Manfred
2001
This is the kind of game where I can't imagine what it feels like to experience the game for the first time blind. I read people's reviews, watch youtube videos about the game, and it feels like they're describing a completely foreign experience.
Everything about this game is second nature to me, what it feels like to find the game stiff and janky instead of finding its sense of control as natural as riding a bike is something I'll never really know again. This game controls more naturally to me than DMC5, I can't imagine that makes sense or can be backed up on an objective level, it's the kind of sensory experience that games embody best in my eyes.
It's nice when you have something like that for you, something that thanks to the long hours spent with it fits you like a tailored suit. Something that you can always return to and remember, "damn, i love games don't I".
Everything about this game is second nature to me, what it feels like to find the game stiff and janky instead of finding its sense of control as natural as riding a bike is something I'll never really know again. This game controls more naturally to me than DMC5, I can't imagine that makes sense or can be backed up on an objective level, it's the kind of sensory experience that games embody best in my eyes.
It's nice when you have something like that for you, something that thanks to the long hours spent with it fits you like a tailored suit. Something that you can always return to and remember, "damn, i love games don't I".
A game about being haunted by what could have been, a game about knowing exactly what you're going to be haunted by for the rest of your life before you've even had a chance to really live it, and a game about the tragedy of not being able to stop someone from being haunted the way you were.
And above all a game about knowing that in the midst of that, there are still experiences that are worth fighting to see, people that are worth fighting to save. Even if there are just a few.
And above all a game about knowing that in the midst of that, there are still experiences that are worth fighting to see, people that are worth fighting to save. Even if there are just a few.
2012
This review contains spoilers
I don't agree with people at all when they say this game ends with a cliffhanger
Thematically speaking, Kiryu clawing his way back to the city while fatally wounded even after completing his mission because he knows people are waiting for him, is the most cathartic way to end a game (and this pentalogy as a whole) after 4 games of Kiryu just being like "guess i'll die".
Way more cathartic and interesting at least than Yakuza 6 having Kiryu regress back into his "i don't need to be here anymore actually..." mindset
Thematically speaking, Kiryu clawing his way back to the city while fatally wounded even after completing his mission because he knows people are waiting for him, is the most cathartic way to end a game (and this pentalogy as a whole) after 4 games of Kiryu just being like "guess i'll die".
Way more cathartic and interesting at least than Yakuza 6 having Kiryu regress back into his "i don't need to be here anymore actually..." mindset
Interesting experience. Like revisiting a childhood home after years and finding that someone else lived there in the meantime and redecorated it. Nostalgic and nice, but sometimes a bit strange.
I don't wanna sound like an asshole but I really can't be seen playing games like this
I spent a lot of this game reading, I wasn't reading anything really, Ringo was reading. Mostly books I'd never read, the kind I feel intimidated by, books that would go over my head. It felt like it gave me a little purpose with a routine, earning money to buy books and spending time to read the books. I didn't think there'd be a reward for it, I just did it, it became a nice little habit to find a scenic spot in town and just watch Ringo sit back and tear through Ulysses or something. Feels a bit stupid looking back on it but some in-game days I spent doing nothing but this. It came to an end, unceremoniously, ran out of books. Not much to show for, doing that didn't amount to anything tangible for Ringo or for me but it was some peace of mind in a way.
I had the freedom to do so much in this game, make Ringo be anything he could be, and I chose to create a basic routine anyone could do in real life, probably to greater benefit, not even sure why. Before the game came to an end I didn't really find a new main activity or routine to replace this with. Some little distractions, getting drunk, smoking, squatting, trying and failing to reenact that one cool shot from Blue Spring, small stuff. I just went on and on and on and on and on and on and on.
I blew through the game in like a day, the next day felt a bit emptier without loading up Ringo Ishikawa and continuing his daily life.
Sorry to sound corny but there's this one line in Texhnolyze I keep thinking about, "True freedom can't lean on anything. It's transient, lonely, arduous. You can't hope for any security or reward beyond it". That's how it felt, very beautiful, I'm still thinking about it.
I had the freedom to do so much in this game, make Ringo be anything he could be, and I chose to create a basic routine anyone could do in real life, probably to greater benefit, not even sure why. Before the game came to an end I didn't really find a new main activity or routine to replace this with. Some little distractions, getting drunk, smoking, squatting, trying and failing to reenact that one cool shot from Blue Spring, small stuff. I just went on and on and on and on and on and on and on.
I blew through the game in like a day, the next day felt a bit emptier without loading up Ringo Ishikawa and continuing his daily life.
Sorry to sound corny but there's this one line in Texhnolyze I keep thinking about, "True freedom can't lean on anything. It's transient, lonely, arduous. You can't hope for any security or reward beyond it". That's how it felt, very beautiful, I'm still thinking about it.
"The prolonged day's pleasantness is short lived, I sigh deeply as it comes to an end"
A look at escapism by presenting you with a video game with all the pretense of excitement cruelly stripped away from you the longer your stay in paradise goes on for. Yet as cynical as that sounds, the game is far more heartfelt and interesting than most people's descriptions will let on.
One of Suda's best, and the spiritual successor to Takeshi's Challenge
A look at escapism by presenting you with a video game with all the pretense of excitement cruelly stripped away from you the longer your stay in paradise goes on for. Yet as cynical as that sounds, the game is far more heartfelt and interesting than most people's descriptions will let on.
One of Suda's best, and the spiritual successor to Takeshi's Challenge
2013
Story written like it was by a third rate Suda imitator making up for its sheer nothingness with very strong visuals and cinematography all the while sporting equally shallow but visually dazzling gameplay that despite sharing some mechanics with NMH (and probably being the deeper game overall) never comes close to that game's visceral edge and skillful direction
I wish I jived with the aesthetic and writing style enough to excuse how little there is going on but the game kept promising something deeper and more interesting yet ended right when things were actually about to get engaging
I wish I jived with the aesthetic and writing style enough to excuse how little there is going on but the game kept promising something deeper and more interesting yet ended right when things were actually about to get engaging