Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected

I'm going to keep my thoughts about Future Connected short, because I don't have too much to say since this is sort of a small epilogue included to make people who already played OG Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii to double dip. The story is pretty simple, Shulk and Melia fight off the Fog King and that's about it, which was a little disappointing after beating the original game. It's nice to see where Shulk and Melia are after the end of the game, and that's about it. The whole plot about the Fog King was pretty generic and would fall flat if this was the main plotline of a actual game, but it's fine for being something small. It takes place on the Bionis Shoulder, a new area of the game that wasn't in the original Xenoblade Chronicles, and I'm glad it's here in Future Connected, because if it was the same world from the base game, my score would probably be lower. It's a nice-looking place, and unique enough to keep me engaged with Future Connected.

The Ponspectors are a new group introduced in Future Connected, and they replace chain attacks and deal passive damage as well. These little guys were a nice addition to keep things fresh, but I'm glad they were only included in just Future Connected, I don't know if they would work out if they were in the base game.

Overall, Future Connected is a decent time to spend if you love the main story of Xenoblade Chronicles, but not really a necessary expansion to play. It's good, but you're not gonna miss much if you decide to skip it for whatever reason. I forced myself to complete it, and glad I did. Now, I'm just get to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 later on.

Xenoblade Chronicles: The Future Waits

Xenoblade was one of those Nintendo series, alongside Fire Emblem, Mother/Earthbound and F-Zero that I only knew from Smash Brothers as a kid. I didn't know jack about Xenoblade, except recognizing Shulk as "that one blond anime twink" from Smash Bros. I previously tried out Xenoblade Chronicles 2 back around early 2018, I don't remember anything about that game because I sucked at RPG's at the time. For real, I never was able to beat a Paper Mario or Mario & Luigi game, Pokemon was the only RPG that held my hand as a kid that I was able to beat. I sold my physical copy of Xenoblade 2, which I regret now cause physical copies are hard to find for Xenoblade 2 (or at least here in the U.S).

I've had Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edtion in my back for some years, I had as a Christmas present alongside Final Fantasy VII Remake. Like a lot of my games in my backlog, I'm only getting to it now after letting it sit on my shelf catching dust, and after beating Xenoblade Chronicles, all I have to say is. "Why didn't I play this sooner!?" I am in love with the Xenoblade series thanks to this game. The characters are so lovable, and each one of them are wonderful, the gameplay is rewarding if you put time into learning its mechanics, and the universe... the wider lore of this game's universe has been the reason why I added Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3 into my backlog. After I was done with this game, I wanted MORE. I haven't been hooked onto a JRPG series like this since Persona, and I'm just ready to dive deeper into this Xenoblade rabbit hole!

The battle system in Xenoblade Chronicles was pretty confusing for me to understand at first. One thing I felt Xenoblade Chronicles did poorly in was its tutorials. The tutorials don't explain the main gameplay elements like Arts in a digestible way to understand. It was much easier for me to go on YouTube and find someone to explain it better than the game did. But even with the hiccups of the tutorials, Xenoblade Chronicles has a rewarding combat system that treats you right if you give it the right amount of time to learn all the ins and outs. The characters I mainly used throughout my playthrough were Shulk, Reyn, Dunban, and Riki. I mostly controlled Shulk, cause his moveset is the most friendly, but I did swap between controlling Shulk with Reyn and Dunban.

The way to level up with experience points in Xenoblade Chronicles is to do side quests surprisingly, which I really enjoyed. A lot of the time in most other RPGs, if you need to level up, you have to do some farming by killing enemies to earn exp. I love how Xenoblade Chronicles makes side quests more of an incentive to complete them. I like the side quests in Xenoblade Chronicles for being simple, just do enough to expand the world of Bionis and the Mechonis. However, I wish traditional farming for exp by killing enemies was still as helpful to earn exp. This might just be from my playthrough, but I feel that killing enemies in Xenoblade Chronicles doesn't reward as much exp as it should. It's not too bad of an issue, but a bit annoying near the end of the game, when a lot the side quests get limited and not too interesting, but nothing too big for me.

One thing I have to praise Xenoblade Chronicles for, is for it's world. Each section I explored throughout my playthrough felt unique each type I went to a new area. I know this is a remaster of a Wii game, but the visuals look pretty great for a Switch game. Moonliftsoft is probably the best Nintendo studio to use Nintendo hardware for what they have. The original Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii looks amazing for a Wii game, and I was blown away when I found out that Xenoblade Chronicles X, for as massive as that game is, runs only using 1GB of RAM. The team at Moonliftsoft deserves all of their flowers for being game development wizards, due to the magic they use to make these massive games! The Wii version looks good for what it is, and I could see some people would like that version of the game more. But you gotta be lying if you think it looks better than the Switch version. Some people don't like the overhaul they did in the games art style, which makes it more close in line to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3, but this may be my bias talking for only playing the Switch version, but I like the different art style. The OG style is great for what it is, but to be honest, it looks a bit too much like a Final Fantasy game. At least Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3 have some unique-looking cel animation to make it stand out a bit more from the endless sea of anime games.

As for the story, I truly enjoyed the story, despite having one plot detail spoiled by a friend years ago about how [REDACTED] gets sent back to the lobby during the beginning parts of the game. The story was shorter than I expected, but each moment throughout was memorable thanks to the cast. Shulk is a loveable, and amazing protagonist to play as. He has some wholesome charisma about him, and it just made him one of the characters I cared for. Reyn, Dunban, and some of the other characters provide some depth to making the main cast of Xenoblade Chronicles feel diverse in their own way. The music feels amazing, whether it's the easy-going music playing while exploring, or the guitar-heavy battle music that plays during encounters, it's one of the memorable parts of Xenoblade Chronicles, and the composers just knew to make every track a banger.

The main plotline, with the Bionis and the Mechonis, was intriguing, it was a unique world, and I wanted to keep learning more about this world as I kept playing. After completing the main story, my interest in the world of Xenoblade Chronicles only grew. I was entrapped with not the world, but the universe of Xenoblade Chronicles. Finding out what gave birth to the world with the Bionis and Mechonis grabbed my interest for Xenoblade way more than I previously expected. It made me commit the sin of adding more games to my backlog, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3 were added shortly after I completed Xenoblade 1, and I do wish to play Xenogears and the Xenosaga trilogy, either with emulation or hope to God I find a physical copy for cheap.

Overall, I loved my time with Xenoblade Chronicles, it was one of the most memorable experiences I've had with a this year so far. I look back to where I was with Xenoblade Chronicles when I started, and where I ended my playthrough fondly. It's funny for me to think how I wasn't too used to the battle system when I started, but now I've grown acquainted with battle system well enough. The story, and journey throughout felt like a road trip, with new destinations to check out, with side quests and main quests. The cast is amazing, their all loveable, and Xenoblade Chronicles is just a very memorable game. I highly recommend starting with this game if your new to Xenoblade like how I was, the combat system takes a bit to get used too, but Xenoblade 2 and 3 make it more complex from what I've heard. I already completed Future Connected, I thought it was a decent little piece of content, and I look forward to what Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has in store!

Stats:
The 17th game I've completed in 2024
Played on Nintendo Switch
Hours into Game: 51 Hours
Score: 10/10 (5/5)
Last Statement: "i'M rEaLlY fEeLiNg It!"

