MarlBocks
716 Reviews liked by MarlBocks
The Messenger
2018
Pretty fun game all things considered! Super fun levels all around with some fun movement options. The latter half of the game doesn't stick the landing as much as the first, but it's still overall a really enjoyable time!
Pizza Tower
2023
Que jogo incrível, especialmente o mundo final. Muito divertido, me fez chorar de rir e ter um sorriso de ponta a ponta. Tem uma trilha sonora e uma animação inacreditável também, só joguem!
É difícil existir algo tão interessante, com tão boa música, estética e ambientação quanto SMT Strange Journey, o mais desafiador da franquia que joguei até então, tanto na exploração de dungeons quanto em seus picos de dificuldade em bosses específicos. Existem diferenças quanto ao Press Turn System que podem ser uma armadilha fatal para qualquer um que decida jogar o jogo hoje em dia, afinal é necessário usar um dos novos sistemas do jogo, que é o compartilhamento de demônios por meio de uma senha hash e... bem... não é como se fosse comum encontrar pessoas que estão jogando algo que sequer é possível de se obter de formas legais atualmente. Outra mudança aos sistemas comuns na franquia, é a adição de Demon Sources(DS) na fusão de demônios, é bacana, mas não entendo porquê diminuir a quantidade habitual de skills dos demônios de 8 para 6 visto que as DSs embaralham ainda mais a permanência de skills nos produtos de fusões, e que o protagonista só pode ter 3 skills. Strange Journey beira a perfeição, mas infelizmente existem algumas seções na exploração que distoam muito em "complicação" do resto do jogo, não só na infame dungeon Eridanus mas também na dungeon final, e outra coisa... Existe um salto de dificuldade gigantesco do penúltimo boss para o último em um ponto que vencer é questão de sorte ou grind extremo, felizmente fui sortudo e consegui vencer em um nível normal (79) mas foi com a melhor party que tive em qualquer playthrough em qualquer jogo da franquia, mesmo considerando outros infames em sua dificuldade como o Nocturne(TDE).
Venho pensado nesse jogo recentemente e de como ele é absolutamente superior ao primeiro mesmo com tanto esforço pra ser odiado. Usa muito bem a estrutura clássica de "mundos e fases" para ter conjuntos específicos de zumbis e mecânicas de cenário para fazer cada um desses períodos de tempo visitados pelo Dave Doidão ter seu próprio charme, assim como ter seu próprio desafio. Diferentemente de seu antecessor, It's About Time é um jogo desafiador que requer não só estratégia e escolhas que importam por parte do jogador, como maleabilidade e agilidade, sobretudo nos mundos mais desafiadores como "A Praia" (não lembro o nome exato). Porém, esse jogo é repleto de microtransações, incluindo de plantas bloqueadas disponíveis apenas por meio dessas, isso é horrível, mas a pior parte dessa questão é como o jogo permite ser banalizado com a mecânica de jardinagem cujo o único propósito é criar vitórias instantâneas para aqueles que desejam injetar dinheiro de forma desenfreada no jogo.
The praise this game gets confuses me. Breath of the Wild itself was nothing particularly earthshattering, and this game is just Breath of the Wild again. The problem is that what made BOTW novel is not anymore. We've seen this type of expansive open world before. It's not impressive anymore.
Of course, more land was added, but what was added is half as much of what was worth exploring in BOTW. The skylands mostly exist for dungeons and chests, nothing more or less. There isn't enough landmass up there aside from the tutorial zone for it to feel like a whole new second map. The underground zone too is stagnant, introducing an annoying gimmick with an intense difficulty spike that makes exploring it a pain.
I understand that the new building system is technically impressive. I'm a game designer, I see this. However, just because something is impressive does not make it good. The fusing system itself does allow for a bunch of interesting puzzles, but it's the same gimmick reused for every single puzzle. Eventually, this mechanic too has its novelty wear off, and unless you have a degree in engineering or loved Banjo Kazooie Nuts 'n' Bolts too much, you won't be getting a lot out of it. Yes, it is impressive what it can do and that it functions at all, and the possibilities available to players is commendable. It is a feat in design that a lot of these puzzles have more than one solution. Yet the game does not force you to create anything super outside the box. While I said most puzzles have more than one solution, it is made very clear that there is 1 "right" way and every other solution is a player either a: intentionally breaking the game or b: not understanding the signs. Nowhere are you challenged to make an army of inter-continental strike drones. You can, and those who know how will, but this will never cross the mind of the average player. Had this game pushed the bounds of what this system could do perhaps I could find more praise for it. But they don't, it exists as simply a gimmick to justify the long development time and to show off a shiny new tech thing.
