JFBacklogHell
5 reviews liked by JFBacklogHell
I played this on my own time but me and my brother switched who was controlling. The original Paper Mario 2, alongside Gran Turismo 4, are probably my favourite games of all time so it was a very interesting experience to see it get remade and when I saw that release date, I knew that there was no other perfect time to get it other than my birthday. About the remake, it is very well done in my eyes since it still takes a lot of what made the original so great but makes it look and sound nicer, with the soundtrack really exceeding my expectations due to the many songs added like those new battle themes. Also some quality of life changes were added to cut down backtracking which is appreciated even if I was fine with it in the original. There is some new stuff added but that is mostly tied to postgame and other little things like the Battle Master. For me, this remake really reminded of Resident Evil 4's remake since both are very solid games but they don't completely outclass the original since there is still good reason to play that Gamecube original like its higher frame rate, better speedrun potential and slightly better sound effects but either choice is going to be good one. I am glad that this remake turned out really good and maybe it will be a sign of good things to come for Paper Mario's future.
My first Yakuza game (though I'm familiar with the series), but mostly played because I hungered for a good turn-based JRPG. So, from a JRPG fan's perspective, does this game deliver?
I'd say yes. But note that this is a series that was action-based until this entry. The gameplay had to be accessible to those not used to turn-based combat, and as such the battles are very, very easy to anyone experienced with the genre. There's a decent amount of depth with a class/skill inheritance system, along with summons. But with one exception (Chapter 12 boss...), you won't need to strategize much. There are extra difficult options, but only for New Game+ and they just jack up the stats and levels of enemies.
Other flaws in the JRPG experience include characters moving around randomly in battle (both yours and enemies), making AoE attacks a crapshoot much of the time (not helped by their AoEs not being visually indicated). The job system is also wildly unbalanced, some characters' default jobs are awful, while others are so good you'd never let them be anything else. You also don't unlock the job switching mechanic until mid Chapter 5 (out of 15). Infinite Wealth apparently fixes both issues.
But what the game lacks in challenge, it makes up for in charm. Ever wanted a totally mundane modern-day JRPG? Where instead of a wizard, you have a hobo who attacks with summoned pigeons and rancid breath? Super attacks with names like "Essence of Facial Gone Wrong"? Fighting enemies like chicken cultists, dine-and-dashers and men wearing trash bags? And it's all justified by the protag being a massive Dragon Quest fanboy with an over-active imagination. So what if the combat is easy, it's FUN!
Speaking of fun, one of the pillars of Yakuza is the sheer depth of side content. This game features a fully fleshed-out kart racer, business sim, shogi, mahjong, poker, koi koi, recreations of Sega arcade games, a movie theatre where you play whack-a-mole with the protagonist's literal sleep demons dressed as sheep (yes, this is real)... and that's not even all of it! For a game that often goes for < $10 in Steam sales, you sure get your money's worth. The minigames are all excellent, even if I suck at mahjong. The business sim is by far the highlight though, it could easily be a stand-alone game.
What else do you get? Oh, a really heartfelt, emotional and tragic main storyline. That's also a Yakuza pillar, the series juggles comedy and seriousness insanely well, and the plot here is one of the best I've played through in a while. The main characters are all great, but Ichiban is the real highlight. I played with the English dub (I know, heresy) and it's very well done, with Kaiji Tang as Ichiban, George Takei as his old boss Masumi Arakawa, Greg Chun as Nanba, Will Yun Lee as a very important spoiler character, and, well, EVERYONE ELSE being massive standouts. These VAs BECOME the characters, you barely acknowledge them as acting.
As much as I want to explain why the story is good, it's kinda hard to without spoiling everything, so I'll just have to give a "take my word for it". Besides a few late-game reveals that felt like "twists for twists sake", I enjoyed the whole thing.
Advance warning though that this is the 7th game in a long-running story, and while it stars a new protagonist, some of the late-game moments will hit a LOT harder if you have history with the franchise. They're still understandable and enjoyable by a newcomer though.
But when you need a break from the "serious crime drama" (tm), there's sidequests. Yakuza's approach to balancing tone is interesting: leaving the true balls-to-the-wall insanity for sidequests. From meeting a Yakuza family who dress like babies, to fighting a giant Roomba, there's no shorting of amazing comedy here. One aspect I love is how the game uses sidequest rewards as a punchline at times. I laughed out loud at some of the Poundmates (summons) and business recruits you ended up unlocking.
Overall a really great game, and one I recommend to any adult JRPG fan. I might check out other Like A Dragon games one day.