Bioshock: Rapture Below The Ocean

Bioshock is a game I've heard thrown around as one of those "must-play" games online. I didn't know anything about it, outside that the dude on the cover is called the Big Daddy. I got this game (alongside Bioshock 2 and Bioshock Infinite) for free back when it was given away on the Epic Game Store, and it sitting in my backlog for some time. After playing it, diving deep into the world of Bioshock, exploring Rapture, and seeing where all the praise lies. Bioshock creates a unique setting, with it's take on a 1940s aesthetic, mixed with decopunk aesthetics as well.

Right away with the introduction, I was floored by the presentation of this game. It's been a while since I played a game that felt like it had its own aesthetic and style. And throughout my playthrough, its style and aesthetic kept feeling fresh. When you first go underwater and see the city of Rapture, you as the player just see the underwater city for what it is, as Andrew Ryan speaks, and you just do nothing but take in the scenery of Rapture. I love the introduction to this game so much, it feels perfectly paced, not too slow, not too explosive, but enough of a balance to serve to the player to keep playing throughout. In Bioshock, you take control as Jack, a passenger on a plane that crashes in the Atlantic Ocean. Jack is assisted through most of the game by Atlus via radio. Throughout your time in Rapture, you find plenty of different weapons and plasmids to use. As for weapons, they're kinda of a basic selection. You have a wrench to start out with, then later a pistol, then later a machine gun, and later a shotgun, and so on. The weapons do their part as weapons, but one of the unique gameplay elements Bioshock has is with the plasmids. Plasmids add so much gameplay variety to Bioshock, it wouldn't be the same game without them. The ones I mainly used throughout my playthrough were Electro Bolt, Incinerate!, and Telekinesis. It was fun to use these plasmids on enemies, and without them, Bioshock would be an average game without them. I enjoyed the gameplay, but at certain moments, it can feel generic, and sort of "sameish" for long periods. It's good gameplay, but not necessarily something to hold in high regard.

As for the story, this is where I heard most of the praise come from. For me, I found the story of Bioshock to be somewhat inconsistent when it came to holding my interest. On one hand, I was in love with the aesthetic of the game, and wanted to learn about Rapture and Andrew Ryan, but on the other hand, most of the story is told via dialogue from other characters via the radio in the middle of gameplay, and it's really hard to pay attention to it, when I was in an encounter with an enemy. I wished these story moments told via dialogue were told in a way that gameplay not interfere, so I could've been more immersed to its story. The story is divided into different levels, 15 in total. Each level felt like an episode in a mini-series, each level felt well passed, and don't overstay their welcome. Bioshock has these little girls roaming around the levels named "Little Sisters" and they are accompanied by a Big Daddy. After you defeat the Big Daddy, you can either rescue the little sister, turn them back into a normal human girl, and get ADAM, or harvest all of their energy, causing them to die, and get more ADAM. The little sisters play more of an important role in the story of Bioshock than being there to give you ADAM. If you rescue all but one little sister, you get the good ending, but if you harvest more than one little sister, you get the bad ending. In my playthrough, I rescued all the little sisters to get the good ending, because of course I went for the good ending. I found Bioshock's ending to be beautiful, I found it poetic, and understand why it's the canon ending, but because of that, I think this game would be one of the few games I would've preferred a voiced protagonist if done right.

Overall, I found Bioshock to be a pretty captivating game. Rapture and it's tone and presentation show it's unique beauty. Gameplay is enjoyable, though bland in some cases, and the story is well executed for what it was going for. I heard that the remastered version is disliked by the Bioshock community after I beated it, because of performance. I was able to play on 4K with 120 FPS without any issue. It is a PS3/360 game for of course it's no issue for my PC, but I can understand how it may be on the console ports. I look forward to getting towards Bioshock 2 later in my backlog, I'm interested to try out Bioshock Infinite afterwords, due to how divisive it is.

Stats:
The 16th game I've comp8leted in 2024
Played on PC
Hours into Game: 11 Hours
Score: 8/10 (4/5)

Super Mario World: Good, Classic 2D Mario

Growing up, the Mario games I constantly played throughout my childhood were New Super Mario Bros Wii, New Super Mario Bros 2, New Super Mario Bros U, and pretty much all the 3D Mario games that were released at the time, except Odyseey because wasn't released yet, and Sunshine the outlier. which I wrote about not too long ago.
Since I mainly played on my Wii and Wii U throughout that time, I had access to the virtual console library and bought a few retro games from there, with Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, and Super Mario World being the 2D Mario games I got from there. Super Mario World was one of those games from my childhood, that I've never actually played myself. Super Mario World is in the same boat as The Legend Of Zelda Majora's Mask for being games part of my childhood, but never actually played myself. I remember some of the pixel animations on YouTube, it's been so long, and I don't remember a lot of those old videos nowadays, some of which probably were never attended for 5-year-old me to watch, and looking back now, probably shouldn't have. But now, I decided to finally play Super Mario World, for real this time, and look through my current eyes to see what made this game so special for so many people.

The story is pretty simple for a Mario game of course, after the events of Super Mario Bros 3 (according to the instruction booklet), Mario, Luigi, and Peach visit Dinosaur Land, and in common Mario fashion, Bowser kidnaps Peach and it's up for Mario and Luigi to save her. While this is the same song-and-dance story we've seen in a bunch of Mario games, Super Mario World marks the introduction of Yoshi, who's become a mainstay in the Mario cast since this game. The Koopalings from Super Mario Bros 3 return in this game and serve the same purpose as they did in that game, being bosses to beat to move on. The story exists to give a purpose to the gameplay, like most Mario games, and like in most Mario games, that's all it needs to be. The characters throughout Super Mario World are charming in their own way, the unique SNES-Era spirits, the constantly changing atmosphere throughout most of the levels, and enemies such as the Koopas and Gombas make a return, but Super Mario World has it's own unique set of enemies that are exclusive to this game as far I can recall, such as the Chagin' Chucks and the Dino Rhinos. Super Mario World just has it's own unique charm compared to other Mario games, it's cast and design make it still stand out from other Mario games to this day.

Now to the gameplay, Super Mario World's gameplay feels unique compared to any older 2D Mario game. It's more slippery, but not in a bad way, it's pulled off pretty well actually. Super Mario World's levels feel unique each time I start a new level. I love the overall design and feel of this game, the colors just stick out greatly, and would probably look gorgeous if I played on a OLED screen. I found the difficulty to be pretty balanced, it's not too hard like The Lost Levels, but it's not too easy like some of the "New" Super Mario Bros games. The secrets in this game are fun to catch too. I always knew about the secrets this game had, but I never completed any of these secrets myself, so I might have to do that on a future playthrough. The OST is pretty simplistic, but the old soundfont from the 16-bit era of gaming is charming and unique in its own way. The power-ups in this game are great, the red mushroom and fire flower are the basic power-ups returning from past Mario games, but this game introduces the Cape Feather into the mix as well. This was such a fun power-up to get, each time I got it, I flew around as much as I could. Since this is the first Mario game to introduce Yoshi, he's a fantastic addition to the game, it wouldn't be Super Mario World without Yoshi. This is as much Mario's game, as much as it is Yoshi's game.

I've enjoyed my time with Super Mario World greatly, but I do feel that since this game feels kinda bland sometimes. It's a great game of course, but I feel that compared to other 2D Mario's and other platformers, it just feels basic, but that's okay. It doesn't need to be anything complex, or world-changing, it can just be a great, fun 2D Mario game, I just can't have it any more than great.