With this games announcement we were promised a much heavier story focus. We got slightly more story than BOTW. What we got was quite decent honestly, but it was the same egghunt from before to find all these things. This time, you just couldn't skip the intro story segment. What they gave us simply didn't carry the weight it should.
The intense amount of continuity errors are annoying too. The game hints to why this may be, but it simply does not make sense. This game likes the idea of being a direct sequel while also being too caught up in trying to rewrite it's own history. Where are the Divine Beasts? Where are the Guardians? Where is the fucking Shrine of Resurrection? Things vital to BOTW have vanished without a trace and the game refuses to explain itself. It should have, anyone who played BOTW would have noticed all of this immediately. There needs to be a reason for the sudden disappearance, and I sure would have liked to see it totally explained than just hoping I will take "time travel shenanigans" as an answer.
Tears of the Kingdom looks at what Breath of the Wild did well and misunderstands why it did well. The open world was good because it was so vast and nothing like any game had had before. Now, we have the same open world with minor variance, causing less desire to explore, and the marvel of such a vast world is now lost since it was done before. Of course, following up something like BOTW would prove to be a monolithic task regardless. Instead of improving the things BOTW did wrong, like the dungeons and puzzles, to try and succeed it's predecessor, it simply creates new things that solve nothing. Tears of the Kingdom prays its rehashed world with new zones will be enough to entice the player for the same hundreds of hours we all dumped into BOTW.
This game will forever be shadowed by it's predecessor. Not because the task was too big, but because they did not focus on the right things. Perhaps if Breath of the Wild never released, this game would be far better. Instead, it is a expansion in disguise as a $70 videogame. Shameless.
Just like Polyphia, just because something is hard to do does not immediately justify a perfect score. In a vacuum, the new system is very good, but the game simply does not allow for it to be as good as it can be, and in an attempt to perfect this feat in physics engineering and simulation, Nintendo seemingly forgot about the other aspects that make a Zelda game a Zelda game.
Of course, more land was added, but what was added is half as much of what was worth exploring in BOTW. The skylands mostly exist for dungeons and chests, nothing more or less. There isn't enough landmass up there aside from the tutorial zone for it to feel like a whole new second map. The underground zone too is stagnant, introducing an annoying gimmick with an intense difficulty spike that makes exploring it a pain.
I understand that the new building system is technically impressive. I'm a game designer, I see this. However, just because something is impressive does not make it good. The fusing system itself does allow for a bunch of interesting puzzles, but it's the same gimmick reused for every single puzzle. Eventually, this mechanic too has its novelty wear off, and unless you have a degree in engineering or loved Banjo Kazooie Nuts 'n' Bolts too much, you won't be getting a lot out of it. Yes, it is impressive what it can do and that it functions at all, and the possibilities available to players is commendable. It is a feat in design that a lot of these puzzles have more than one solution. Yet the game does not force you to create anything super outside the box. While I said most puzzles have more than one solution, it is made very clear that there is 1 "right" way and every other solution is a player either a: intentionally breaking the game or b: not understanding the signs. Nowhere are you challenged to make an army of inter-continental strike drones. You can, and those who know how will, but this will never cross the mind of the average player. Had this game pushed the bounds of what this system could do perhaps I could find more praise for it. But they don't, it exists as simply a gimmick to justify the long development time and to show off a shiny new tech thing.
With this games announcement we were promised a much heavier story focus. We got slightly more story than BOTW. What we got was quite decent honestly, but it was the same egghunt from before to find all these things. This time, you just couldn't skip the intro story segment. What they gave us simply didn't carry the weight it should.
