Haypil
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
2021
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.
Pretty decent entry to the franchise for what amounted to a rush job side game. The Agent style is a nice breath of fresh air to the combat and juggling is easier than it's ever been. The story kind of loses itself when it has to catch up to LAD7's plotline wherein you're given shoddily made recaps with text overlaying cutscenes. But the final sequence of fights into that epilogue are up there with some of the best endings in the franchise's history. I've been suffering from a terrible flu the last few days and that one emotional scene completely cleared up my sinuses.
Also, please never have live action hostesses again jesus christ
Also, please never have live action hostesses again jesus christ
Surprisingly, this game doesn't get anywhere near as convoluted as you'd think it would. Juggling 13 characters back and forth between separate timelines sounds like a recipe for disaster but it pulls it off pretty well. My main complaint is the lack of good visuals for the tower defence portion of the game. So much of the game has great art and then you 're forced into these ugly 3D battle segments with mecha you can hardly see.
2013
A marked improvement over the first game, Ys II feels a lot more modern than its predecessor. The small adjustments to the Bump system and the addition of the magic system help freshen things up. I never thought I'd say it but it I'll miss the Bump system of combat now that I'm done with this duology.
It's not without its flaws, though. The game does feel a lot more cryptic in how it litters information with its NPC's than Ys I does, making you fumble around backtracking continuously in order to figure out how to progress. I also feel like the build up of the final dungeon didn't have anywhere near the impact of the first game, with characters you're not really familiar suddenly being propped up up as important lore-centric figures right as the story is about to reach its conclusion. Curious how Origin expands on the barebones story.
It's not without its flaws, though. The game does feel a lot more cryptic in how it litters information with its NPC's than Ys I does, making you fumble around backtracking continuously in order to figure out how to progress. I also feel like the build up of the final dungeon didn't have anywhere near the impact of the first game, with characters you're not really familiar suddenly being propped up up as important lore-centric figures right as the story is about to reach its conclusion. Curious how Origin expands on the barebones story.
I've been playing this game on and off since the very first release on the 360 in 2012. I have fond memories of that summer and how excited the game would get me every time its intro played. Picked up Dark Arisen and had fun with that too. Yet for whatever reason, I had never completed it in full until this year. Maybe its unfinished and scrappily made world held me back from doing so but I'm so glad I finally got round to it.
You'll be hard pressed to find an open world game that has combat as fun as this. Itsuno has such a knack for blending fun combat into worlds that somehow maintain intrigue despite feeling barebones due to budget constraints. The game is full of flaws, lacking enemy variety and general content. But what's there is such a diamond in the rough. It's a dirt cheap game with a highly anticipated sequel. You'll be doing a disservice to yourself to not at least give it a go.
You'll be hard pressed to find an open world game that has combat as fun as this. Itsuno has such a knack for blending fun combat into worlds that somehow maintain intrigue despite feeling barebones due to budget constraints. The game is full of flaws, lacking enemy variety and general content. But what's there is such a diamond in the rough. It's a dirt cheap game with a highly anticipated sequel. You'll be doing a disservice to yourself to not at least give it a go.
As a fan of both Yakuza and HnK, this game should've been a wet dream for me. But it missed the mark on both aspects, making it one of the weakest RGG entries so far.
2021
One of the worst stories in the series so far but the side content and great combat more than make up for it.
2023
Still going through the game but it's an awful struggle to do so given how mediocre it is. A relatively decent combat system can't save this game from being the awful chore that it is to play. It's far too ambitious for its own good, sprinkling in a ton of gameplay options yet never really expanding on any of them. What's the point of farming materials from beasts I can capture and redesigning my Room of Requirement if all the implementation of these mechanics are clunkily executed?
So much of the game feels like it just exists to waste your time. I'll be running halfway across Scotland into a dungeon, killing everything in my path without remorse and what's my reward? A pair of ugly fucking glasses that I'll never use. You'll then spend a good chunk of time selling off or discarding shit gear because you've run out of space to pick up even more shit gear. None of the gameplay loops are remotely fun or rewarding.
Then there's the awful story. An insanely vanilla MC whose actions don't reflect the world they're in. You can be a maniacal mass murderer even in front of your teachers, and the plot won't change to reflect it. There's a continuous illusion of choice which would be fine if any of the damn characters were actually interesting as a compromise.
It's just another high budget open world game that takes no effort to actually provide any depth.
So much of the game feels like it just exists to waste your time. I'll be running halfway across Scotland into a dungeon, killing everything in my path without remorse and what's my reward? A pair of ugly fucking glasses that I'll never use. You'll then spend a good chunk of time selling off or discarding shit gear because you've run out of space to pick up even more shit gear. None of the gameplay loops are remotely fun or rewarding.
Then there's the awful story. An insanely vanilla MC whose actions don't reflect the world they're in. You can be a maniacal mass murderer even in front of your teachers, and the plot won't change to reflect it. There's a continuous illusion of choice which would be fine if any of the damn characters were actually interesting as a compromise.
It's just another high budget open world game that takes no effort to actually provide any depth.
2013
It's difficult to rate a game from 1987 in a modern context given I've grown up with games that have taken Ys as inspiration and built upon its foundations in the genre. Yet, there's a charm to how certain game mechanics are executed. The Bump mechanic in particular having you just run into enemies to do damage is so easy to scoff at but it does make for some surprisingly challenging (albeit sometimes cheap) bosses.
The story is barebones however, feeling like a DnD campaign someone rushed to create the night before a get together. Characters are non-existent, the lore isn't engaging and the game kind of just ends. It's a short romp and not one a lot of people are going to enjoy but I do think it's worth a go in spite of its pitfalls. Definitely looking forward to how the series evolves from hereon.
The story is barebones however, feeling like a DnD campaign someone rushed to create the night before a get together. Characters are non-existent, the lore isn't engaging and the game kind of just ends. It's a short romp and not one a lot of people are going to enjoy but I do think it's worth a go in spite of its pitfalls. Definitely looking forward to how the series evolves from hereon.