Overall, Super Mario World is a great game that pushed Mario games further into what they are today, its impact and legacy can be seen, you can tell Mario Wonder takes a lot from Super Mario World's design and presentation. Super Mario World is a fun title, I can see why so many hold this game in such high regards, and definitely should give it another playthrough in the future!

Stats:
The 15th game I've completed in 2024
Played on SNES
Hours into Game: 9 Hours
Score: 8/10 (4/5)
Last Statement: Super Mario Worldwide

SOMA: Sorrows Over the Mechanical Abyss

SOMA was a game I had only recently heard about. I've heard its name thrown around, and since I happen to have it in my library, courtesy of the Epic Games Store when it was given away for free, I decided to add it to my backlog to try it out eventually. But what I got from my time with SOMA was a game that lingered with me long after my playthrough, with its psychological themes and overall tone, I didn't find SOMA to be scary in a "Booo!" jumpscare type of way, it was scary due to its undertones and atmosphere. The extra bits of lore you can find throughout the game add so much to the already fantastic narrative, and it's just one of those games you just need to play completely blind without knowing anything.

Gamplay-wise, SOMA is pretty bare-bones, the main character Simon explores different areas in a somewhat linear way, with there being puzzles along the way as well. The puzzles are pretty basic, but that's a good thing, they don't need to be anything more than basic. Along the way in Simon's journey he encounters enemies that I feel don't add much to the game. The first couple of encounters add to SOMA by being a good stepping stone into what's to come throughout the game, but as it goes on, the enemies start to feel like annoying obstacles in the way. It's no wonder the developers decided to add a no-enemy mode after the game's initial launch. In my opinion, the enemies aren't even scary, they look scary on the surface, but not at all scary to make me jump out of my chair. Movement in SOMA feels kind of stiff, I'm not sure if it's just in SOMA or in the Amnesia games, or any of Frictional Games's other games, but in SOMA it just sorta stuck out, in better words.

But, gameplay and its issues aside, the real meat and potatoes of SOMA is its story. SOMA is a walking simulator with a sci-fi story that feels like you're listening to it, rather than playing it. The gameplay elements are barebone, but the story has a lot of muscle and carries its weight. It's really hard to explain without spoilers, but what I can say is, SOMA evokes a feeling of being alone. While playing as Simon, there's a feeling of loneliness everywhere, and the ending just adds to this notion more. Simon as a character, can be seen as dumb in certain moments in the story, but as a human, we're all liable to being dumb without knowing it. It's easy to pick on Simon for being a dumbass, but let's be honest, we would just be dumber. In a game centered around robots and sci-fi elements, Simon, for all his faults, still adds the long-forgotten layer of humanity, to an otherwise, artificial world. The atmosphere SOMA creates feels grimy, dirty, all messed up, and gone to shit. It creates a feeling of dread lingering over my shoulder throughout my playthrough, each area feels unique in its own atmosphere.

Overall, I found SOMA to be a unique different take on horror games, but that's not saying much considering I don't play a lot of horror games, regardless of that, SOMA is one of those games you need to play if you're looking a unique experience, or just want to try something new. If you like sci-fi or horror, you'll love SOMA. It's a game that anybody who enjoys either genre will love, and its just a game to play completely blind.

Stats:
The 14th game I've completed in 2024
Played on PC
Hours into Game: 7 Hours & 49 minutes
Score: 9/10 (4.5/5)

Super Mario Sunshine: The Slippery Slope of 3D Mario

Growing up, one of my favorite things to do with every 3D Mario I played, was to replay them, and 100% them again and again. I've 100%'d Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 multiple times as both Mario and Luigi, collecting every power star on every level. I remember playing Super Mario 64 and its DS remake and 100%'d those games multiple times, and I've 100% Super Mario Odyessy as well. I've always had a soft spot for 3D Mario games. Super Mario Galaxy is my favorite game of all time, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Super Mario 64 are up in the high rankings for me as well, and Super Mario Odyessy is probably my second favorite, behind Galaxy 1. However, I've never felt that same level of affection with Super Mario Sunshine. I've tried in the past, me and my mom went to our local GameStop back when was I around 6-7 years old to get a used copy. It was only the original GameCube disk, no box, but I was a kid so I didn't care, we went home, I put it in my Wii, started to play it... but it just never clicked with me back then.

Maybe it was just because I was a dumb kid who sucked at Video Games at the same, this was the same kid who thought Sweet Sweet Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy was the hardest thing ever (if only he knew about Dark Souls). Fast forward to now, I've decided to give Super Mario Sunshine another chance now older. Unfortunately, I lost that original GameCube copy from all those years ago, and I don't remember what happened to my old Wii, so when I replayed this game, I was playing the version on the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection for Switch (I'm writing here cause backlogg's system for ports/remasters isn't that great). Going into Super Mario Sunshine, I wanted to 100% it as I have with every other 3D Mario I used to do as a kid, but I never ended up doing so with Super Mario Sunshine. Maybe it's because I'm older now? Maybe it's because of the game? Or maybe it's because I'm washed at 3D Mario games?

The story is pretty simple, of course for a Mario game. Mario, Peach, Toadsworth, and the Toads fly to Isle Delfino for a getaway, presumably for them to get some much-needed rest after Bowser's many attempts to capture Peach, but things aren't as comfy for Mario and pals because they encounter a mass of paint-like goop. Mario gets the Flash Liquidizing Ultra Dousing Device (F.L.U.D.D.), a water cannon created by Professor E. Gadd from Luigi's Mansion fame, and Mario uses F.L.U.D.D. to defeat slime covered Piranha Plant. To thank Mario for his good deed, the police of Isle Delfine arrest Mario. As a kid, I thought nothing of it, but looking at it now, the whole criminal justice system on Isle Delfino fucked up. Mario does not get an attorney, there were witnesses who clearly saw Mario innocent but decided not to back him up, and the prosecution pushes for a guilty verdict onto Mario off of a SKETCH! A SKETCH OF ALL THINGS!? As much as a pile of work the real-world criminal justice system is, at least I can remind myself that it isn't Isle Delfino's criminal justice system. Mario is assigned to community service and has to clean up the island and track down the real criminal.

It's such a quirky premise for a Nintendo game, and I don't think Nintendo would make a Mario game where he gets in jail today, considering how strict they are with the portrayal and copyright of their characters. Even though I never beat Super Mario Sunshine as a kid, I got spoiled the story for myself from YouTube videos, and going back to it now, I don't care that I was spoiled. It's a Mario game, I don't care I already knew the story front to end, I was coming here for the gameplay. Super Mario Sunshine is the first Mario game to introduce Bowser Jr, and this was a great introduction into his character. Bowser Jr was a fun character in this game, this game alone puts him on top above the Koopalings. The characters in Super Mario Sunshine feel unique in this game alone, the Piantas are the citizins of Isle Delfino and sorta the replacment for Toads in this game, Toads are still here, but not as much compared to other Mario games. Super Mario Sunshine has this charm and bright personality that isn't in a lot of other Mario games. The title screen, the OST, every pretty-looking thing in Super Mario Sunshine makes it feel summer-like.