The intense amount of continuity errors are annoying too. The game hints to why this may be, but it simply does not make sense. This game likes the idea of being a direct sequel while also being too caught up in trying to rewrite it's own history. Where are the Divine Beasts? Where are the Guardians? Where is the fucking Shrine of Resurrection? Things vital to BOTW have vanished without a trace and the game refuses to explain itself. It should have, anyone who played BOTW would have noticed all of this immediately. There needs to be a reason for the sudden disappearance, and I sure would have liked to see it totally explained than just hoping I will take "time travel shenanigans" as an answer.
Tears of the Kingdom looks at what Breath of the Wild did well and misunderstands why it did well. The open world was good because it was so vast and nothing like any game had had before. Now, we have the same open world with minor variance, causing less desire to explore, and the marvel of such a vast world is now lost since it was done before. Of course, following up something like BOTW would prove to be a monolithic task regardless. Instead of improving the things BOTW did wrong, like the dungeons and puzzles, to try and succeed it's predecessor, it simply creates new things that solve nothing. Tears of the Kingdom prays its rehashed world with new zones will be enough to entice the player for the same hundreds of hours we all dumped into BOTW.
This game will forever be shadowed by it's predecessor. Not because the task was too big, but because they did not focus on the right things. Perhaps if Breath of the Wild never released, this game would be far better. Instead, it is a expansion in disguise as a $70 videogame. Shameless.
Just like Polyphia, just because something is hard to do does not immediately justify a perfect score. In a vacuum, the new system is very good, but the game simply does not allow for it to be as good as it can be, and in an attempt to perfect this feat in physics engineering and simulation, Nintendo seemingly forgot about the other aspects that make a Zelda game a Zelda game.
Yakuza 0
2015
This review contains spoilers
Now outta my way, YOU MEAT SACKS!
Yakuza 0 is the most popular entry of the franchise and it is widely considered to be the best one. After beating Yakuza 0, it became one of those games where i sit through the credits looking like a sad idiot, and that's one of the highest praises that i could give to a videogame. It's also a game where it felt like the hours flew by, i could sit down, boot up the game and then BOOM! 4 hours gone.
You have 2 playable protags: Kiryu and Majima. Yakuza 0 is a prequel set in 1988 where we get to see Kiryu before he became the dragon of dojima and Majima before he became the mad dog of shimano. Both Kiryu and Majima have multiple fighting styles that you can switch whenever you want during fights. I already talked about Kiryu's fighting styles on my kiwami review so i'm not gonna do that again.
Thug style is quicker and more accurate than Kiryu's brawler style but it does less damage and it doesn't have a very wide range making it not good against group of enemies, but if you're fighting only 1 enemy then you can easily kick their ass.
Slugger style is absolutely op, you have a bat that is good for literally everything, and slugger can tear down bosses with ez.
Breaker style is EASILY my favorite style in the entire game, even tho it isn't very good against bosses, it makes fighting groups of enemies a walk in the park. I didn't unlock the 4th style because the management games really suck! But you know what doesn't suck? That's right the disco minigame. On the disco minigame you get to pick between a bunch of songs that have 3 difficulties, and once you pick a song it is time to murder the dance floor! You take control of a silly little avatar that you have to move and hit a button on the tile it shows up on. The more steps your avatar takes the more points you get when you hit a button on the correct time. You can also have dance battles but no matter how hard you try you will never beat the GOAT Miracle Johnson.
You also have a fever meter which is really helpful to earn some points. Also quick hot take but queen of the passion is the best disco song, and yes i even prefer it over friday night. The bosses in this game were surprising really great, all the yakuza games i've played so far had mostly alright bosses with some exceptions of course. Anyways here are my favorite bosses of the game:
1.Keiji Shibusawa and Lao Gui.
It's very hard for me to decide which i one i prefer, they both have sick ass movesets that change and dope arenas that also change! Both of them also have amazing boss intros and an awesome theme.
2.Hiroki Awano
FINALLY I GET TO BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF THIS CLOWN
3.Kuze (final fight)
Oath of enma is genuinely a top 3 boss theme for me, and goddamn this fight made me realise how fucking cool Kuze is.
4.Homare Nishitani
Majima before Majima
5.Masaru Sera
Sera has one of the coolest fighting styles imo and i personally found this to be the hardest boss in the game.
