Joh
BACKER
The more I play with a good friend the more I like this game, has such a good balance of chaotic and cozy atmosphere with all sorts of things to scramble across the map and do
2022
Really great city management game, I think a lot of games that attach a roguelike connotation to them ultimately turn out to be either a rolling the dice simulator or just largely disinteresting and skimp on other aspects like fun gameplay
With this game it felt like the roguelike elements ultimately just make the game more interesting and don't totally wall you from winning, you can always win. Every city you build feels largely different due to those elements and it's really unique in feel because they've got such a nice balance
I really enjoyed completing up to prestige 20 difficulty and having to actively think in a city builder for a change instead of just placing buildings and letting numbers go up until I can place more buildings
With this game it felt like the roguelike elements ultimately just make the game more interesting and don't totally wall you from winning, you can always win. Every city you build feels largely different due to those elements and it's really unique in feel because they've got such a nice balance
I really enjoyed completing up to prestige 20 difficulty and having to actively think in a city builder for a change instead of just placing buildings and letting numbers go up until I can place more buildings
2024
This is the one
I am not sure if I enjoyed this one as much as the first game, the first scenario was awesome! But after that it's kinda eh for me, the last scenario was a travesty compared to the last one in the first game.
I just don't get it! Some scenarios feel like resident evil games, some feel like trial and error simulators that just want to test your patience. In a mainline game, the puzzles are often very obvious and straightforward, perhaps too simple, but in this, they can be a bit weird and excessive.
Fun, but just a lukewarm experience overall for me that didn't really evolve from the first game.
I just don't get it! Some scenarios feel like resident evil games, some feel like trial and error simulators that just want to test your patience. In a mainline game, the puzzles are often very obvious and straightforward, perhaps too simple, but in this, they can be a bit weird and excessive.
Fun, but just a lukewarm experience overall for me that didn't really evolve from the first game.
Really unique and fun experience!
But goodness am I getting beat up hard with my friend, I read it's designed around 4 player so, gotta be ready to grind it out and get better! Or have lots of friends!!
The last scenario is the best one by far, feels way more complete and like a proper resident evil style experience. I kind of like the experimentation and different ideas going on with the different scenarios, but some of the ideas fall a bit flat for me and some are pretty rad.
Also, Mark is my beloved security guard of choice.
But goodness am I getting beat up hard with my friend, I read it's designed around 4 player so, gotta be ready to grind it out and get better! Or have lots of friends!!
The last scenario is the best one by far, feels way more complete and like a proper resident evil style experience. I kind of like the experimentation and different ideas going on with the different scenarios, but some of the ideas fall a bit flat for me and some are pretty rad.
Also, Mark is my beloved security guard of choice.
Do NOT buy the NA copy of the game, it is missing content. My actual review/rating of the game is not affected by this and I go on about it further below.
This localized version has removed content from the original at this time of purchase on release date. Specifically, it is missing the Molcar Soccer minigame.
I suspect this is because this minigame had online features in a later update and they were lazy, but it was playable singleplayer against AI on release, so there is ultimately no excuse.
Import a copy of the SEA version of the game, it has the same English, it is slightly more expensive to import ($10 more on Amazon at the time of writing), but it's a better product and worth supporting as a consumer. Don't support lazy localization!
Also, the NA version had some weird stutters during the minigames and upon exiting the games and going back to the town it would freeze for a few seconds, this does not seem to be present in overseas copies of the game.
But, on to the actual game, it's really fun! It's a very short game, and certainly not worth full price given the small amount of content, but if you're a fan of the series eh why not. A lot of the minigames feel pretty fun and enjoyable to play at least, I look forward to playing them with some friends soon.
I imagine this a game I won't really pick up again after I play it with some friends, have a few good chuckles playing the minigames, and move on. But that's okay, playing as the cute molcar and goofing off on some minigames is still a worthwhile experience.
This localized version has removed content from the original at this time of purchase on release date. Specifically, it is missing the Molcar Soccer minigame.
I suspect this is because this minigame had online features in a later update and they were lazy, but it was playable singleplayer against AI on release, so there is ultimately no excuse.
Import a copy of the SEA version of the game, it has the same English, it is slightly more expensive to import ($10 more on Amazon at the time of writing), but it's a better product and worth supporting as a consumer. Don't support lazy localization!
Also, the NA version had some weird stutters during the minigames and upon exiting the games and going back to the town it would freeze for a few seconds, this does not seem to be present in overseas copies of the game.