To the main course, being the gameplay, all I have to say is that I am more split with this game's gameplay than I ever have been with any 3D Mario game. There are a lot of pros and cons with the gameplay of Super Mario Sunshine, I found my overall playthrough to be a great time, but there has been a lot about the gameplay mechanics that I feel hold this game back from being anything more than great. For one, I'm glad this is harder than any 3D Mario game I've played. It's sort of refreshing to have a Mario game give me a challenge, but the thing is, a lot of what makes Super Mario Sunshine difficult is either because 1. I needed to learn and adapt from the challenge I'm facing, or 2. Because of the bullshit slippery movement that Mario has throughout all of the game. I don't know if Mario has ice cubes built into his shoes, but moving as him in this game feels like you walking on ice and it's not too much of an issue throughout most of the game, but in parts where you need to be precise with your platforming, it just fucks you over, anyways.

In Super Mario 64, Mario collected power stars in that game, but here in Super Mario Sunshine, he collects Shine Sprites instead. Shine Sprites are a cool replacement for Power Stars, and the little jingle you hear every time you collect a Shine Sprite is a banger, but I wasn't as excited to collect them as I used to be with Power Stars in other Mario games. There are these blue coins you can collect throughout each level and if you have 10 blue coins, you can exchange them with a merchant on Isle Delfino for a Shine Sprite. Honestly, I found collecting the blue coins to be tedious, some are in some levels and some aren't, and overall just felt like a headache to get. As for the levels themselves, they all had some level of charm to them, but nothing quite memorable compared to the levels in Super Mario 64, the Galaxy games, or even Odyessy. The inclusion of Yoshi in this game feels so forced, you have to get Yoshi out of his egg by bringing the fruit he wants, but Yoshi isn't needed for a lot of this game unless you are going for 100%, and nothing would have changed if Yoshi wasn't included. I said how I wanted to 100% this game and never ended up doing so, that's because I found Super Mario Sunshine to not worthwhile to see through with a 100%. It is a worthwhile game to play for fun, the levels are fun on face value, but while trying go for that 100% completion, you can see a lot of the flaws of the level design.

Overall, even though I had a lot to say about the flaws of Super Mario Sunshine, at face value it's a great Mario game, just not an amazing Mario game. It's a fun time playing through Isle Delfino, there's a lot of charm, and when the game mechanics aren't against you, they're pretty bearable. I had a great time with this game, it's been a while since I played a 3D Mario game, and perhaps I should revisit one in the future before the eventual next 3D Mario game.

Stats:
The 13th game I've completed in 2024
Played on Nintendo Switch (via 3D All-Stars)
Hours into Game: 15 Hours
Score: 8/10 (4/5)
Last Statement: Fuck Isle DelFino's Criminal Justice System

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Rebirth & Refreshing

Back when Final Fantasy VII Remake was first released in 2020, it changed everything the definition of what a "Remake" could be. Final Fantasy VII Remake heavily reworked the gameplay mechanics from the original game, turning it from the pseudo-turn-based battle system based on Active Time Battle (ATB) to a real-time battle system more in line with Final Fantasy XVI and XV. It was going to be a big feat for Square to remake Final Fantasy VII, specifically by splitting it into three parts of a trilogy, and just like the original Star Wars trilogy, the second one is the best one. Going into Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, all I wanted was a simple improvement from Final Fantasy VII Remake, with it's open world and story, but what I got was a rich open world and mind messing story to be one of my highlights of 2024. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a tremendous feat for Final Fantasy in general, for not only being a fantastic remake of an already fantastic game but also for being the best modern Final Fantasy game in recent memory. Rebirth does everything FFVII Remake did, and blows that out of the water. As much as I liked Final Fantasy VII Remake, compared to FFVII Rebirth, it looks like a tech demo in comparison. With the wider Final Fantasy VII world being remade from what is what back from the original PS1 release, to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on PS5, it truly shows the growth where Final Fantasy VII has come since it's start. In both the gameplay and story, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an evolution for Final Fantasy VII, and Final Fantasy, period.

As for gameplay, it is very similar at it's core to Final Fantasy VII Remake, but there some new additions to make it a bit more unique after coming off of Final Fantasy VII Remake. For starters, new characters! Red XIII was in Final Fantasy VII Remake, though not as a playable character til now in Rebirth, and Yuffie was previously in the Final Fantasy VII Remake DLC, Episode INTERmission, as a playable character in her own story, but never was even mentioned in the original story of FFVII Remake. Both characters play great, though I was surprised how good Yuffie felt to play as in Rebirth. I never used her much in the original Final Fantasy VII but in Rebirth, she was just an absolute tank in battle. Red XIII was a pretty solid character to play as when I had him in my party. I made sure to swap my party members often so I don't get attracted to a set of party members with Cloud. Though stats-wise good, Red XIII felt like a bland character to play as, he basic combat attacks and his skill's weren't that great in my opinion, compared to other character's skills, but nothing to major for me to dislike.

I almost forgot to mention Cait Sith! Cait Sith was a character in the original game that I hardly used at all. I never liked him much in the original as a character in my party, but in Rebirth, he's... decent, not more. Cait Sith in FFVII Rebirth is a lot better of a character to play than he was in the original Final Fantasy VII. His basic combat attacks are pretty mediocre, but once he is able to get his robot, he becomes much better of character to play as, so he's not bad (until I reached that part in the game I only had Cait Sith your party. That was absolute garbage, I wanted to tear up that furry ball so much...). Vincent and Cid are new characters brought into Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but not playable at all, similar how to Red XIII was in Final Fantasy VII Remake, which was pretty disappointing to find out, I really looked forward to how Vincent and CId would play in the FFVII Remake style of combat. They were some of my favorite characters to have in my party in the original, Vincent because he was a badass, and though not playable, still just as of a badass in Rebirth because he's voiced the GOAT Matt Mercer. Cid was one of the favorites in the original due to how good stats-wise he was around the time he was introduced, and I hope Square is able to do them both justice in Part 3, or in DLC for Rebirth if they decide to do that like how they did for Yuffie.

As for the original characters from Final Fantasy VII Remake that were brought over to Rebirth, such as Cloud, Tifa, Barret and Aerith, they play close to how they were in Final Fantasy VII Remake. Cloud plays pretty close to how he was in FFVII Remake, though a little bit different from how Operator Mode is compared to how it was in FFVII Remake. Operator Mode in FFVII Remake made Cloud's attacks feel more slow, but more heavier in attack power, but In Rebirth, it's still heavy but it locks Cloud to doing sword slashes in a wide arc. Pretty different from Remake's version, but a change I welcome. I felt that Cloud's operator mode in FFVII Remake kinda made combat at times too easy, but with Rebirth's interpretation of Operator Mode have a bit more strategy to it than Remake's, and not make things too easy. Cloud was the only character from Final Fantasy VII Remake that I noticed a change in from how he controlled in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but I never noticed any noticeable changes to Barret, Tifa, or Aerith. They play pretty close to their FFVII Remake versions, so I just assume they have some better quality-of-life changes that I haven't noticed. The Synergy mechanic from Yuffie DLC makes a return here in FFVII Rebirth, and it works pretty well. It adds some character to the combat and the characters you have in your party. There was this one Synergy attack with Barret and Aerith where Aerith is mimicking how Barret is with his glasses with him during their Synergy attack, and he's so wholesome between those two. Synergy is not only a good mechanic for gameplay, but also a good mechanic to add some chemistry between party members that may or may not have interacted as much in the story.