The substories in this game are on par with Y5's substories which is saying a lot! More games should have sidequests where you have a dance battle with Michael Jackson. ALSO MY BOI SHINJI GOT HIS OWN SUBSTORY.
Ok now lets talk about the story, and oh boi what a story. Kiryu and Majima have fantastic stories filled with amazing characters that are brought to life by awesome voice acting. Most of Kiryu's story is in kamurocho but most of Majima's story is in sotenbori which is a new city. Kiryu's story is fricking amazing. My favorite side character in this game is Tachibana.
At first Tachibana had an air of sketchiness to him and i never would have thought that this dude would later earn my trust and get me on the verge of tears TWICE. I still get sad knowing that Tachibana died before seeing his sister. Even Kiryu shed tears when Tachibana died.Y0 has some gud villains like Sagawa or Shibusawa but the one that stands on top for me is Kuze. At the start of the game Kuze is presented as an asshole but as you progress through the story and after so many fights with him, you discover that Kuze is the most respectable dojima family lieutenant and he is easily the most memorable out of the 3. If you pay attention on the dialogue of the final Kuze fight, you would notice that Kiryu starts to call him sir, so yeah even Kiryu respects Kuze. Shibusawa started off as the most respectable lieutenant but it turns out that he is a dick! But something good that Shibusawa did was getting his ass beaten by Kiryu which made Kiryu become the dragon of dojima. Awano is still a bit of an asshole but he gained a bit of respect when he saved Majima. Another scene that got me on the verge of tears on Kiryu's story is the last scene with Nishiki and Kiryu on chapter 6, this scene hits harder when you know the events of kiwami 1, and this scene in particular is when i started falling in love with Y0's story.Now its time for Majima's story which i personally found to be better than Kiryu's story. I am used to the crazy Majima that everyone knows and love, but like i mentioned before we see Majima before he becomes the mad dog of shimano which was very intriguing. My fav part about Majima's story is Makoto, a blind girl who is very important to the story of the game. Majima was hired to kill Makoto but he couldn't do it, but instead he did the opposite and helped her, and why did he do that? Love. Sadly at the end of the game Majima cuts his ties with Makoto, because he knows that being with Makoto could put her in danger. Wen Hai Lee was also an interesting character, he was an ally to Majima and Makoto and he also looks like a discount Saejima, but sadly he went out with a bang. Sagawa is a very underrated villain, similar to Kuze he is a character that i first despised but at the end he grew on me. I could keep gushing on and on about this game's story and characters, Y0 has without a doubt one of my favorite stories in videogames and Majima is easily one of my fav characters oat.
You can't make a review about a yakuza game without talking about its music. So is the Yakuza 0 ost any good? Well out of all the yakuza games i played this has my favorite ost out of all of them, and that is really impressive considering that both yakuza 4 and 5 are in my top 10 videogame OSTs. Anyways here are my favorite songs:
Pledge of demon is one of the 2 boss themes of Kuze, and this theme in particular certainly makes you feel like you are fighting a badass old man.
Reign plays when you kick everyones ass on the dojima hq as Majima, and oh my god this god tier song just made that already amazing moment so much better
Oath of enma is Kuze's 2nd boss theme and it only plays during his final fight, and i personally think that this is a better boss theme than pledge of the demon.
I've already said this before but i'll say it louder, QUEEN OF THE PASSION IS THE BEST DISCO SONG!
With vengeance is Awano's boss theme and it is on par with oath of enma for me.
Two dragons is Shibusawa's boss theme and idk man they just cooked with the boss themes of all 3 lieutenants.
Firelight plays during the 8th long battle and similar to reign it makes an already amazing moment even better. The leveling system is one of complaints about the game, i wasn't a very big fan of it and i wish they kept the leveling system of yakuza 4 and 5. Another complaint i have is that the 4th styles are locked behind those stupid and unfun management minigames. I don't have any other complaints about this game. It is crazy that i bought this game for 5 euros, for such a cheap price i got an excellent game that easily sneaked into my favorites.
10/10 not my favorite yakuza game but it is my favorite 2015 game
Yakuza 0 is the most popular entry of the franchise and it is widely considered to be the best one. After beating Yakuza 0, it became one of those games where i sit through the credits looking like a sad idiot, and that's one of the highest praises that i could give to a videogame. It's also a game where it felt like the hours flew by, i could sit down, boot up the game and then BOOM! 4 hours gone.