I'd say yes. But note that this is a series that was action-based until this entry. The gameplay had to be accessible to those not used to turn-based combat, and as such the battles are very, very easy to anyone experienced with the genre. There's a decent amount of depth with a class/skill inheritance system, along with summons. But with one exception (Chapter 12 boss...), you won't need to strategize much. There are extra difficult options, but only for New Game+ and they just jack up the stats and levels of enemies.
Other flaws in the JRPG experience include characters moving around randomly in battle (both yours and enemies), making AoE attacks a crapshoot much of the time (not helped by their AoEs not being visually indicated). The job system is also wildly unbalanced, some characters' default jobs are awful, while others are so good you'd never let them be anything else. You also don't unlock the job switching mechanic until mid Chapter 5 (out of 15). Infinite Wealth apparently fixes both issues.
But what the game lacks in challenge, it makes up for in charm. Ever wanted a totally mundane modern-day JRPG? Where instead of a wizard, you have a hobo who attacks with summoned pigeons and rancid breath? Super attacks with names like "Essence of Facial Gone Wrong"? Fighting enemies like chicken cultists, dine-and-dashers and men wearing trash bags? And it's all justified by the protag being a massive Dragon Quest fanboy with an over-active imagination. So what if the combat is easy, it's FUN!
Speaking of fun, one of the pillars of Yakuza is the sheer depth of side content. This game features a fully fleshed-out kart racer, business sim, shogi, mahjong, poker, koi koi, recreations of Sega arcade games, a movie theatre where you play whack-a-mole with the protagonist's literal sleep demons dressed as sheep (yes, this is real)... and that's not even all of it! For a game that often goes for < $10 in Steam sales, you sure get your money's worth. The minigames are all excellent, even if I suck at mahjong. The business sim is by far the highlight though, it could easily be a stand-alone game.
What else do you get? Oh, a really heartfelt, emotional and tragic main storyline. That's also a Yakuza pillar, the series juggles comedy and seriousness insanely well, and the plot here is one of the best I've played through in a while. The main characters are all great, but Ichiban is the real highlight. I played with the English dub (I know, heresy) and it's very well done, with Kaiji Tang as Ichiban, George Takei as his old boss Masumi Arakawa, Greg Chun as Nanba, Will Yun Lee as a very important spoiler character, and, well, EVERYONE ELSE being massive standouts. These VAs BECOME the characters, you barely acknowledge them as acting.
As much as I want to explain why the story is good, it's kinda hard to without spoiling everything, so I'll just have to give a "take my word for it". Besides a few late-game reveals that felt like "twists for twists sake", I enjoyed the whole thing.
Advance warning though that this is the 7th game in a long-running story, and while it stars a new protagonist, some of the late-game moments will hit a LOT harder if you have history with the franchise. They're still understandable and enjoyable by a newcomer though.
But when you need a break from the "serious crime drama" (tm), there's sidequests. Yakuza's approach to balancing tone is interesting: leaving the true balls-to-the-wall insanity for sidequests. From meeting a Yakuza family who dress like babies, to fighting a giant Roomba, there's no shorting of amazing comedy here. One aspect I love is how the game uses sidequest rewards as a punchline at times. I laughed out loud at some of the Poundmates (summons) and business recruits you ended up unlocking.
Overall a really great game, and one I recommend to any adult JRPG fan. I might check out other Like A Dragon games one day.
Street Supremacy
2005
I played this in my own time. A successful adaptation of the Tokyo Xtreme Racer series for the PSP that is still fun to play but has its own identity with joining a pre-existing team, becoming the team leader and then taking over all of Tokyo. Driving still feels very fun in this game with the handling maybe being some of the best in the series as well. I say this could be a good first game if you want to get into Tokyo Xtreme Racer.
I played this in my own time. While the gameplay isn't as good as the Cold Steel games I played before this, the story really drew me in with an amazing main cast of characters and the actual plot feeling very well done as well. The soundtrack might be one of the best out there as well. It also makes me excited for the sequel as well.
I played this on my own time. Since this was my first Resident Evil, I played on Easy mode where the game is very generous with ammo but even still, this game still made me very tense throughout so it still felt like a genuine horror experience for me. The combat proved very satisfying once I got the hang of it and making use of the ammo crafting was also satisfying like with making freeze rounds to make Nemesis a lot easier to deal with. Also, Nemesis is a really well done villain in a horror game like this with him being a constant threat throughout the whole game. The atmosphere of the game also felt well done as this does really like a hopeless, last escape out of Raccoon City. I am tempted to give Resident Evil 2 a go at some point.