A Game To Be Remembered For Generations.

Sonic Generations should go down in history as one of the greatest installments to the franchise as it nails pretty much everything it set out to do so well in execution that it still shines brightly in a medium that could be refered to as a landfill of options.

Visuals:
Phenomenal thats all I can say sure in terms of lighting and other smaller elements it is a degrade from unleashed but in terms of presentation and other visual elements that aren't just models and lighting it is by far up there as one of the best if not the best sonic game everything about this games presentation is so polished and has such a refined look across all of its menus and levels that serves a certain level of polish that isn't quite present in other entries.

Replayablity:
Again fantastic because sure the main story is short but the game overall.. You'd be mistaken there is so much side content to do in this game and sure you can argue the doppleganger races are just padding due to being same layouts as the main levels the other side missions especially the companion ones are extremely unique and offer gimmics that alter how you approach envoirments and overall make for a great time.And returning from colors is the red star collecting that rewards you with many goodies and abilities and not to mention each side mission has a bell that can be rang after completion that makes you chase a musical note and if you collect it you're rewarded with an OST that can be used in any level/boss in the game... Chefs kiss the replayability of this game trumps the other 2 mainline boost games out of the water.

Gameplay Act 1:
Classic Sonic in this game doesn't feel as tacked on as say I don't know forces and while not completely playing like the classics i'd argue he plays more akin to adventure sonic but in 2D as his spindash works more mechanically akin to his with spindash jumping and inclines causing major height,velocity and distance gained.And yes he still has momentum while not perfect it isn't the main gameplay element here but is welcome regardless.The overall feel to his controls is also the perfect balance of percise,loose,speed,slow,heavy,floaty just all tuned to make platforming in his sections feel blissful this control wise might be my favourite version of the mini hedgehog that might be quite controversial but here we are.And outside of controls pretty much everything you come to expect from a classic entry is here so thats all there is to say really!.

Gameplay Act 2:
Modern Sonic the highlight for most people (myself included) of this game while he doesn't completely outshine classic sonic he is the major selling point for this game and while not controlling as well as say colors i'd say its a nice middle ground between the bad unleashed controls and amazing colors controls and unlike colors he has his full skillset + more with the skill tree/skills you can equip reminiscent of the earlier title "Sonic and The Secret Rings" take on the concept but not quite as expansive but welcome here regardless.And the level design again feels much like a middle ground of colors and unleashed level design philosophy that is basically a reoccuring trend with modern sonic in this game in general so I wont drag it out and lets move on to the next subject.

Soundtrack
Very inoffensive but great remixes of the OST's that we have came to love from previous entries but because I have reviewed those entries i'll keep it shorter here by saying it slaps certain songs here still sneak there way into my playlists to this day.

Voice Acting:
Mostly the same as what I had to say about colors but accept its better because to me it seems like Roger has tuned and tapped into sonic much better in this rodeo compared to colors as he feels less forced and more natural as the role.

Story:
Sonic and friends were having a birthday party and it gets crashed by an time altering entity and sonic has to save the day by restoring time across "his world".And honestly the script here isn't colors bad and really diled back on the cheesy jokes and honestly feels the most geniune and well crafted out of the pontaff era of writing sadly sequels reverted to a more colors like script.

Characters:
Same as I said for story not colors/forces bad but nothing close to Frontiers or Adventure depictions of said characters its servicable and wont hinder this games rating for me as its not offputting it could just be better but the story and characters in this game take a backseat,even harder than other entries that are story light to begin with if complex characters and narrative are your main stay... don't bother.

Overall:
A masterpiece that perfected the linear boost gameplay while featuring a very solid depiction of classic gameplay on the side lines that totals for a very short experience with so much memorable moments unless you go for side content then same applies but its not actually short.This game is perfect for casual players and for the more skilled might not be as high due to the easy rank system and its an overall easier game but do not let it detour you from an unforgettable experience that should last generations after it's launch

Trivia:
This game originates "Classic Sonic" also known as the other sonic that reoccurs in mania and forces that was originally from the main games timeline but diverges after the events of generations and he became his own entity.Not to be confused with sonic 1-3's classic sonic as thats just our current modern sonic.

Sonic's Third Mainline Wii Entry Passed With Flying "Colors".

Sonic Colors released on the Nintendo Wii in 2010 gameplay wise is a successor to Sonic Unleashed's daytime gameplay but how does it build or maybe even degrade on what made the day stages good and bad well this review will be entailing just that and more.

Visuals:
Honestly it's quite insane that this title was a WIi game because visually on much inferior hardware it holds up well against unleashed especially if upscaled through various means it can be arguably prettier than unleashed that was on much superior hardware.And the envoirments and level thematics are visually so detoured from the main stays in the best way possible and are possibly the best in any sonic game ever.Both presentation and levels here are visually stunning and hold up extremely well to this day even if you set aside its hardware limitations.

Soundtrack:
Good,Great,Awesome,Outstanding,TOTALLY AMAZING pretty much every main OST instantly clicks as "oh yeah thats sonic colors" when you hear it from Level Selection,In Level to Menu's this game's soundtrack goes HARD and its two vocal themes are super catchy and I still find myself humming them to this day at times a decade and a half later.