But, on to the actual game, it's really fun! It's a very short game, and certainly not worth full price given the small amount of content, but if you're a fan of the series eh why not. A lot of the minigames feel pretty fun and enjoyable to play at least, I look forward to playing them with some friends soon.
I imagine this a game I won't really pick up again after I play it with some friends, have a few good chuckles playing the minigames, and move on. But that's okay, playing as the cute molcar and goofing off on some minigames is still a worthwhile experience.
Playing with 4 people is genuinely one of the best multiplayer experiences out there!
This is a fun game, but it's very basic. I purchased an edition with a cheap plastic fishing rod by a company called YOOL bundled with the game. Amusingly, the rod is very annoying to use, but it does work. It's a cheap hard plastic rod, and not really worth using, but I use it anyway to feel a tinge more immersion.
If you're like me and just like arcadey types of fishing games over more realistic ones, and you want something to pick up and drop every now and then to kill time or relax with, definitely pick this up on sale or on the cheap. You'll master the gameplay in about 30 minutes, but it's a fun grind and it's fun seeing the massive amount of things you can fish up. Some fish are admittedly annoying to catch because they can pretty easily snap the rod, so there's a decent challenge with those fish at least. But, there's a lot to unlock, even if the gameplay is repetitive.
I think I enjoy Ace Angler: Fishing Spirits a little more though. That game has less of a immersive fishing feeling than Fishing Star: World Tour, but the gameplay is much more interesting and also has content outside of solely fishing. But this is definitely a solid #2 option on the switch, or even a #1 for people that don't want to import.
I am unsure if the Hori controller would work well with this game, it LOOKS like it doesn't restrict your access to the R button on the joycon, but I do not own it and thus cannot confirm if it'd be a better option.
Either way, fun, simple game, with a lot of interesting fish to fish up and some really cool environments, worth grabbing for those that like less realistic fishing games.
If you're like me and just like arcadey types of fishing games over more realistic ones, and you want something to pick up and drop every now and then to kill time or relax with, definitely pick this up on sale or on the cheap. You'll master the gameplay in about 30 minutes, but it's a fun grind and it's fun seeing the massive amount of things you can fish up. Some fish are admittedly annoying to catch because they can pretty easily snap the rod, so there's a decent challenge with those fish at least. But, there's a lot to unlock, even if the gameplay is repetitive.
I think I enjoy Ace Angler: Fishing Spirits a little more though. That game has less of a immersive fishing feeling than Fishing Star: World Tour, but the gameplay is much more interesting and also has content outside of solely fishing. But this is definitely a solid #2 option on the switch, or even a #1 for people that don't want to import.
I am unsure if the Hori controller would work well with this game, it LOOKS like it doesn't restrict your access to the R button on the joycon, but I do not own it and thus cannot confirm if it'd be a better option.
Either way, fun, simple game, with a lot of interesting fish to fish up and some really cool environments, worth grabbing for those that like less realistic fishing games.
2022
This review contains spoilers
It's a fun game, but it's too easy to trivialize it and kind of ruin it for yourself. Use a melee build if you want it to feel more satisfying. Definitely does not compare to King's Field/Shadow Tower/etc games.
The levels are all relatively enjoyable to explore for me, the music is very hit and miss, some things sound pretty okay, others sound pretty dire, I guess that's subjective, but some of it just sounds so ill-fitting and amateurish relative to other tracks. The ballroom track made me laugh because it sounds so dire.
I actually don't really get why people cite King's Field and Shadow Tower so much when talking about this game, it plays nothing like either game, this just plays like a unity game feeling like a cheap imitation at best, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it still plays fine and feels fun, but it's not as rewarding as either of those games and many things like the combat feel far less impactful or tense. I think if you played King's Field/Shadow Tower for like 2 hours, or watched a YouTube video/generic video essays, you'd feel it's more strongly related to these games. It's just too watered down in many aspects to feel close to those games. This game feels like its own thing, so it's unfortunate it's bogged down in this comparisons.
I just don't feel like I am going through a giant interconnected world like I do with a King's Field game, where I can often end up lost, the areas here are easy to memorize and navigate through effortlessly. But, like I said above, they are still enjoyable to go through.
The enemy designs are really varied and interesting as well, though, none are really all that interesting to fight. Oftentimes when you backtrack for secrets (the secrets are usually pretty cool!) they just feel like tiresome cannon fodder.