You have 2 playable protags: Kiryu and Majima. Yakuza 0 is a prequel set in 1988 where we get to see Kiryu before he became the dragon of dojima and Majima before he became the mad dog of shimano. Both Kiryu and Majima have multiple fighting styles that you can switch whenever you want during fights. I already talked about Kiryu's fighting styles on my kiwami review so i'm not gonna do that again.
Thug style is quicker and more accurate than Kiryu's brawler style but it does less damage and it doesn't have a very wide range making it not good against group of enemies, but if you're fighting only 1 enemy then you can easily kick their ass.
Slugger style is absolutely op, you have a bat that is good for literally everything, and slugger can tear down bosses with ez.
Breaker style is EASILY my favorite style in the entire game, even tho it isn't very good against bosses, it makes fighting groups of enemies a walk in the park. I didn't unlock the 4th style because the management games really suck! But you know what doesn't suck? That's right the disco minigame. On the disco minigame you get to pick between a bunch of songs that have 3 difficulties, and once you pick a song it is time to murder the dance floor! You take control of a silly little avatar that you have to move and hit a button on the tile it shows up on. The more steps your avatar takes the more points you get when you hit a button on the correct time. You can also have dance battles but no matter how hard you try you will never beat the GOAT Miracle Johnson.
You also have a fever meter which is really helpful to earn some points. Also quick hot take but queen of the passion is the best disco song, and yes i even prefer it over friday night. The bosses in this game were surprising really great, all the yakuza games i've played so far had mostly alright bosses with some exceptions of course. Anyways here are my favorite bosses of the game:
1.Keiji Shibusawa and Lao Gui.
It's very hard for me to decide which i one i prefer, they both have sick ass movesets that change and dope arenas that also change! Both of them also have amazing boss intros and an awesome theme.
2.Hiroki Awano
FINALLY I GET TO BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF THIS CLOWN
3.Kuze (final fight)
Oath of enma is genuinely a top 3 boss theme for me, and goddamn this fight made me realise how fucking cool Kuze is.
4.Homare Nishitani
Majima before Majima
5.Masaru Sera
Sera has one of the coolest fighting styles imo and i personally found this to be the hardest boss in the game.
The substories in this game are on par with Y5's substories which is saying a lot! More games should have sidequests where you have a dance battle with Michael Jackson. ALSO MY BOI SHINJI GOT HIS OWN SUBSTORY.
Ok now lets talk about the story, and oh boi what a story. Kiryu and Majima have fantastic stories filled with amazing characters that are brought to life by awesome voice acting. Most of Kiryu's story is in kamurocho but most of Majima's story is in sotenbori which is a new city. Kiryu's story is fricking amazing. My favorite side character in this game is Tachibana.
At first Tachibana had an air of sketchiness to him and i never would have thought that this dude would later earn my trust and get me on the verge of tears TWICE. I still get sad knowing that Tachibana died before seeing his sister. Even Kiryu shed tears when Tachibana died.Y0 has some gud villains like Sagawa or Shibusawa but the one that stands on top for me is Kuze. At the start of the game Kuze is presented as an asshole but as you progress through the story and after so many fights with him, you discover that Kuze is the most respectable dojima family lieutenant and he is easily the most memorable out of the 3. If you pay attention on the dialogue of the final Kuze fight, you would notice that Kiryu starts to call him sir, so yeah even Kiryu respects Kuze. Shibusawa started off as the most respectable lieutenant but it turns out that he is a dick! But something good that Shibusawa did was getting his ass beaten by Kiryu which made Kiryu become the dragon of dojima. Awano is still a bit of an asshole but he gained a bit of respect when he saved Majima. Another scene that got me on the verge of tears on Kiryu's story is the last scene with Nishiki and Kiryu on chapter 6, this scene hits harder when you know the events of kiwami 1, and this scene in particular is when i started falling in love with Y0's story.Now its time for Majima's story which i personally found to be better than Kiryu's story. I am used to the crazy Majima that everyone knows and love, but like i mentioned before we see Majima before he becomes the mad dog of shimano which was very intriguing. My fav part about Majima's story is Makoto, a blind girl who is very important to the story of the game. Majima was hired to kill Makoto but he couldn't do it, but instead he did the opposite and helped her, and why did he do that? Love. Sadly at the end of the game Majima cuts his ties with Makoto, because he knows that being with Makoto could put her in danger. Wen Hai Lee was also an interesting character, he was an ally to Majima and Makoto and he also looks like a discount Saejima, but sadly he went out with a bang. Sagawa is a very underrated villain, similar to Kuze he is a character that i first despised but at the end he grew on me. I could keep gushing on and on about this game's story and characters, Y0 has without a doubt one of my favorite stories in videogames and Majima is easily one of my fav characters oat.