Gameplay:
Really really strong here even though sonic lacks his full arsenal seen in Generations and Unleashed as he is missing his quickstep and drift,He more than makes up for it with way better turning and control in general ESPECIALLY air controls platforming in this game is great I never felt like I was at mercy of the controls it always felt like it was my fault if I died.And an arguement to be made about this games gameplay as such can be it's 2D sections and yes there is way too many (generations still has a similar % ratio granted) and its a main reason its not a 5/5 here but there not as overblownly terrible as the haters of this game make it out to be DUE to its great controls that apply to its 2D sections just aswell.The wisps ironically are at there best here in colors being the first title using them as they don't feel tacked on and normally work with the flow instead of abruptly halting it that future titles would end up encasing (lost world especially).All in all gameplay wise this game rocks and has stood the test of time there was not one dull moment for me while playing truely a fantastic sonic game.

Replayability:
Honestly not bad here you have Gameland and Egg Shuttle that provide slithers of replay value ontop of red star ring collecting that will bag you super sonic as the fruits of your labor that all neatly ties together as not the most replayable sonic game but you can get a few kicks here and there past the games main runtime.

Characters & Story:
Normally i'd seperate this but.... honestly no need too and there is a reason this is last and its because.... its bad and not even funny bad (well at times it is) but there was so much potential in concept here that isn't brought out due to terrible dialouge.And it's unfortunate as the more budget DS versions script works a whole lot better and isn't pontaffed and the "pontaff" here is almost at its all time peak even forces and generations aren't this corny (sonic lost world is the peak for context).And honestly this games character writing and story is the biggest reason I sadly cant give this game the 5/5 it fully deserves because honestly its the anchor it really is but oh well bygones be bygones time to move on.

Voice Acting:
Not going to lie... Roger Craig Smith and this generation of sonic voice actors in general??? extremely overhated and underlooked as I feel he really characterized sonic's vibe super well in this game it almost made me forget about the script at times because the performance of the voice actors were actually really strong and I think people need to cut Roger more slack for his interpretation of sonic as its nowhere near as bad as some make it out to be.....

Overall:
A game that at launch did extremely well but because of the underdog bandwagon the sonic communities opinion of this game has soured and its for no good reason as Sonic Colors is still a fantastic entry and is pretty much far superior to Sonic Unleashed,In terms of controls,levels,stage design and the list goes on i'd argue Sonic Colors is superior and the only major flaws are the script and game length but if a short game doesn't bother you and you're more of a gameplay person this game is a must play entry from the sonic franchise.

Trivia:
Even though its common belief that Roger Craig Smith as sonic originated from this game,His actual first appearence as sonic in a game (not counting other mediums) would be Sonic Free Riders... Youch rough welcome game to debut as sonic in.

Tails About An Episodic 4th Entry.

Sonic 4 Episode II is an improvement of the first game in significant ways that made it a solid entry if you even somewhat enjoyed the first game but its nothing too special and you'll probably get more leverage out of other games in the 2/2.5D in the platforming genre and it is relatively short but the visuals and stage envoirments are a massive improvement over the first episode as it has minimal asset reuse and doesn't have the ugly cellshading esc look the first went for but at the same time 9/10ths of the game outside of the final special stage and flying fortress act 3 is childs play and the game is way too easy but all in all if your a MASSIVE sonic fan go ahead and play this game you might get a small kick out of it I wouldn't buy the game for any amount of money over 5-10$'s though as its way too short.

Trivia:
Owning both sonic 4's grants you access to episode metal thats a shorter but harder episode 1 with a metal sonic skin and a few cutscenes.

A Misunderstood Entry Due To Poor Marketing.

Sonic The Hedgehog 4 is a short but sweet platforming game that was mismarketed as mechanically it plays nothing like the games its trying to succeed and can be pretty fun if you look at it as it's own thing more than a direct sequel of sorts.

The game is visually quite unappealing using a weird cell shaded look that doesn't look very good and the menus feel very cheap and overall you can tell this game is lower budget than others around its time,The controls are unironically the best part of the game here because it is still about maintaining speed the only thing that changed is the means to get it i.e homing spam sure it isn't momentum but it can be fun in it's own right, sadly it isn't perfect as homing attacking enemies will break all flow.My purposal for how they could've mitigated this is tapping the homing button perserves speed and holding cancels that could've made for some fun platforming and decision making but I digress the level design isn't great or bad just very mediocre offering little to no challenge and the boss fights are pathetic here.

Overall: An alright game all things considered but not much note worthy about it its basically very average and not really worth your time but if you want to time sink 1-2 hours go ahead and play it as thats all the time you will need for this entry and it isn't unfun just not groundbreaking.

Trivia:
The game's codename was "Project:Needlemouse".

Star Wars Jedi: Survived

Like many who have graced this earth with their astral presence since the inaugural release of Star Wars: Episode IV in 1977, I grew up a fan of the multi-media giant in its games, novels, and movies. As time went on that interest only rose, growing up with Phantom Menace and then the Clone Wars into a golden era of Star Wars games, I felt and still do feel so lucky to be alive in a world where that universe is realized to its fullest extent. Come 2015 with the release of the new trilogy and the Force Awakens, I remember my eyes lighting up seeing the X-Wings first roll in. Come Episode VIII, IX, the Battlefront reboots, and the general Disnefication of the series, my interest greatly waned... resembling something of a galactic nosedive from Pluto into the Sun. One thing managed to refurbish my enjoyment for Star Wars and that jubilant youth we all eternally chase: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. While imperfect, it felt like it did the nature and magic of Star Wars correctly. The story beats were tropey in nature, as are many Star Wars origin stories, but the gameplay was fresh and Cal Kestis + his crew were a great group to experience this IP with. I came out of Fallen Order with great expectations toward its inevitable sequel, hoping Respawn could keep the ball rolling on an enjoyable, actual Jedi-Like Star Wars experience. I unfortunately didn't feel that way in the exit interview.