Some of the secrets feel a little dumb though, like standing in 1 spot and staring at a specific thing for X amount of time. What's the point other than to have it be a secret club thing/something you have to look up? Just pointless and dissatisfying to me. Specifically on the wiki at the current time, it reads,
"The player must stand near the corner of the nearest bookshelf and stare through the loop for a solid 15 seconds or so, and then a message will appear at the bottom left of the screen saying "UWU", giving the player the weapon."
I get it's intended to be a fun, cute thing, but it just feels corny/childish. Maybe I am too old and bitter in all fairness? It's hard for me to say...
Overall, it's a fun game, but compared to other games that the game is supposedly imitating, I think it does a bad job at imitation and misses the mark on what makes those games special and why they possess passionate fans nearly 3 decades later.
I could ramble about minor gripes too like how I think it's dissatisfying the pool of weapons that can be upgraded at the smith is pretty small, but these are just minor nitpicks that probably don't bother a lot of people. I could also be extra petty and say how certain things feel like they're trying to appeal to a tumblr/internet-addicted teen audience, but it's never shoehorned in enough to detract from the game much.
Really this just feel like a solid, fun, adventure bogged down by some mediocre elements and trivial challenge. It doesn't really hold up to the classics, but there's nothing wrong with that. Great, accessible entry point for people that might be curious if they'd like these kinds of games and to see what they're all about, or people that struggle with older style games.
The levels are all relatively enjoyable to explore for me, the music is very hit and miss, some things sound pretty okay, others sound pretty dire, I guess that's subjective, but some of it just sounds so ill-fitting and amateurish relative to other tracks. The ballroom track made me laugh because it sounds so dire.
I actually don't really get why people cite King's Field and Shadow Tower so much when talking about this game, it plays nothing like either game, this just plays like a unity game feeling like a cheap imitation at best, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it still plays fine and feels fun, but it's not as rewarding as either of those games and many things like the combat feel far less impactful or tense. I think if you played King's Field/Shadow Tower for like 2 hours, or watched a YouTube video/generic video essays, you'd feel it's more strongly related to these games. It's just too watered down in many aspects to feel close to those games. This game feels like its own thing, so it's unfortunate it's bogged down in this comparisons.
I just don't feel like I am going through a giant interconnected world like I do with a King's Field game, where I can often end up lost, the areas here are easy to memorize and navigate through effortlessly. But, like I said above, they are still enjoyable to go through.
The enemy designs are really varied and interesting as well, though, none are really all that interesting to fight. Oftentimes when you backtrack for secrets (the secrets are usually pretty cool!) they just feel like tiresome cannon fodder.
Some of the secrets feel a little dumb though, like standing in 1 spot and staring at a specific thing for X amount of time. What's the point other than to have it be a secret club thing/something you have to look up? Just pointless and dissatisfying to me. Specifically on the wiki at the current time, it reads,
"The player must stand near the corner of the nearest bookshelf and stare through the loop for a solid 15 seconds or so, and then a message will appear at the bottom left of the screen saying "UWU", giving the player the weapon."
I get it's intended to be a fun, cute thing, but it just feels corny/childish. Maybe I am too old and bitter in all fairness? It's hard for me to say...
Overall, it's a fun game, but compared to other games that the game is supposedly imitating, I think it does a bad job at imitation and misses the mark on what makes those games special and why they possess passionate fans nearly 3 decades later.
I could ramble about minor gripes too like how I think it's dissatisfying the pool of weapons that can be upgraded at the smith is pretty small, but these are just minor nitpicks that probably don't bother a lot of people. I could also be extra petty and say how certain things feel like they're trying to appeal to a tumblr/internet-addicted teen audience, but it's never shoehorned in enough to detract from the game much.
Really this just feel like a solid, fun, adventure bogged down by some mediocre elements and trivial challenge. It doesn't really hold up to the classics, but there's nothing wrong with that. Great, accessible entry point for people that might be curious if they'd like these kinds of games and to see what they're all about, or people that struggle with older style games.
PS1 Translated Version:
So, a few issues are that your character's stats are randomized on creation. You really want to have more than 20 strength. You'll find yourself struggling juggling items and not being able to equip/wield gear, it sucks. It sucks because there's a bug where if there's too many items on the ground the game struggles keeping track of everything and can end up corrupting the items in memory causing essential items to get lost, ruining your save file. 30 is the max strength, so aim for a high strength value and throw lots of junk into the water to avoid this. I have a 17 strength paladin, it is not fun finding new armor and ending up unable to equip stuff and having to throw so many items away.