You can't make a review about a yakuza game without talking about its music. So is the Yakuza 0 ost any good? Well out of all the yakuza games i played this has my favorite ost out of all of them, and that is really impressive considering that both yakuza 4 and 5 are in my top 10 videogame OSTs. Anyways here are my favorite songs:
Pledge of demon is one of the 2 boss themes of Kuze, and this theme in particular certainly makes you feel like you are fighting a badass old man.
Reign plays when you kick everyones ass on the dojima hq as Majima, and oh my god this god tier song just made that already amazing moment so much better
Oath of enma is Kuze's 2nd boss theme and it only plays during his final fight, and i personally think that this is a better boss theme than pledge of the demon.
I've already said this before but i'll say it louder, QUEEN OF THE PASSION IS THE BEST DISCO SONG!
With vengeance is Awano's boss theme and it is on par with oath of enma for me.
Two dragons is Shibusawa's boss theme and idk man they just cooked with the boss themes of all 3 lieutenants.
Firelight plays during the 8th long battle and similar to reign it makes an already amazing moment even better. The leveling system is one of complaints about the game, i wasn't a very big fan of it and i wish they kept the leveling system of yakuza 4 and 5. Another complaint i have is that the 4th styles are locked behind those stupid and unfun management minigames. I don't have any other complaints about this game. It is crazy that i bought this game for 5 euros, for such a cheap price i got an excellent game that easily sneaked into my favorites.
10/10 not my favorite yakuza game but it is my favorite 2015 game
Persona 3 Reload
2024
As with many players, my introduction to the franchise was through Persona 5. During the pandemic, I played the game, and it quickly became my favorite of all time. It was somewhat amusing because I'm not typically into JRPGs or Japanese culture, but Persona has something truly unique about it. That's why Persona 3 Reload was my most anticipated game of the year, despite being a remake of an older title.
It's nearly impossible to review Persona 3 Reload without comparing it to Persona 5. Since its announcement, Persona 3 Reload seemed like the kind of remake that the Pokémon Company used to do with its older games. And I was right: Persona 3 Reload takes everything developed for Persona 5 and creates a true and good remake.
Persona 3 Reload is a classic Persona game that divides into two parts: your normal life as a student, and a hero's journey to save the world. In the first part, you attend school to study and interact with friends, while in the second part, you face enemies called shadows.
The social aspect of the game is particularly enjoyable. In addition to your duties as a student, you'll need to socialize with various characters from the school and rest of the world. Each character has a unique story, and you'll need to meet them multiple times to complete their storylines. This mechanic is called social links. Compared to Persona 5, I found these stories even more engaging.
The "hero part" is a turn-based RPG. I know that many people don't enjoy games of this style, but Persona games offer dynamic combat. Personally, I'm not usually a fan of turn-based games, but Persona takes the genre to another level.
Despite the game being split into two parts, they converge seamlessly. The interactions you have with friends will make you stronger to face enemies. The game operates on a calendar system, allowing you to decide when to hang out with friends, study, battle against enemies, or improve your social attributes.
The main story of the game starts strong, slows down a bit in the middle, and finishes perfectly. While I still prefer Persona 5's story, it's incredible how Atlus is able to create such incredible characters that are truly charismatic and make you care deeply about them. I enjoyed learning about their lives and backgrounds while also worrying about their futures.
I do think that Persona 3 Reload has some minor issues, such as poorly placed activities in the calendar system. There are moments where you have nothing to do for a few days, followed by days where you're overwhelmed with tasks. This became a problem near the end when I had enough money and maxed out all my social attributes. Additionally, I didn't appreciate how much time it took to start social links with party members, and that it was limited to just the female characters.