Survivor's PC release was marred with technical difficulty, and I figured as a later buyer that I would bypass these problems on a higher end rig. Unfortunately, performance was far below what should be considered acceptable in 2023. I had AMD's FSR feature turned on to "quality" on medium graphics for the majority of my runtime, peaking at around 70 FPS though on Koboh and certain locations dipping down into 40 or lower. When I said I wanted more Bloodborne after playing it last year, I meant I wanted more well executed Souls-likes with captivating settings, not more Souls-likes that run at sub 30 fps when movement timing is paramount. The world, the characters, the gameplay was beautiful and mostly fluid, but being able to see it at an archaic performance level was miserable. Thankfully I only crashed once and that was fittingly when adjusting settings to turn the FSR into "performance" based. I only did this for the last level or so which made the game feel like I was playing without my glasses on... just blurry all over and the lack of texturing was very offputting.

The gameplay itself was mostly the same as it was in Fallen Order, but I'm a few years and many games removed from playing that so my memory may be a tad bit foggy. You have a set of stances attached to you as Cal Kestis, only being able to use two at a time. I opted for the single saber as it felt the most "jedi" and versatile, along with the gun-saber combo you get later on because again... I'm always chasing that Bloodborne dragon. One on One combat in Survivor is a ton of fun, the lightsaber Cal uses lends itself to a mostly fluid parry and dodge based experience, and there is a plethora of encounters in which this dual fighting occurs. Where my largest issue with the combat of this game happens is in its group battles... and for every one on one, it feels like there are ten larger scale fights. This isn't the worst in theory, as most of the droids and basic stormtroopers go down in a single swing, but when special enemies and distance is added into the equation, it feels like you're being slapped one second after the next. Pretty much everything stutters Cal and I don't think there are any I-frames for being hit, at least the final boss fight proved that to be true. If you get hit/staggered by an enemy with a staff/saber, you'll sputter about for a second and get hit by another person doing the same. If you try to take one of these blade wielder's on, you'll get hit by an off-screen laser and it will stagger you again. In an event to not cry the sour grapes excuse, I don't think this is a skill issue but rather an effort of poor game design. You are greatly punished for trying to feel cool in this game when it comes to fighting more than one enemy. Jedi's are cool, I want to feel cool. Successful Souls games greatly limit such encounters as a result, you will get those multi-enemy fights, but often they allow for the duel to take place first before everybody tries to swing at you. In Survivor, I felt like I was the guy with a pack of gum and everybody wanted a piece. I will say though, the battles against non humanoids felt pretty good in this game and mostly muted in length, which is a nice touch.

The world as one would expect is beautiful and rich in detail. Respawn did a great job yet again in fulfilling one of the key tennants of Star Wars media: making it feel alive. Beginning with a cold open on the population heavy Coruscant and then cascading into the more desolate Koboh and Jedha, the world of Jedi: Survivor is colorful and teeming with flora & fauna. This was the part I expected Survivor to excel in the most and I'm glad it lived up to the billing. Traversal through these locations is again extremely Uncharted-esque and I won't say it was actively problematic or lead to a negative score, but running around felt mostly menial and like a chore.

Cal Kestis is a great protagonist but his arc in this game felt so predictable and kinda... mediocre? I think mediocre is a great way to describe a lot of the characters and their interactions with the villains in Jedi: Survivor. You meet new friends and foes, and reunite with old ones, and none of them managed to do a great job for me at creating new interesting memories. Merrin is a great character, Greez is great, Cere is Cere, but I didn't feel the magic of any of them being a fun crew like I did in Fallen Order. They join you on your mission and help you toward your end goal, but its just more of the same. I get that this journey overall is meant to be a lot more personal to Cal and his experience as a Jedi and the personal turmoil that comes with it, but part of the greatness in Star Wars stems from the interaction with the characters in the world. Maybe this is Star Wars fatigue striking me once more, but I just didn't find any reason to care for the characters of Survivor. The story just kinda happens as it happens, I had to ask myself multiple times after stopping and picking it back up about "What am I actually doing? What is my goal? Why is the villain doing this?" and having no real answer. The villains of this game also just felt weak and lacking of both clear motive and decent writing. Fallen Order didn't necessarily have a Pullitzer narrative either but I felt like the story of Survivor was generally listless.