When I was playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth throughout my playthrough, I had performance mode on throughout nearly all of my playthrough. I previously played the demo before Rebirth was released, and performance mode was a must on that version of the game, due to how choppy the 30 FPS looked and felt. Since the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth demo kind of sparked some debate about 30 vs 60 FPS due to how poor it was, my stance of that is, 30 FPS, when done correctly, isn't a big deal. Some games have 30 FPS run smooth enough for it not be noticeable, but in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's case, 30 FPS is a hard no for me. 30 FPS just feels awful when doing anything in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, walking makes me feel like I have a headache, and combat with 30 FPS makes me feel like I have a migraine. I know I sound like one of those 60 FPS elitists who live and breathe 60 FPS as their lifestream, but like I said before, 30 FPS can be pulled off good enough in other games, but 30 FPS in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for whatever reason. Performance mode didn't really affect anything graphically for me, the game still looked graphically amazing still, though sometimes some textures can look a bit low res from a distance, but nothing noticeable to complain about.

Regardless if you're playing on graphics or performance mode, this game is a beauty to play out. When the crew leaves Kalm to explore, there's this beautiful garden area that you see as you explore this new world you're introduced to, early into the game. This is around the beginning of the game, so you can't use Chocobos or the Buggy yet, so you're forced to walk on foot. It feels sorta reminiscent of the original game, when you leave Midgar for the first time and explore the massive open world for the first time. That scene of discovery and openness from the original is here in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Graphically the original Final Fantasy VII couldn't detail the open world outside of Midgar outside of PS1 textures due to it being a PS1 game, but Final Fantasy VII Rebirth showcases new details within the open world of Rebirth's interpretation of Final Fantasy VII. It feels like this is how Square wanted to show off this world to the player, but due to the hardware limitations at the time, they couldn't. Even though they couldn't, there was room for imagination from the players who played and grew up with the original. They never thought a Final Fantasy VII Remake of this scale would ever happen, so they had nothing but blocky PS1 graphics and their imaginations, and Rebirth feels like what those imaginations were. Rebirth excels at adding new life to Final Fantasy VII, the OST remaking the original game's OST sounds phenomenal, and in some areas like in the Mythril Mines, have their versions redid with some instrumentation to make it sound modern, but add similar sounding instruments similar to those iconic PS1 era soundfonts.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth adds a lot of new side content, and most of it is wonderful. There are the standard side quests given out by NPC's throughout the world in a similar fashion to how they were in Final Fantasy VII Remake, but, the side quests in Rebirth have a lot of more soul than the ones from FFVII Remake. Some side quests are pretty standard, but they do good in adding world-building to the areas they take place in. Some are humorous in nature, feeling similar to a filler episode from an anime, but still fun to experience. There's a lot of side content in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and I don't wanna drag this even more, so I'll be brief for the side content. Lifesrpings are expedition intel that help uncover divine shrine intel alongside story information about the region you're in. This is cool for serious lore buffs who live and breathe Final Fantasy VII, but to be honest I didn't collect a lot of these throughout my playthrough, but still a neat addition. Chadley from Final Fantasy VII Remake makes a return here in FFVII Rebirth and there are divine shrines that can help Chadley gather intel data to strengthen summon materia and also make their encounters at the combat simulator easier. I like how easier it was to get summon materia in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, in FFVII Remake, I missed some, and I didn't really do anything Chadley in FFVII Remake, but I did go to some of the shrines, and I liked the little mini-game you play each time. I got most of the first couple of summons, but later on I didn't really care to go after more summons because I was fine with the ones I already had. Fiend challenges are... boring, I never sought them out, and only completed them if I happened to come across it. Despite the Moogle's looking like nightmare fuel, I really liked the Moogle emporiums. They were fun to play, but I never bought anything from the moogle's after I was done with them.

Those were just some of the ones I remembered from the top of my head, but there's just so much to talk about when it comes to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's side content, but my absolute favorite part of FFVII Rebirth's side content has to be Queen's Blood. I. LOVED. Queen's Blood. I haven't played a card game this fun since I was playing Pokemon cards back in elementary school, Queen's Blood is absolute shit, I was addicted to Queen's Blade after my first few games, and I had a lot of my time finding each time I could play Queen's Blood in the region I was in. Forget about Sephiroth, Cloud, you need to the best Queen's Blood master, like no one ever was! Jokes aside, I loved Queen's Blood, the gameplay just had me addictied, and even though I haven't completed every single Queen's Blood match that Rebirth had to offer, I believe I completed the majority.

As for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's story, it continues shortly after Final Fantasy VII Remake, Cloud and the gang are on the hunt for Sephiroth, and it mostly follows the story of the original game for the most part until certain moments take event at some points into the story. The story has already been told in the original Final Fantasy VII, but the way Rebirth retells certain story moments from the original is fantastic. Without giving away too much, all I can say without spoilers is that, the more Final Fantasy VII media you've consumed, the more you're rewarded for it in Rebirth. If you love Crisis Core, Advent Children or any other piece of the expanded Final Fantasy VII ecosystem, you'll nerd out over the references. Cloud feels so much of a more developed character than he ever has been in any other piece of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud feels more human, more of an actual human than another anime twink. Zack is so much of a welcome addition to Rebirth, without giving away spoilers, he is amazing in every moment he is in, especially during the final arc, if you know you know. Barret's character growth from the original game is adapted into Rebirth, and it is adapted in the best way possible. Tifa is much more expanded upon within the story, than just Cloud's childhood friend/potential love interest, she has her own moments that flesh out moments from the original, and new scenes that give her the spotlight. Red XIII's character hasn't changed that much from the original, and he felt just fine. Yuffie's character adds a lot of new personality to the cast, and though, sometimes annoying, she's an absolute key character to the party, and to Wutai, considering what happens to Wutai in the story. Cait Sith feels like Cait Sith, Vincent and Cid, though not playable, are great inclusions to the story. Sephiroth continues to be a menace within the story, and is like a phantom ghost always mentioned.

And as for Aerith... man, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's development to Aerith is tremendous. It's well-known what happens to Aerith in the original game, not going to be mentioned because I don't wanna accidentally spoil it for anybody who hasn't played the original or the end of Rebirth, but if you have, I'm sure you have a good idea of what I'm talking about. It feels that Aerith has a lot more screen time in Rebirth than she ever did in FFVII Remake or the original. It's probably because Square knew during the development, fans knew what to expect, and how much of a reaction it ignited in people, so they couldn't mess up. Even though I already played the original Final Fantasy VII last year, and knew how the Remake trilogy was going to end, I still got attacked to Aerith's character, more than I ever did in the original. She spends so much time with Cloud, and with the knowledge of what comes later, it felt like not being able to stop a canon event.