Another thing that is truly incredible in this franchise, and it holds true here as well, is the soundtrack. Persona 3 Reload boasts one of the best soundtracks ever in the gaming industry.
It took me 75 hours to finish my first playthrough, and I almost completed everything that could be done.
In conclusion, Persona 3 Reload is one of the best games we've had in recent years, but I still prefer Persona 5. If you enjoy JRPGs or Japanese culture, it's a must-play game. Even if you don't, I recommend giving it a chance, as I promise you won't be disappointed.
It's nearly impossible to review Persona 3 Reload without comparing it to Persona 5. Since its announcement, Persona 3 Reload seemed like the kind of remake that the Pokémon Company used to do with its older games. And I was right: Persona 3 Reload takes everything developed for Persona 5 and creates a true and good remake.
Persona 3 Reload is a classic Persona game that divides into two parts: your normal life as a student, and a hero's journey to save the world. In the first part, you attend school to study and interact with friends, while in the second part, you face enemies called shadows.
The social aspect of the game is particularly enjoyable. In addition to your duties as a student, you'll need to socialize with various characters from the school and rest of the world. Each character has a unique story, and you'll need to meet them multiple times to complete their storylines. This mechanic is called social links. Compared to Persona 5, I found these stories even more engaging.
The "hero part" is a turn-based RPG. I know that many people don't enjoy games of this style, but Persona games offer dynamic combat. Personally, I'm not usually a fan of turn-based games, but Persona takes the genre to another level.
Despite the game being split into two parts, they converge seamlessly. The interactions you have with friends will make you stronger to face enemies. The game operates on a calendar system, allowing you to decide when to hang out with friends, study, battle against enemies, or improve your social attributes.
The main story of the game starts strong, slows down a bit in the middle, and finishes perfectly. While I still prefer Persona 5's story, it's incredible how Atlus is able to create such incredible characters that are truly charismatic and make you care deeply about them. I enjoyed learning about their lives and backgrounds while also worrying about their futures.
I do think that Persona 3 Reload has some minor issues, such as poorly placed activities in the calendar system. There are moments where you have nothing to do for a few days, followed by days where you're overwhelmed with tasks. This became a problem near the end when I had enough money and maxed out all my social attributes. Additionally, I didn't appreciate how much time it took to start social links with party members, and that it was limited to just the female characters.
Another thing that is truly incredible in this franchise, and it holds true here as well, is the soundtrack. Persona 3 Reload boasts one of the best soundtracks ever in the gaming industry.
It took me 75 hours to finish my first playthrough, and I almost completed everything that could be done.
In conclusion, Persona 3 Reload is one of the best games we've had in recent years, but I still prefer Persona 5. If you enjoy JRPGs or Japanese culture, it's a must-play game. Even if you don't, I recommend giving it a chance, as I promise you won't be disappointed.
This game and this expac changed my life. Like there's a certain experience that just cant be found anywhere else than in mmos. Playing this on release and seeing discussion revolving different parts of the story, talking about things with friends, travelling the journey with new friends you've made along the way; its just magical. All of the memories you make, the challenges you overcome, and the growth you have, on top of just having a fantastic game overall is amazing. Endwalker specifically really feels like the culmination of the entire final fantasy franchises lifespan come into appreciation of its players. Will probably forever remain my favorite game.
Papers, Please
2013
Ele é estranhamente satisfatório de se jogar, o barulhinho do carimbo é meio terapêutico. É um jogo bem diferente doq costumo jogar, e por isso é tão legal. Eu já fiz vários finais, mesmo só 1 sendo o oficial real, mas eu teria que recomeçar tudo, e por mais legal que seja, acaba ficando meio maçante jogar por tanto tempo, então, para mim, eu "zerei" ele. Enfim...
Glória á Arstotzka!
Glória á Arstotzka!
Suffers a bit from predictable cases and annoying characters (especially Miu).
But makes up for it with a fantastic case 5 and a great ending. After their development the cast is also quite enjoyable.
Soundtrack is great, much like 2.
But makes up for it with a fantastic case 5 and a great ending. After their development the cast is also quite enjoyable.