If you're starved for Star Wars content or want a game where there's a lot of content to clear, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is your game. If you're like me and fatigued by Star Wars, don't wish to encounter sub-optimal performance, or would feel tarnished by the above, then it would probably be a title to avoid. I do not recommend Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Final Fantasy XVI: Once More Into the Peak

When words came around that Square Enix had intended to release a sixteenth main title in what is probably the most acclaimed and storied JRPG franchise of all time, the gaming world was put on notice. Outside of FFXIV the series had been in creative freefall for the better part of two decades, with the last unanimously "good" title (FFXII) coming out in 2006. Mishap after mishap, poor writing decisions combined with development issues meant that the legendary series was spiraling towards creative mediocrity. What began in the late 1980's as a dream to keep a fledgling gaming company alive had morphed into a worldwide phenomenon quicker than one could anticipate. Some of the greatest moments, songs, and stories were born by Squaresoft in the 90's and early 2000's. Final Fantasy VI through XII are universally individually respected as some of the greatest titles of all time across any genre. With XVI there were questions, how would the series evolve past XV? XV has its fanbase and their opinions are to be respected, but largely it was panned and unappreciated as it fell victim to a nightmare development cycle and DLC was required to fulfill the true ambitions of the story.

Here comes Final Fantasy XVI, I remember hearing the initial rumors revolving around it and I almost couldn't believe it. I don't remember the exact verbage as some serious time has passed, but the word on the street was that its production was to be helmed by none other than Naoki Yoshida of Square Enix' Creative Business Unit III, and combat was to be done by the man in charge of Devil May Cry 5's action, the most silky smooth the character action genre had ever seen. As a longtime fan and subscriber of the MMO Final Fantasy XIV I was almost in shock, how would Yoshi-P have time to develop an acclaimed and incredible adventure in XIV and then have the time and energy to resurrect the mainline series from its effective grave? I purchased a Playstation 5 in anticipation of this, after the initial trailer rollout and website were released for the game, because I knew of all people that I could trust Yoshida in making a lasting memory out of the FF series. He is a man, with the rest of CBU3 (Koji-Fox and Soken included,) who I trusted more than anything to create a well rounded Final Fantasy experience.

Now for the game itself... though I had initial reservations about playing the demo because I wanted to avoid spoilers, I loaded in and embarked on the two or so hour adventure that serves as the beginning of the game. Initially weary about audio issues and performance on the PS5, my concerns were very quickly waned as I met Clive, Joshua, and Lord Rosfeld. The Game of Thrones influence clear very early on in FFXVI, not only just in the aesthetics and world that Valisthea exists in, but in the approach to quality of realizing a believable and livable low fantasy setting. WIth the demo completed, and my mind absolutely melted at the way it ended, I laid in anticipation of the full game arriving just a few days later... and arrived it did.

What I got in Final Fantasy XVI was genuienly the greatest meld of action, storytelling, music, environmental presentation, and character writing that I could have ever asked for. Beginning with the world, Valisthea is a masterfully constructed dual-continent with its histories carefully created to give each and every nation-state and their peoples their own culture and approach to political and social goings-ons. Reading the FFXVI website before the game actually had come out was a tremendous help to the rich lore within the title, as it lays out the political makeup of Rosaria, Waloed, The Republic of Dhalmekia, the Crystalline Dominion, and most importantly the Holy Republic. Each of these powers are wildly different in the way that they are run administratively, some as a Duchy, others as a loosely allied Republic, and another as a Holy Empire. While these countries are also vastly different in size and makeup, they are privy to a state of Mutually Assured Destruction as a result of beings called Dominants. These Dominants are individuals in the royal families who posses the ability to call upon Eikons, mythical figures of immense size and power who can effectively end conflict in a fell swoop. This is also the fire that begins the conflict of the game as our protagonist Clive Rosfeld does not possess the Dominant of Fire, the Phoenix as the eldest sibling in Rosaria is meant to do. Each of these Dominants are powerful in different ways that bring nuance to their interactions with other nations and combat maneuvers. Surely Titan is the largest and strongest eikon in the Twin Realms... but he is not mobile and deploying him requires a large amount of care. Surely Bahamut is immensely powerful, but can his destructive magicks match the agility of Ifrit? It's with these questions and interactions between the nations of Final Fantasy XVI that such an interesting world is created. These powers differ in how large they are, in how strong their ground millitaries are, but they are at a stand still in their perpetual conflicts because of the power at the fingertips of their royal families. This is what felt so Game of Thrones to me, each country so unique (and a lot of these mirror those in GoT,) but so fragile in the manner of which they combat and invade... I could go on and on about how good of a job CBU3 did in setting this world up, but its already so late and I have more to write about!

The world itself that Clive finds himself is a grim one, and it's here that I would call upon another title that gave me the stark depressing feeling that FFXVI did in its traversal: The Witcher. Now, much of what Clive is doing is trying to restore a hope to a people that are oppressed (more to come on that later,) but the impetus of much of the conflict of the game between the nation states is that a remarkable blight is moving upon their continents, killing their crops and the destroying the homes of those within the affected areas. Like the world that Geralt calls home, much of FFXVI is dark tonally, the medieval setting is already grim as slavery is abundant and there is a remarkably large amount of displaced peoples and families affected by the violence of the heads of state. You are a man who is not respected by much of the world you are interacting with, many of the ruling classes look upon Clive as an outlaw beneath the common man. As he grows and matures, he embarks on a quest with Cidolfus to free the bottom class from their chains of malice that have been placed upon them by the ruling classes. In the world of FFXVI, the oppressed lower class that you spend much of the game assisting and freeing are called bearers, as they naturally have the ability to cast magicks without using crystals for assistance. Its with this prejudice that they are abused, mistreated, tortured, and killed, as the bearers are viewed as freaks and not worthy of being considered as human. Clive, a bearer himself leads a ragtag group of ambitious rebels, along with his ally Cid, to create a world in with the bearers can live as people amongst those not blessed with magic. Thus the conflict within Final Fantasy XVI's story is born, Clive now abandoned from his former state and people by his wretched mother, must unite the world of the Twins under a common banner, as humans. His quest is simple, to remove all from the shackles of class and culture that bind them to hatred. A world in which the bearer is not subhuman.