One of Rebirth's key themes is loss, loss could be losing a game, or loss could be the loss of a loved one. The word "loss" is so dense because we can use it any way we decide to because we as humans are all different, to what we consider loss, and that thinking when it comes to loss is told in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Loss in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth could mean losing a battle or spending credits on the wrong item, but loss is much more in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth than gameplay mechanics. Most of the characters in the party have suffered a loss. Cloud has the loss of memories of his past, and Sephiroth shares the loss of identity with Cloud and Aerith. Other characters such as Barret, Tifa, Yuffie and Vincent can also be tied into this common theme of loss. Over the course of Rebirth's story, there is this notion that loss will come eventually, it's just a matter of how you accept that loss and what you do afterward. This can be tied into Aerith's character, she's somewhat telling the player to prepare for what's to come later to the game, and it hits like a truck when you feel that loss into the game's final act. Final Fantasy VII Remake introduced the whispers into the story, being the cause of why events in FFVII Remake were changing from the original. That way of changing the original story into Rebirth works amazingly well. At its core it tells the main story from the original up to the end of Disk 1, Rebirth adds new story content and fleshes out a lot of areas from the original game. And with all the shenanigans Sephoroth is up to in this game, the more crazy it gets. And that last arc and ending... man*.

Overall, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is one of the best RPG's I've played this year, and my 2024 game of the year so far. It's truly remarkable how Square pulled this Remake trilogy together, and Part 3 has to be insane. If Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was the Avengers Infinity War of JRPGs, Part 3 needs to be the Avengers Endgame of JRPGs. I loved everything about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and I don't really much anything major to complain about. All I want for Part 3 is for Square to go absolute apeshit with the story! Get all writers high and let them come up with the most, Kingdom Hearts level, confusing story for Part 3. Just improve onto the best things about Rebirth, and introduce new features in Part 3, and Square has one of the best trilogies in gaming, and perhaps in media.

Stats:
The 12th game I've completed in 2024
Played on PlayStation 5
Hours into Game: 48 Hours
Score: 10/10 (5/5)
Last Statement: I ain't gay but Sephorith👀

Yakuza Kiwami: Moving Past Zero

Yakuza Kiwami feels more alike Yakuza 0 from the time that I've spent playing with it. It makes me regret starting with Yakuza 0 as my first Yakuza game, the gameplay is very close to 0, and the world is very close to 0, and though it is not a bad thing, it makes me wish I started the series with this game than 0. I started with Yakuza 0 because it was the first game chronologically in the Yakuza timeline, but doing so kinda ruined my expectations for Yakuza Kiwami, so in the future when I start other game series I'm unfamiliar with, like Metal Gear Solid or Kingdom Hearts, I'll go in release order. Yakuza Kiwami, after coming off of beating Yakuza 0, feels somewhat like a DLC expansion to Yakuza 0, than its own actual game. Yes, I'm aware this a remake of the original Yakuza from PS2, and for that version, I will not be mentioning anything about it, due to the fact I have not played that version, my only experience is with Yakuza Kiwami, and treating it as it's own game, not treating as how it is a remake. Yakuza Kiwami, though a remake of the original Yakuza, feels more of the same as what I've played from Yakuza 0, graphics are recycled from Yakuza 0, gameplay is near-identical to Yakuza 0, and though it isn't a bad thing, it makes me feel that there isn't anything new with Yakuza Kiwami. I'm sure this wouldn't be an issue if I started with Yakuza Kiwami as my first Yakuza game, followed the release order, and then went into Yakuza 0, but I didn't, so it is an issue to me. But let me put my dumb decision to the side, despite feeling more of the same to Yakuza 0, I still had a great time with Yakuza Kiwami. It carries the best elements of Yakuza 0's gameplay, and by playing Yakuza 0 before Yakuza Kiwami, the story is enhanced, by knowing the narrative of Yakuza 0 prior.

The gameplay feels close to Yakuza 0, it has the four different fighting styles from Yakuza 0 that you can switch between in battle, and I'm glad it came back in Yakuza Kiwami. The four different fighting styles were one of my favorite gameplay elements from Yakuza 0, and it hasn't been touched too much from how it was in Yakuza 0. One of the new additions to Yakuza Kiwami has Majima follow the player and challenge them into a battle, similar to Mr. Shakedown from Yakuza 0, but is much better than Mr. Shakedown. Mr. Shakedown was in my opinion too easy and not too much of a treat in Yakuza 0, especially if you can catch him sleeping and rob him of all his cash, but Majima is a different beast. Majima gave me a run for my money in Yakuza Kiwami, he's harder than Mr. Shakedown due to the fact Majima carries melee weapons, though he wasn't too much of a treat, and the game encourages to fight Majima to leave up Kiryu's Dragon style, which I... didn't do too much of. I'm sure Kiryu's Dragon style is great, but I just couldn't be bothered doing all the side content to level it up, when I am perfectly fine with using Brawler, Rush, and Beast for my playthrough. Graphically, it is identical to Yakuza 0, which I assume is due to Yakuza Kiwami being developed soon after Yakuza 0, which isn't a bad thing, however, for someone like me who came off of Yakuza 0, it makes it feel somewhat of the same from before. The side quests are very similar to the ones in Yakuza 0, both are very comedic, and some side quests tie into other side quests from Yakuza 0, which is kind of confusing for someone who started with this game as their first Yakuza game, and makes me wonder if SEGA wants newcomers to start with Yakuza 0 or Yakuza Kiwami, or I'm just overthinking it and they don't give a shit as long as they get money. The side quests are as fun as they were in Yakuza 0, and that's kinda all I have to say about the side quests, it's just continuing the good stuff from Yakuza 0.

As for the story, it follows the original game's story, with most of the same cast from Yakuza 0. The characters are as charming as they very in Yakuza 0, and playing Yakuza 0 before Yakuza Kiwami really enhanced the way I looked at certain characters like Nishiki and Majima. I love Kiryu's arc in this game, he becomes a much more developed character in this game, and all the events that transpire, it truly leave an impact on him. I think I probably would have snubbed Nishiki if I hadn't played Yakuza 0 before this game, but man, Nishiki's character development in this game is insane. He went from simply existing as a character, to becoming one of my favorites in the series, and Majima just shines in every moment he's in, Majima never has a moment where he is out of place, he is always welcomed into the story, and became best boi easily. As for its core narrative, I don't really have too much to say about. I believe it's a great story, and provides more substance when it came to character development than Yakuza 0, however, Yakuza 0 does have a more memorable plot, while Yakuza Kiwami has more memorable character development. Yakuza Kiwami leaves a deeper and everlasting story than Yakuza 0, however, I was more invested in Yakuza 0's story than I was during my playthrough of Yakuza Kiwami.

As for any complaints I have with Yakuza Kiwami, I've mentioned before how it feels like a DLC expansion to Yakuza 0, and though I think it wouldn't have been a big of a deal if I played this game as my first Yakuza game, and saved Yakuza 0 for after I beat Yakuza 5, that feeling of it feeling like a DLC expansion kinda soiled my experience with Yakuza Kiwami. Yakuza Kiwami is a great game, but what it does great, is done better in Yakuza 0. Yakuza 0 is longer, Yakuza 0 has more content, and Yakuza 0 has a more investing plotline than Yakuza Kiwami.

Overall, I still had a great time with Yakuza Kiwami, and I look forward to hopping into Yakuza Kiwami 2 as my next Yakuza game. Though very similar to Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami stands out with its own story and side content, character development seen in characters like Nishiki and Kiryu, and with it's deeper narrative. Yakuza Kiwami is a great time to play, regardless if you've played Yakuza 0 before, or played Yakuza: Like A Dragon, or perhaps your starting with this game as your first Yakuza game. It's a fun time, there's never a stale moment in its gameplay or story. There is always something engaging with it.