I tried editing my save file in a hex editor since I have a memcard pro so that I could raise my strength value, but there's a checksum I am too lazy to try and reverse engineer
Save times are also brutal, and with certain things being randomized like your chants to the ankhs, it can be kind of tedious trying to get good rolls to raise the skills you actually want to raise.
Outside of this though, really awesome and worthwhile experience. The overall game is a lot of fun, and the framerate is really impressive given other options on the system like King's Field struggle. Sometimes the way your character moves in this version can be kind of awkward though, you'll want to go straight and the game will kind of move you diagonally awkwardly.
Also specific to the PS1 translation itself, there's definitely some silly bugs and issues, maybe further patches will come someday that iron out some of these. I experienced glitchy text quite a few times.
The DOS game manual can explain a lot of important mechanics and is still worth reading for the PS1 version, good luck!
So, a few issues are that your character's stats are randomized on creation. You really want to have more than 20 strength. You'll find yourself struggling juggling items and not being able to equip/wield gear, it sucks. It sucks because there's a bug where if there's too many items on the ground the game struggles keeping track of everything and can end up corrupting the items in memory causing essential items to get lost, ruining your save file. 30 is the max strength, so aim for a high strength value and throw lots of junk into the water to avoid this. I have a 17 strength paladin, it is not fun finding new armor and ending up unable to equip stuff and having to throw so many items away.
I tried editing my save file in a hex editor since I have a memcard pro so that I could raise my strength value, but there's a checksum I am too lazy to try and reverse engineer
Save times are also brutal, and with certain things being randomized like your chants to the ankhs, it can be kind of tedious trying to get good rolls to raise the skills you actually want to raise.
Outside of this though, really awesome and worthwhile experience. The overall game is a lot of fun, and the framerate is really impressive given other options on the system like King's Field struggle. Sometimes the way your character moves in this version can be kind of awkward though, you'll want to go straight and the game will kind of move you diagonally awkwardly.
Also specific to the PS1 translation itself, there's definitely some silly bugs and issues, maybe further patches will come someday that iron out some of these. I experienced glitchy text quite a few times.
The DOS game manual can explain a lot of important mechanics and is still worth reading for the PS1 version, good luck!
2022
Thank you, Keizo. It's such an exceptional tale, I have never played a game of such immense scope. It truly deserves to be called a god game in every sense, it is one of a kind.
I will likely never play a game equal to this in my lifetime, so I feel very happy to have lived long enough to experience such a game.
I will likely never play a game equal to this in my lifetime, so I feel very happy to have lived long enough to experience such a game.
2019
I really like this game, but it has a lot of issues and the new player experience is absolutely brutal and likely causes a lot of people to miss out on what makes this game a real solid experience.
Some background, I play this game "competitively." Yes, I know, it's a little silly. But there are teams that play 49v49 matches against each other in tournaments and friendly scrimmages for a whopping $0 and barely any viewers when it's streamed. It's good, quality fun, and is the only way the game clicks for me after 1200 hours.
The game relies a lot on cooperative play and teamwork. Nobody wants to do that? Enjoy a miserable match with nowhere to spawn and little to do except run for ages and die. You are also tied to a squad, and the skill of your squad lead determines how effective your group will ultimately be, how much action you really end up in, and how much fun you'll probably have. It also kind of requires a microphone, as you'll want to communicate a lot of tiny little things that add up to mean a lot over the course of 90 minutes. They're supposedly working on new communication tools though, so we'll see.
So, that's a lot of requirements. You will also likely spend your first 50-100, maybe even 200 hours not having a lot of success and probably not a lot of fun as you learn how to move without getting shot and killed constantly.
What I think makes this game work so well though, is how satisfying it feels when everything is going right. Whether it's you and your squad killing it with loads of chaos and action going around while you're all on comms trying to work through tough situations, blowing up tanks, destroying enemy garrisons, capturing strongpoints, every successful, meaningful action you take is a big deal and can affect every aspect in a given situation. I have gotten loads of awesome memories from intense matches that were tough back-and-forths that came down to the wire in those final seconds that'll remain with me for many years, and I've made some awesome friends too just hopping into squads and meeting new people.
I could ramble endlessly about the competitive scene, and how imbalanced and goofy it is with all sorts of issues, but it's not worth the time. All I can say is, this game is at its best when you're willing to sit down and take the time to learn how to play it, and once you have, you find yourself in a good quality, balanced match where both sides want to win and know how to make impactful decisions with everyone communicating and trying to do so.