The writing in FFXVI is careful and deliberate. I've already touched upon the way the world is set up, but the avenue that the story goes through it's extensive runtime is constructed such a way that few games of recent can hold a candle to. I don't like to divulge spoilers are per usual, but I everyday that I wrapped up playing the game I would message my friends who were of similar progress about the twists and turns that the narrative had left us with. This game will make you angry at its villains, tear up with its heroes, and feel general angst at the suffocating world at large. Game of Thrones did a superb job in creating despicable characters from the get go who were easy to hate, and FFXVI picks up on that to the T. You have a general disgust for Anabella, for Hugo, for Barnabas, their motives laid bare for the player to pick apart and challenge. Clive is an impressive protagonist, and a refreshing one in the realm of Final Fantasy as he's finally an adult character. Sure you spend the initial sequence as an adolescent, and it's hard to truly drive home, but it was SO refreshing to have a character this mature in a JRPG that is willling to express love and hate to such a degree. He's a grizzled himbo, a true boy-toy, but he's not willing to depart from nuanced discussions with his foes and turn them into bouts of true malice. There is an eloquence in writing protagonists to be more diplomatic in their dialogue with the antagonists (Cloud in FFVII for example,) but it was marvelous to hear Clive conscious of his guilt, of his actions of violence. In a world as dark as the one in Valisthea, it's not possible to take the road that appeases all. Clive is aware of the blood that was required to be spilled to realize his dream of uniting the land under a common social norm. It is here that my comparisons with the Witcher continue, in true Geraltian fashion Clive doesn't shy away from the tough decisions he has to make, there is no "happy ending" and he is aware of that. There are moments in which he bursts into a fit of rage (one early on in the demo for example,) and you as the player cannot help but empathize with the amount of anger you would likely have in that situation as well. This is unique in my now storied history with Final Fantasy as a franchise, this was the first time I could see a protagonist truly come to terms with the tragedies of the dark reality their world was now engrossed in. Clive does what he can to help those in need, but he's not afraid to combat those who are actively bringing the world down. He is compassionate and respected amongst his peers and friends like Jill, Gav, Cid, and Charon, but a nightmare in waiting to his enemies.

The cast outside of Clive were crafted into a resounding success, beginning with the Archduke of Rosaria, Elwin Rosfeld himself who is one of the first characters you meet, all the way to the minor characters you meet and leave right before the game ends. There are a plethora of NPC's both in the villages you pass through (Martha and Lu'bor for example) that will stick with you and interact with Clive multiple times throughout the story, as well as his own group of outlaws that journey with him and share the same hideout. These characters like Tarja, Midadol, Otto, Charon, Gav, Jill, and Harpocrates to name a few will stick with you throughout a treacherous and longform journey. These aren't just people that stick around you and interact with you for their various gimmicks (Charon is the shoplady, Harpocrates the loremaster etc,) but occasional party members and frequent requestors of Clive's aid. They don't all just have one sidequest either, often multiple through the long journey which helps make them feel a real member of the family. Much like Mass Effect and its loyalty mission in ME2, FFXVI has a questline for seemingly every NPC Ally that Clive has, which can seem like it simply just inflates the runtime, but rather produces a believable relationship between player character and his constituents. I felt an actual connection to everybody that calls the hub home and helps Clive along on his mission, and for a game this long and in the weeds, that is a huge +1 to its overall composition. Without going into it too much, it's revitalizing to have a character like Jill in a Final Fantasy game. Their "romance" is written so well, and in true Final Fantasy fashion she is FAR from a damsel in distress. She quickly became one of my favorite female characters in a video game that I've played, and the emotional maturity and power in her story had me clutching my tear strings at a few points.

Now that I've covered the story, world, and characters, I would like to get into the fun parts! Oh my GOSH is this game beautiful. Unfortunately brought down a peg by its jail sentence on the PS5 30 FPS, this game in its entirety is eye candy... from the characters to the fights to the environment itself. Now with the investment that this game probably gets from Sony and Square Enix, a budget to make all this possible isn't too surprising, but this game contains a vast amount of cutscene time done in the legendary Square visual fidelity fashion. Characters are downright beautiful, portrayed in a way (much like FF7R) that they feel and look real. Anytiime I got a closeup of Jill, Clive, or Cid I held my hand on the screenshot button waiting to take a visual imprint of their beautiful faces. I don't know if this habit will ever die, but I'm still shocked by games nowadays and how far they've come in their portrayal of characters. Not only did they look good from a clarity standpoint, but the design choices in making each character stand out from one another was a resounding success. I loved Dr. Castlevania Clive, and the azure clothing that Jill wears. Cid dons a regal outfit befit of a Chad, Gav a orange/grey shirt that works great for a mysterious rogue, Dion a beautifully piece of armor and long robe to match his suave and regality. Outside of the characters, the fights were a thing of beauty. Multiple times during the eikon battles and Clive 1 on 1s I had to pause and let out an audible "Holy S***" at what I was looking at. Games have come so far, but Square realized this to the best extent in FFXVI. The world, grim as it may be, was visually striking as well. In the cities and the hub world, I found myself just simply strolling along with no end quite a few times to the world and beautiful Masayoshi Soken soundtrack. Be it Uematsu, Hamauzu, Shimomura, or Soken, this series has been blessed to have such a rich group of talented composers. Again as a fan of FFXIV, I knew Soken would do a good job scoring XVI, but I was blown out of the water by his soundtrack at multiple times... all the way to the end credits. This title is a home run and a half for so many reasons.