Soundtrack is great, much like 2.
Very good slow burn horror. I haven't had this much trouble putting down something I was reading for ages.
Definitely play it with the 07th expansion, voice acting and the original sprites add so much. It wouldn't be the same if the characters just looked like your run of the mill anime girls. Some people might find Ryukishi's artwork ugly, and so did I at first, but it has an undeniable charm that you shouldn't miss out on. Maybe you'll come around to enjoy it like I did.
Chapter 1 is free and short. No reason not to read it. If you want you can also pirate it. But why would you pirate a free game? Why did he do that??? I still do not know. God bless.
I'm looking forward to reading more.
Definitely play it with the 07th expansion, voice acting and the original sprites add so much. It wouldn't be the same if the characters just looked like your run of the mill anime girls. Some people might find Ryukishi's artwork ugly, and so did I at first, but it has an undeniable charm that you shouldn't miss out on. Maybe you'll come around to enjoy it like I did.
Chapter 1 is free and short. No reason not to read it. If you want you can also pirate it. But why would you pirate a free game? Why did he do that??? I still do not know. God bless.
I'm looking forward to reading more.
A weaker opening act than chapter 1, because it feels like it needlessly reintroduces some elements. But a stronger closing act due to the ability for a second chapter to pick a more central character/focus. Though I prefer chapter 1 more as it can serve as a standalone narrative. Whereas this chapter definitely leaves some stuff that will probably be tackled later. I will probably put my overall thoughts down in my review for the final chapter.
Unless I'm mistaken, I don't believe Gear and Fascism were in chapter 1 though. And those are wonderfully crafted songs. Without this soundtrack as its backdrop, some of the scenes would not evoke the emotion it would have otherwise. I'm curious to see if and how the soundtrack expands in the future.
Unless I'm mistaken, I don't believe Gear and Fascism were in chapter 1 though. And those are wonderfully crafted songs. Without this soundtrack as its backdrop, some of the scenes would not evoke the emotion it would have otherwise. I'm curious to see if and how the soundtrack expands in the future.
Despite being a shorter “bonus” chapter, there is still a lot to like here.
Having a point of view mostly disconnected from the usual cast and setting allows the reader to experience Hinamizawa from a refreshing new angle. Having the story structured this way might make the reader question different aspects of the narrative, and come up with new answers for previous questions.
The cop procedure is a very fun read, seeing a properly executed action scene was enjoyable. I also quite liked the Mahjong scene, obviously.
The new song Dancers #5 is a very good detective tune. Whilst plenty of other new songs awaken their own emotion. From the mysterious “days of children #3” to the panicked and tense “meditation”. Lots of good stuff here.
Even if it might feel very disconnected, it still manages to weave a strong ending using the reader's pre-existing knowledge.
Having a point of view mostly disconnected from the usual cast and setting allows the reader to experience Hinamizawa from a refreshing new angle. Having the story structured this way might make the reader question different aspects of the narrative, and come up with new answers for previous questions.
The cop procedure is a very fun read, seeing a properly executed action scene was enjoyable. I also quite liked the Mahjong scene, obviously.
The new song Dancers #5 is a very good detective tune. Whilst plenty of other new songs awaken their own emotion. From the mysterious “days of children #3” to the panicked and tense “meditation”. Lots of good stuff here.
Even if it might feel very disconnected, it still manages to weave a strong ending using the reader's pre-existing knowledge.
Its like someone put every single one of my favorite toppings on a pizza, to create the perfect junk food pizza. Some of the toppings are on the higher end, whilst others are toppings that I know are bad, but like anyway.
And there are days I'd rather go for a pizza than a fully fledged meal.
And there are days I'd rather go for a pizza than a fully fledged meal.
Yakuza 3 Remastered
2018
If Yakuza 3 has a million of fans I am one of them.
If Yakuza 3 has ten fans I am one of them.
If Yakuza 3 has only one fan that is me.
If Yakuza 3 has no fans, that means I am no longer on earth.
If the world is against Yakuza 3, I am against the world.
If Yakuza 3 has ten fans I am one of them.
If Yakuza 3 has only one fan that is me.
If Yakuza 3 has no fans, that means I am no longer on earth.
If the world is against Yakuza 3, I am against the world.