and over with a poor fast travel system and a map that's a chore to navigate through.
Usually, the substories make up for it on my end and I was pretty pumped to see there were 72 substories to dive into. But almost half of them end up being a 30 second encounter that lead into another grindy friend sim where you have to continiously gift items in order to raise their metres. You're ultimately rewarded with an Amon fight that ends up being easier than the dungeon bosses before it.
I'm ragging on the game a lot but it was worth a play in the end. Though they obviously take extreme liberties with the history and the story turns into heavy Japanese propaganda towards the end, it was still cool to see characters we're familiar with in an otherwise unfamiliar setting. The Wild Dancer style can be pretty fun when you've got everything unlocked. The game's also got a pretty good amount of content to explore too with a good spread of variety between them.
I just desperately wish we got the original release because these half-baked remakes RGG Studios pump out are so chock full of flaws thanks to how half arsed they are. These remakes completely strip the atmosphere from the original games with how they put zero effort into replicating any of the lighting or even the facial animations. Kiwami 1 & 2 couldn't even replicate the animations of a PS2 game, for fuck's sake. I'm grateful the game was localised, it's just a shame we'll never get the original.
Also as an aside, FUCK that 15-20 second animation that plays every time you pick up a prize ticket holy fuck just get on with it
Alan Wake desperately wants itself to match its inspirations but fails to tell an engaging story with its insufferable characters and barebones plot. It really feels as though it's written by someone who loves the idea of writing a novel but hasn't ever really read one.
So much of the story is continously interrupted by ridiculous blockades the characters could very easily climb over. Oh no, a school bus just blocked the road. Can I climb over the 4 foot fence right next to it? Nope, gotta take this convoluted route down fuck knows where just to get to the other side! Not to mention, Alan's god awful running speed. I get he's an out of shape writer but jesus christ, my fat ass could sprint longer than he could even if my legs were dipped in cement.
Ultimately, there really isn't much of a plot despite being a narrative focused game. The blockades that artificially lengthen the story leave little room for much of a narrative to even be told. You'll spend an hour trudging through hills and shitty combat to meet up with a character only to be welcomed to a cutscene where said character just so happens to tell you "sorry buddy, I'm somewhere else!". How are you meant to tell an engaging story if you're constantly delaying the narrative in favour of action set pieces that aren't even fun to play?
The game has charm. It's just not enough to overcome its myriad of flaws.
So much of the story is continously interrupted by ridiculous blockades the characters could very easily climb over. Oh no, a school bus just blocked the road. Can I climb over the 4 foot fence right next to it? Nope, gotta take this convoluted route down fuck knows where just to get to the other side! Not to mention, Alan's god awful running speed. I get he's an out of shape writer but jesus christ, my fat ass could sprint longer than he could even if my legs were dipped in cement.
Ultimately, there really isn't much of a plot despite being a narrative focused game. The blockades that artificially lengthen the story leave little room for much of a narrative to even be told. You'll spend an hour trudging through hills and shitty combat to meet up with a character only to be welcomed to a cutscene where said character just so happens to tell you "sorry buddy, I'm somewhere else!". How are you meant to tell an engaging story if you're constantly delaying the narrative in favour of action set pieces that aren't even fun to play?
The game has charm. It's just not enough to overcome its myriad of flaws.