The day has finally come, from the evolutions begun in FFXII, into making Final Fantasy a series with a pure action game. From 2006's beloved entry on, Square has toyed and shifted more and more into making Final Fantasy no longer a turn based ATB action series, but one where the fighting got faster and faster with each title. FFXIII was a vast mis-step, effectively able to be played by only pressing the space bar, FFXV another step toward action with some unfortunate funk to it, and FF7R even more action intensive with a cool pause menu to select spells and items. All this considered, the series had never completely made the leap until it tapped DMCV combat director Ryota Suzuki to be in charge of crafting a captivating combat system for the sixteenth game in the Final Fantasy franchise... and lo and behold he did it to an absolute success. This game plays a lot like a DMC or Bayonetta, but with even more tools at your disposal that fit that of the FF Intellectual property. You need to make use of parries, perfect dodges, and quick attack windows to stagger your opponents and rack the damage up when you can. Clive not only has his sword and trusty pup Torgal in every encounter, but is able to utilize the power of the eikons he claims along his journey. Beginning with that of the Phoenix, Clive can use fire spells as part of his combos. This never gets old, even after playing north of seventy hours of the game. I loved mixind and matching the eikons I used, the spells that come with said eikons, and the combos you can craft by simply feeling out the game. I would love to go into greater detail about which eikons make for the best combat experience, but that would include spoiling the story content. I will say, in most titles that have them I don't find myself going outside of my general wheelhouse to fight super bosses or optionial hunt targets, however I managed to clear every single one in FFXVI. I didn't care if I was twelve levels down, I was having such a fun time with the combat system of this game that I wanted to play with it as much as I could. I would scream in joy after defeating the S Rank hunts with how far removed from the recommended level I was. This game just feels so smooth and the tough battles are beyond rewarding when you are done with them. Combat was so DMC down to the Devil Trigger button, that I could simply not give it up.

As a fan of Devil May Cry, as a Game of Thrones, as a fan of the Witcher, as a fan of Final Fantasy XIV, as a fan of Final Fantasy, and lastly as a fan of good video games... Final Fantasy XVI is one of the greatest video games I've ever played. A frontrunner for GOTY of 2023 quite easily for me, and an instant inclusion into my personal Top 10, I am still in disbelief that it is over. For anyone with a PS5, and anyone with a PC when it inevitably launches there, I strongly recommend Final Fantasy XVI.

PS: I apologize at the likely high amount of syntax and diction errors in writing this review. I almost always do my writeups immediately after completing the game and this one was long and it's very late at night here! This is probably one of my weaker writing jobs from a skill standpoint, but I have so much to talk about and so little patience to wait to do it!

Bold ,dark and beautiful  
Final fantasy 16 was one of the most anticipated game this year from its first trailer it grapes our attention
It’s new refreshing take on beloved franchise from its bold story to the bloody scenes 
the game story was nothing short of phenomenal a story of redemption revenge and hope mixing politics into emotional journey with a fantastic lore and rich details to its world 
The characters are all exceptional, you will laugh, cry, live every moment with them and the voice acting is a win here everyone did a phenomenal job each character have beautiful segments and the characters development are perfect
The direction is masterclass it’s so good and moving some of the pivot moment captured beautifully on the screen
I love how the camera moves in artistic way 
the soundtrack are outstanding when the music play on the scene to build a narrative and you can feel the vibe only through the soundtrack you know the composer did a fantastic job creating music fits perfectly with each place moment and fights 

The gameplay is a journey itself  it started  as a pure action game and completely linear  then it lead to an RPG element and then again exploration and action Which give a narrative a more ways to continue its story perfectly I would say this is the best and ultimate action RPG any one could ask for I would love if it was more challenging   
Some of The side quest are surprisingly good the hunt quests are amazing
The actions scene specially boss fights are the best in the business spectacular ,epic and gorgeous
they clearly got inspiration from outstanding action games  its amazing I was looking forward each boss fight because I know it  will be unforgettable fight and years to remember

The graphics are great the art design and the environment looks outstanding few  technical issue  it need fixing by a patch  some frame rate drops and some ability effects I was not able  to see what’s happening  on the screen due to the effects  and I did get my PlayStation overheated twice

Overall this is one of the best game I’ve play
And sure the best Action RPG created
Simply masterpiece

My entire childhood I dreamed of playing Mario on mobile, it seemed like such a no-brainer. Mario was perfectly suited for a "pick up and play" style as has been proven time and time again by it's huge success on handheld devices. What better way to experience it then than on the most universally accessable and portable form factor, the smart phone?

I'm still waiting for that game though because Super Mario Run fails miserably at all that. It's a watered down, micro-transaction heavy auto runner that strips back a beloved platformer into something that's not worth your time of day, let alone the cost that the majority of the content is locked behind. As usual Nintendo shows that their only goal in the mobile market is greed, however this is one of the worst offenders.