Stats:
11th game I've completed in 2024
Played on PlayStation 4 (via PS5 backwards compatibility)
Hours into Game: 13 Hours
Score: 8/10 (4/5)
Last Statement: sorry if I mentioned Yakuza 0 too much*

Pikmin 2: The Definitive Sequel

Pikmin 2, in my opinion, is the perfect example of what I call a "Definitive Sequal". Everything about Pikmin 2 is just better than anything done in Pikmin 1. Pikmin 1 was a great game, however, in contrast to Pikmin 2, Pikmin 1 just felt like somewhat of a tech demo compared to Pikmin 2. I'm glad as a newcomer to the Pikmin series that I played Pikmin 1 before Pikmin 2, I previously considered either trying out Pikmin 3 or 4 as my entry points into the series, but starting off with the first two games was the best choice I made. Pikmin 2 feels like a more, better-developed version of Pikmin 1, gameplay is expanded upon with the introduction of the Purple and White Pikmin, as well as the introduction of Louie as the second in command. Louie is kinda like the Luigi of Pikmin, while Olimar is the Mario of Pikmin, being the face of the series (outside of the Pikmin themselves).

Pikmin 2 does everything a sequel should do, improve on top of the first game, and introduce new inclusions. Pikmin 2's gameplay is the same at it's core compared to Pikmin 1, however, Pikmin 2 introduces two new Pikmin, The purple and white Pikmin, and they are fantastic additions, alongside the big three, Red, Blue, and Yellow. The purple Pikmin are heavier, compared to the other Pikmin in the game, they deal more damage to enemies and can carry items more easily than other Pikmin, but they are slower, and not immune to any hazards. White Pikmin can resist poison and can dig up treasures from the ground. I love the inclusion of these new Pikmin, the purple Pikmin quickly became my favorite Pikmin to have, due to it being one hell of a tank with damage onto enemies, as well as making it easier to carry treasures. However, I like the White Pikmin, but they were my least favorite Pikmin to use throughout my playthrough.

I didn't have a lot of them stored, so I limited my use of them, only bringing them out with I found a breakable wall with poison or needed to dig up a treasure underground. One of the differences between the two new Pikmin compared to the original three is the fact that getting new purple/white Pikmin in your party is quite limiting compared to getting any new Pikmin from the original three. You can get new Pikmin of the original three types by bringing items to each respective pod, but for the Purple/White Pikmin, you have to find rare flowers called Candypop Buds, and even then, you can only create 5 per flower, so it is quite limiting. I don't mind this, I found my supply of Purple Pikmin to be constant throughout my playthrough, but by the end of my playthrough, I had less than 10 White Pikmin. This would be a problem if Pikmin 2 kept Pikmin 1's limited day system, but thankful, Pikmin 2 has scrapped that feature from Pikmin 1, and you can now spend as much time, without worrying about wasting your day.

I love this, I liked the limited day system from Pikmin 1, and I think bringing it back, as some sort of optional game mode would have been cool to bring more of a challenge to Pikmin 2, but the exclusion for Pikmin 2's core gameplay was the best decision. Pikmin 2 has so much more replayability than Pikmin 1, even after beating the game, I want to go back and collect every single treasure, and replay it again. Of course, nobody plays Pikmin for the story, but there is a story here. After the events of Pikmin 1, Oilmar comes back home and meets with his boss, who tells Oilmar that the company is in massive debt, and now needs to pay $10,000 to get rid of it. Olimar has to go back on the planet from the first game, alongside Louie, to find treasure and repay the debt. The story doesn't do anything but serve as a reason for the gameplay to exist, and for this type of game, it works.

Olimar and Louie are charming characters to play as, and the Pikmin are cute as they were before. The OST continues the beautiful, nature-sounding OST from Pikmin 1, and it's as good as it was in Pikmin 1. Hajime Wakai's compositions add a scene of life to Pikmin 2, just as he did in Pikmin 1. Every song just sounds perfect within each area of the game they play in. As for any complaints, I found the Pikmin AI to be not too great sometimes, and this was also one of my complaints I had with Pikmin 1, but it's not as bad here as it was in Pikmin 1, so I'll give it that.

Overall, Pikmin 2 as a definitive sequel, it does everything better than Pikmin 1, improves on it, and adds new additions. I absolutely loved my time with Pikmin 2, and can't wait to play Pikmin 3 and 4 later on.

Stats:
10th game I've completed in 2024
Played on Nintendo Switch (played the HD remaster from Pikmin 1 + 2 and wrote my review here cuz backloggd's system for ports/remasters suck)
Hours into Game: 12 hours and 10 minutes
Score: 9/10 (4.5/5)
Last Statement: Pik(men)

Persona 3 Reload: Life, Death, and Rebirth

Persona 5 Royal is my second favorite game of all time. It came to me during a confusing point in my life, when I didn't know where to go, or what to do. I adore Persona 5, and It's what got me into real RPGS, previously my portfolio was just Pokemon games and the Mario RPGs from the DS/3DS era that I've played, but Persona 5 got me to go play other RPG's like the Final Fantasy and Xenoblade, while also making me want to try out the other games in the wide Megaten ecosystem. After I first beat Persona 5 Royal, I was hooked on the entire Persona series. After I was done with Persona 5 Royal, I played Persona 4 Golden and loved it, not as much as I did with P5R, but still love.

I don't have a PSP or PS1, so can't comment about Persona 1 and 2, but despite only playing Persona 5 Royal and Persona 4 Golden, I have never gotten into Persona 3 yet at this point. The OG Persona 3 and FES are trapped on the PS2, and even with emulation possible, the fact that it does not have the feature to directly control your teammates was a turn-off for me, who was used to it in Persona 5 and 4. I was considering playing Persona 3 Portable (which I still might do eventually, only for FEMC since she ain't in Reload) since it did have direct commands, however, I ultimately decided to wait for Persona 3 Reload to come out since when I was thinking about this, it was only a few weeks before release. So I'm just saying all this to let you know my background with Persona 3, and Persona series in general.

I'm just going to talk about Persona 3 Reload, as its own game, without any comparisons to the original, FES, or Portable. Persona 3 Reload blew my expectations out of the water, I came into this game hoping for it to be on par with Persona 5 Royal, and I came out with that, and though as of now I hold Persona 5 Royal over Persona 3 Reload, it is possible for me in a few years to change my mind. Persona 3 Reload does everything right, it gives a cast of loveable characters, the best gameplay that the series has so far, and a story that has made me think about it for days after beating it. The gameplay feels smoother than it ever was, Tartarus is a great change from the palaces/dungeons I was used to In Persona 4 and Persona 5, and I wouldn't mind if sometihng similar to Tartarus comes in Persona 6, but I'd still like dungeons/palaces too. Each block in Tartarus feels unique enough from the other, and it creates a gameplay experience that I sometimes liked more than the palaces/dungeons in Persona 5 and 4, which is probably a controversal opinon, and I might just have recentcy bias towards Tartarus.

I love how Atlus took some inspiration from Persona 5's art style and used that inspiration to give Persona 3 Reload its own unique art style. I love the blue coloring of the UI, it makes going to the menus feel like a mini art piece every time. I love how sometimes when you attack a shadow with the right weakness element, there's a close-up shot of the character's face, as their Persona breaks through it and attacks the shadow. Little stuff like that makes it stand out from not only the original Persona 3 but also every other Persona game. One thing I do have to say about Reload's art style is with it is to the original game's art style. Yes, I loved Reload's art style, but the original had it's own, sorta edgy art style too, which isn't really here in Reload, which I would have liked, but it's not a major deal for me, but it is for those who loved the Original. The social links in Reload feel kinda weak some paired to social links in Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal, but since Persona 3 was the first Persona game to introduce social links, it's pulled off really well, for it's first time in a Persona game.