It's not perfect, but it's the kind of game where you get a lot out of it only if you put a lot into it, and to me, the effort is worth it.
Some background, I play this game "competitively." Yes, I know, it's a little silly. But there are teams that play 49v49 matches against each other in tournaments and friendly scrimmages for a whopping $0 and barely any viewers when it's streamed. It's good, quality fun, and is the only way the game clicks for me after 1200 hours.
The game relies a lot on cooperative play and teamwork. Nobody wants to do that? Enjoy a miserable match with nowhere to spawn and little to do except run for ages and die. You are also tied to a squad, and the skill of your squad lead determines how effective your group will ultimately be, how much action you really end up in, and how much fun you'll probably have. It also kind of requires a microphone, as you'll want to communicate a lot of tiny little things that add up to mean a lot over the course of 90 minutes. They're supposedly working on new communication tools though, so we'll see.
So, that's a lot of requirements. You will also likely spend your first 50-100, maybe even 200 hours not having a lot of success and probably not a lot of fun as you learn how to move without getting shot and killed constantly.
What I think makes this game work so well though, is how satisfying it feels when everything is going right. Whether it's you and your squad killing it with loads of chaos and action going around while you're all on comms trying to work through tough situations, blowing up tanks, destroying enemy garrisons, capturing strongpoints, every successful, meaningful action you take is a big deal and can affect every aspect in a given situation. I have gotten loads of awesome memories from intense matches that were tough back-and-forths that came down to the wire in those final seconds that'll remain with me for many years, and I've made some awesome friends too just hopping into squads and meeting new people.
I could ramble endlessly about the competitive scene, and how imbalanced and goofy it is with all sorts of issues, but it's not worth the time. All I can say is, this game is at its best when you're willing to sit down and take the time to learn how to play it, and once you have, you find yourself in a good quality, balanced match where both sides want to win and know how to make impactful decisions with everyone communicating and trying to do so.
It's not perfect, but it's the kind of game where you get a lot out of it only if you put a lot into it, and to me, the effort is worth it.
2022
I think as a game, it is not exactly great, so it's hard to rate it very highly in the game sense, you are largely just engaged in a story with a side game called Blocks that's enjoyable, but very short and simple. I hated the lava stages!! You can also beat the game in about an hour or two, and the pricetag is a bit hefty for that...
But as a story, I think it's really nice. It is clearly meant moreso for those in creative spheres, which I am not a part of, but always value as an outsider looking in. I think this kind of game is probably most valuable to those indie types really struggling to get their internal desires and emotions out there. I am envious of such people, as I was too cowardly to put myself into such a creative space. Maybe someday...
But either way, really nice story, fairly average game, and the twist at the end is kind of cute, worth picking up if you want something focused on emotions and the self.
But as a story, I think it's really nice. It is clearly meant moreso for those in creative spheres, which I am not a part of, but always value as an outsider looking in. I think this kind of game is probably most valuable to those indie types really struggling to get their internal desires and emotions out there. I am envious of such people, as I was too cowardly to put myself into such a creative space. Maybe someday...
But either way, really nice story, fairly average game, and the twist at the end is kind of cute, worth picking up if you want something focused on emotions and the self.
2003
Was the coffee hot or cold bros?...We'll never know...
2012
My favorite game, genuinely special and a joy to play.
So far it's the only game I've played where I've had to write stuff down, I'm sure there are many other games out there where I will have to do this someday but, the amount of content in the game and level of satisfaction when you make major progress and solve puzzles feels one of a kind to me.
The difficulty feels just right, the music is lovely, and slowly as you inch through you really feel like you're pushing yourself, which is rare in a videogame.
It's unfortunate to think about how many people have likely been filtered by this game instead of pushing themselves through, since I think the feeling of accomplishment for beating it in earnest is very satisfactory.
So far it's the only game I've played where I've had to write stuff down, I'm sure there are many other games out there where I will have to do this someday but, the amount of content in the game and level of satisfaction when you make major progress and solve puzzles feels one of a kind to me.
The difficulty feels just right, the music is lovely, and slowly as you inch through you really feel like you're pushing yourself, which is rare in a videogame.
It's unfortunate to think about how many people have likely been filtered by this game instead of pushing themselves through, since I think the feeling of accomplishment for beating it in earnest is very satisfactory.