A must-play mario adventure

SML2 is the perfect successor to SML building upon its wacky and wonderful locations, enemies and bosses.This time however the teams vision feels fully realised with a game that is on par with a true fully fledged 2D home console Mario. As opposed to the shoot-em-up sections in it's predecessor, SML2 keeps gameplay fresh through a variety of changes to Mario's movement and the environment that offer unique challenges whilst ensuring the game remains a platformer. Examples range from zero or low gravity in Space zone, Water in Turtle Zone to sticky honey in Tree zone. Throughout my playthrough my favourite moments we're always anticipating what new enemies I might stumble across next and the excitement of uncovering something you least expect. The overall difficulty is fairly easy, letting you breeze through the short story and majority of bosses with ease for the most part. However the challenge suddenly ramps up on the last stage; Wario's Castle which plays like a kaizo-mario level. I found this to be both infuriating and delightfully challenging, taking me several hours to beat but all the more satisfying in the end. Unfortunately, the platforming itself poses more of a threat than the actual final boss, who (despite his 3 forms) was one of the more simplistic and easy to navigate fights. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this game and for me it ranks in the top 3 Mario 2D platformers, I really wished modern Mario was packed full with such charm, individuality and unique gameplay systems.

The only reason I haven't rated this game higher is because the world tour mode drags it down a lot. I feel like Street Fighter 6 fell into the trap of game studios thinking all modern games need an open-world aspect to them to succeed, but it achieves the opposite in this game. The world tour does serve as a good introduction to the new mechanics and controls in the first chapter, but it eventually felt like a chore to complete. I got about halfway through the story before abandoning the game due to the boring and hand-holdy missions and terrible writing.

However, the actual fighting mechanics in this game really stand out in the franchise. I played with friends for hours trying out different fighters and learning how to use the drive mechanic and we had so much fun which brought my opinion of the game up a lot. There are also some really cool modifiers you can apply to your fights which change the way you play, which really kept the game fresh whenever we started to get bored.

An Arthurian Sequel.

Sonic and the Black Knight is a direct sequel to Sonic and the Secret Rings that improves the game in almost every aspect that makes for a fun time to be had but note.That I did specify almost because there is certainly somethings that either wasn't fixed or made worse with this installment.

Pros:
The storybook art style in cutscenes looks alot cleaner this time while still maintaining that gritty unique art style that is synonymous with the storybook installments.
The gameplay and controls here are much more fine tuned while still being motion control heavy the are used in a more charming and innovative way this time around and feel welcome more than a shoehorned addition.
The narrative just as strong as secret rings that actually tackles some pretty interesting themes and moral standpoints that places it higher on the sonic narrative spectrum.
The crafting mechanic while simple and not too indepth encourages replayability and adds some worthwhile upgrades to the non-sonic playable characters.
The soundtrack enough said hearing is more than telling here.
the level landscapes while simple just being forests and fields mostly are nice looking due to good use of lighting and cinematic scripted sequences that aren't too overbearing.
The voice acting and performances of the actors here in general might be some of the best in the series so far that really elevate heartfelt moments.

Cons:
While the game controls much better than SatSR it still isn't perfect with a bit of stiff movement.
The skill tree/skill equips return and are still okay here they are heavily dumbed down and less customizable than in secret rings.
The game is a bit too short to make it an amazing title casually able to be beaten in 2-3 hours on first playthrough but overall better than secret rings due to less bloat/padding.
The World building is phenomenal here from all the main story elements to a simple thing like being able to collect rings to trade with villagers and build sonics reputation into orderly or chaotic depending if you attack the said villagers sadly this doesn't really effect gameplay but is a cool addition never the less.

Overall: A sequel that was much warranted as it really showed the potential of the storybook entries too bad it was the last as they really had alot of potential going here and with another installment might've just been able to capitalize on the heights this mini-series offered but could never fully realize overall not a must play game but one that should be remembered for its well thought out plot and simple but fun gameplay.

Trivia:
Crush 40 has done a few covers of this games soundtracks and vocal themes that are worth checking out especially the "With Me" cover.

Boosting Away Into a New Era.

Sonic Unleashed is the first game of the boost era in many ways it really shows but it does still have merit outside of its many flaws a game thats reception has kind of 180'd as years passed,The game went from really spited in the community to becoming one of if not the most beloved game with fans crying for a PC port to this day.All of that aside how well does this experimental 15 year old game hold up? pretty well I guess considering its ambition.

Story:
The story of sonic unleashed revolves around sonic one day charges into eggmans base blasting away at robots all seems well until he falls into one of eggman's schemes that transforms him into a wolf-like monster and he's ejected from the airbase into the atmosphere,When he comes to he is plummeting to the ground and when he lands he meets a little red creature without a name and the two team up for an unforgettable journey.I can't really go into much more story wise without spoling but the story is very good here and quite touching with some of the BEST world building in the series when paired with the lively residents of earth in the hub worlds its stellar stuff.

Visuals:
What can I say except from... wow this game was ahead of its time visually there is definitely perfomance loss because of it but damn does it not just look great the sonic model is relatively detailed for a x360/ps3 model and the overall lighting and visual compositing in this game is just chefs kiss amazing too bad future installments wont have this production level and care put into it visually.