I found it weird there weren't any social links with the main party members sooner, you have to have max social stats in a specific category to start it. Like in Mitsuru's social link, you need max academics to start her social link, and even then you start her link kinda around the late game. Not only you start the social links for the main cast later, it's only the female members in the main party that have social links. Sadly Jumpei, Akakiko, Shinjiro, and Ken don't have social links, which I was bumped out to find out. I would have found their social links more interesting than Yukari's and Fuuka's, which I liked, but it just sorta bummed me out coming off of the social links from Persona 5 and Persona 4 but despite that, Persona 3 Reload has some of the best social links in the series.

My favorite in Persona 3 Reload has to be Akinari's social link, his story is a tragedy, and without spoilers, is one of the highlights that conveys the game's theme of death. I believe the reason I play Persona, is for what each game has to tell in its story. Persona 5 Royal had the theme of rebellion, Persona 4 Golden and the theme of seeking the truth, and with Persona 3 Reload, it has the theme of Death. This concept dives deep into the story, and creates a narrative that has stuck with me for days since I beat it. It is the question of life and death, that this game attempts to answer it. In the game, you play through the MC, and see what his life is like, with social links and the bonds he has with others. By the end of the game, the MC finds the answer to that question, ultimately, passing the baton onto the player, as you think of your own answer to the question of life and death, as you watch the credits.

Persona 3 Reload's story, narrative, and themes are truly spectacular. It's the type of story I love in any type of media, regardless if it's a game, movie, tv show, anime, manga, book, or album, I love it when a piece of art, such as Persona 3 Reload, can have me still thinking about it for days and weeks after being done with it. Persona 3 Reload pulls you into it's narrative and gets you unknowingly invested in this tale. Life goes on as you play, like how days pass, both in real life and in the game, but there is also death. Death can come any time, you never know when death will come to your door.

It can come all of a sudden, and that's what Persona 3 Reload conveys. There's death, and there is no way to stop it, but there is also rebirth afterward, not in the game, but in you, the player. You are reborn, with the knowledge of life and death, now it is up to you, how you will use it. Will you forge links and bonds with the people you care about? Will you make the most of each day you have in your life before death? With your rebirth, what will you do when death comes? That is what Persona 3 Reload asks you. Overall, Persona 3 Reload is a true marvel of a persona game. It has the best gameplay the series has the offer, some the best narratives and story-telling reimagined today. Regardless if you've played the original, FES, Portable or not played any version of Persona 3 yet, please do so. Reload is a must for all Persona fans.

Stats:
9th game in 2024 I've completed
Played on PlayStation 5
Hours into Game: 70 hours
Score: 10/10 (5/5)
Last Statement: Ace Dective? More like-

Pikmin: Stepping Stone Towards Better To Come

Pikmin began as a series created by Mario creator, Shigeru Miyamoto. The foundation of Pikmin can be found in a GameCube-era tech demo called Super Mario 128, it showed the performance of the GameCube, being able to animate 128 copies of Mario at once, and this concept of multiple characters running at once moved over to what we know today as Pikmin. Pikmin is probably one of the more unique Nintendo series out there. There's your normal Mario's, Zelda's and Metroid's, as well Fire Emblem and Xenoblade for the weebs, but Pikmin as a series is kinda the middle child of Nintendo IPs. It's not as popular as Mario or Zelda, but it's not as niche as Fire Emblem or Xenoblade over here in the west. I initially knew Pikmin only as the series Olimar from Super Smash Bros was from, said 9-year-old me.

I remember trying out Pikmin before, I believe I played either Pikmin 1 or 2 on my old Wii before, I don't know which one exactly, but I never completed it, and I didn't like the controls. I was only a kid at the time, so it was only natural for me to be dogshit at games that weren't Mario or Pokemon. I decided to pick up Pikmin 1 + 2 on the Switch because this was the most accessible version available to me as a newcomer to the series. (I'm writing my review here because backloggd's system when it comes to ports/remasters is dogshit) I am able to play the Wii version of Pikmin 1 & 2, but I've heard about the mixed reception of the motion controls, and with a game like Pikmin, I didn't hate myself enough to subject myself to motion controls, so I got the Switch version. I'll be writing about Pikmin 1 here and Pikmin 2 later, for now, all I have to say about Pikmin 1 is that Pikmin 1 was such a nice change of pace from all the games I've played this year so far.

It was sorta calming to play this game, the soundtrack was composed by Hajime Wakai and adds so much to crafting the atmosphere when you explore this planet as Olimar. Olimar is a Hocotatian (I checked the Pikmin wiki to make sure before I made a fool of myself and say Olimar was human. Pikmin lore goes deep) who crashes his ship onto the planet where the Pikmin inhabit. Since Oilmar's ship is out of work, he befriends the Pikmin and uses them to collect the missing pieces of his ship on the planet to make sure he has all the pieces, or else in 30 days, the oxygen in his space helmet will run out, and he will die. You have limited time each day you play Pikmin, each day matters, and it's best to use each day to its best by either getting a missing piece of the ship or harvesting some more Pikmin. In Pikmin 1, there are only 3 types of Pikmin, Red Pikmin, Blue Pikmin, and Yellow Pikmin.

Red Pikmin are the first ones you get in the game and can withstand flames and anything similar to heat, Blue Pikmin can be brought underwater while the other ones melt to death, and Yellow Pikmin can withstand electricity. Compared to Pikmin 2, and the later games, this is quite basic, but as the first game in the series, it works and works perfectly for newcomers. This is the perfect entry point for me, I was able to understand the 3 basic Pikmin types perfectly, and going into Pikmin 2 after this game felt like a smooth transition. Pikmin isn't a game you play for a story, it's all about gameplay, and the gameplay is so satisfying. Compared to Pikmin 2, it's quite basic since this was the first game, but I still had a fun time with it. It was fun to explore the little planet with the Pikmin and explore to find treasure.

I found myself caring for the Pikmin I had around me, I felt like a guardian protecting its little ones, and whenever I lost one of them to an enemy, I made sure me and my children got sweet revenge by killing it and harvet its body to create more Pikmin. Surprisingly kinda dark for a Nintendo game. (insert Spongebob roller coaster meme here) To be honest, I don't have a lot to say here, because most of my praises are for Pikmin 2, but what I will say is that one of my issues with Pikmin 1, was that I felt that the Pikmin could just ignore you sometimes. Sometimes I threw a Pikmin at an enemy just for the Pikmin to walk around blind like they Stevie Wonder, but also another issue was that compared to Pikmin 2, there's not a lot of replay value. Of course, you can try to speed-run it, but everything after Pikmin 1 just does a better job. Overall, Pikmin 1 was a nice change of pace from what else I was playing this year. I believe this was the first RTS I ever played, and I loved it.

Stats:
8th Game I've Completed In 2024
Played on Nintendo Switch
Hours into Game: 10 hours
Score: 8/10 (4/5)
Last Statement: Red Pikmin best pikmin