Gameplay (1/2 Daytime):
Ah yes some of the most highly praised 3D sonic game play of the last 2-3 decades but honestly I think its one of the worst. Woah woah there lower your guns let me explain my reasoning,This game is FULL of trial and error gameplay that punishes new players way too harshly for just trying to use its basic mechanics like the boost 1/2 the time.And to make matters worse sonic is way faster in this game that'd you'd think is a good thing on surface but with this level design it makes the game super punishing to play and the drift here is awful easily the worst part of the controls it makes turning harder than normally running and is only good for refilling boost.Aside from that though sonic controls great here... Outside of the homing attack WHY DID THEY MAP IT ON THE BOOST BUTTON!?!?! its nonsense you can't even argue "oh but its the first game to use homing attack" BECAUSE THAT ISN'T EVEN TRUE in every game before this outside of the rush games it was just double tap jump but nooooo here they made it the boost button that can result in so many untimely deaths for the blue hedgehog because you will see the homing reticle, and maybe think "oh this will be fine" but be a fraction of a second too late and boost off into the stratosphere its very hindering to sonic's overall feel in this game.

Gameplay (2/2)
It's kind of ironic but... the werehog is actually very fun to play as? god its like am playing a different game to others because I find the werehogs stage design (minus night arid sands but we will get there dont worry) to be very fun sure maybe a little repetitive but just pace yourself in playing this game in moderation and dont marathon it and this can become a very fun gameplay style because the combo system when maxed out can be very fun to use especially because most of the attacks minus a few can be canceled with shield to make for a very rewarding sometimes a bit too easy combat system.As for the platforming its more traditional with percise jumps and puzzles more than the fast paced action gameplay of the day stages that i'd argue makes for a good contrast when paired together.But onto my only real only negatives with the werehog is some of the "mash b" segments are just carpal tunnel causing.And its time to talk about shamar night... THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE. THIS STAIRCASE.Oh my god why on earth would you put an optional challenge so close to the main path that would make you think that it is the main path that players could attempt for hours,weeks,days and not know that it is fully skippable and the worst part is... THAT IT IS WAY HARDER THAN ALL THE MAIN STAGES COMBAT SECTIONS!?!?! WHY SONIC TEAM..... anyways time to move on I think it'll cause the heaviest migraine of all time if I continue thinking about this terrible level design.

Soundtrack:
What do you want me to say its stellar with an insanely good vocal theme tied with some super upbeat and memorable OST's for the day time stages and some really chill and astmospheric night time OST's... when you get to here them over the battle theme which isn't a bad theme its actually insanely good but it plays for about 3/4's of a night time stage here so by the end of the playthrough you will cause war flashbacks upon yourselve listening to that song.

Sound Design/Voice Acting:
Jason and everybodies performances here aren't at there best I think the story book games had better voice acting but that doesn't discount how good the voice acting here is and it layed the groundwork for sound design in the modern stages with the jump,boost,drift and all the moves still using somewhat similar sounds today and for the night-time stages the hitsounds are impactful and make you really feel like the monster of a being the werehog is when paired with the OST's and voice acting these sound effects rock!.

Replayability:
Pretty high tier here can't lie the skill tree encourages replaying levels with focus on getting as much exp and rings as possible to min/max your sonic(s) skill trees and there are the DLC/Bonus acts that add on a good chunk of content for those who like that sort of stuff this game overall isn't the most replayable but it will give you good bang for your buck especially for a sonic game.

Characters:
Chip is a very fun detouragonist for the game and by the end of the game you will feel a strong bond/connection especially if you did the side stuff like eating with him,etc,etc and the NPC's in the hub world are quite memorable for example the hot dog vendor man,ice-cream vendor man,the dad and son argueing,etc there is quite alot of charm and character in this games NPC's and I like how some of the dialect in the dialogue changes in different areas of the world
and if the character is younger or older overall quite a nice little detail for such a minor aspect of the game that is fully skippable,Sonic and eggman here aren't at there best but there pretty darn good the best they will be until... frontiers I guess as pontaff will be taking over for the next decade or so.

Overall:
A strong entry into the sonic series that has held up decently but certain aspects haven't aged well as they will be more refined in later entries and overall if I had to agree with the haters or supporters of this game i'd probably lean closer to liking it after this 2nd playthrough as I for the most part had fun playing the game and eggman land is possibly the best final level in a sonic game to date it puts everything to the test that you have learnt and heck maybe haven't learnt yet in the games runtime that makes for a satisfying conclusion and the final bosses that follow are neat.And some of the levels cultural appropriation here is seriously amazing.As a side note I really dislike the tornado defense minigame that plays in the start and end of this game its very fustrating and doesn't feel rewarding in the slightest to beat and not to forget about medal collecting that is a partial reason im not raising this games ratings because medal collecting goes against what boost formula is about.Anyways that about wraps up my thoughts on sonic unleashed if you enjoyed this review make sure to check out my others as I have only been doing sonic reviews here come check it out!.

Trivia:
This game actually isn't the first boost entry to the series overall that'd be sonic rush maybe even advance 2/3 but it is a common misconception never the less.

This game is named "Sonic World Adventure" in japan and combined with the HUB worlds many can argue that this game is an adventure 3/4/5 (depending if they think 06 and heroes are adventure games).