Megalon
Played this VERY on and off in hard mode, just so I could get the platinum for this game (not the DLC. Yet, at least). I've already given my opinion on this game on the base PS4 Remake, I just wanted to come here and say MOTHERFUUUUUUUCK Top Secrets.
1998
Sorry this took me a while to finish, as there have been some drastic changes in my life recently, but I'm so glad that after almost 10 months I was finally able to finish this game.
Thematically, this is probably the most ambitious game I've ever played. This game is chock full of typical anime tropes, and that can sometimes ruin someone's experience after seeing these plot points happen over and over, but this time they're all presented in ways which I don't think I've ever seen a JRPG or even any other game put out. That too, the themes of this game hit VERY hard knowing they're all very realistic and can have personal impacts on one's whole world view.
The gameplay is very hit or miss in my opinion. I think the on-foot deathblow system is pretty innovative for a turn based game as, ironically, it lets you hit more buttons in combat instead of just pressing fight. Additionally if you want, you can intentionally hit your opponent with just weaker moves so that you store AP, which allows you to unleash a full blown combo on your enemies later. This cannot be said for gear combat, which just blows in my opinion. The game gives you the illusion of choice such that you can choose between gear and on-foot combat, but really there isn't much of a choice in almost every part of the game. On a side note here, when you are able to change party members, there is going to be a very obvious answer as to who will go in your party, as Fei and Citan are just the best characters in combat. The third slot will almost always go to Emeralda.
In terms of the story, people really hate the second disc as it just feels like a slideshow, which for the most part is true. However, I feel as though the first disc is very drawn out and for the most part just serves as just the Kislev/Aveh (Shevat/Solaris) war. The story really picks up in the second disc (if you can bear to even watch it all), and I think that was what truly made me admire this game so much more than what I would have with just disc 1.
Finally, the characters. Fei and Elly, given how they are the main characters of this love story, are obviously the best characters in the game. They are followed closely in my opinion by Citan and Billy. I see myself more closely in Bart among everyone else. Then the rest of the main characters kind of didn't need to exist past their part in the story (with the exception of Emeralda).
This game isn't without its flaws which are very apparent in 2023. I think I spent most of this review bashing on the game, however, I don't think they entirely negate the good aspects of this game. The highs of this game are EXTREMELY high, while the lows of this game are not all that below standard. Overall, this game is in DESPERATE need of attention from its deadbeat father Square Enix, which could solve a lot of its problems.
Backloggd is dumb and won't let me give quarters of stars so imagine this is a 4.25/5 stars.
Thematically, this is probably the most ambitious game I've ever played. This game is chock full of typical anime tropes, and that can sometimes ruin someone's experience after seeing these plot points happen over and over, but this time they're all presented in ways which I don't think I've ever seen a JRPG or even any other game put out. That too, the themes of this game hit VERY hard knowing they're all very realistic and can have personal impacts on one's whole world view.
The gameplay is very hit or miss in my opinion. I think the on-foot deathblow system is pretty innovative for a turn based game as, ironically, it lets you hit more buttons in combat instead of just pressing fight. Additionally if you want, you can intentionally hit your opponent with just weaker moves so that you store AP, which allows you to unleash a full blown combo on your enemies later. This cannot be said for gear combat, which just blows in my opinion. The game gives you the illusion of choice such that you can choose between gear and on-foot combat, but really there isn't much of a choice in almost every part of the game. On a side note here, when you are able to change party members, there is going to be a very obvious answer as to who will go in your party, as Fei and Citan are just the best characters in combat. The third slot will almost always go to Emeralda.
In terms of the story, people really hate the second disc as it just feels like a slideshow, which for the most part is true. However, I feel as though the first disc is very drawn out and for the most part just serves as just the Kislev/Aveh (Shevat/Solaris) war. The story really picks up in the second disc (if you can bear to even watch it all), and I think that was what truly made me admire this game so much more than what I would have with just disc 1.
Finally, the characters. Fei and Elly, given how they are the main characters of this love story, are obviously the best characters in the game. They are followed closely in my opinion by Citan and Billy. I see myself more closely in Bart among everyone else. Then the rest of the main characters kind of didn't need to exist past their part in the story (with the exception of Emeralda).
This game isn't without its flaws which are very apparent in 2023. I think I spent most of this review bashing on the game, however, I don't think they entirely negate the good aspects of this game. The highs of this game are EXTREMELY high, while the lows of this game are not all that below standard. Overall, this game is in DESPERATE need of attention from its deadbeat father Square Enix, which could solve a lot of its problems.
Backloggd is dumb and won't let me give quarters of stars so imagine this is a 4.25/5 stars.
2022
This was my first foray into Pokémon on the Switch, I just wanted to put that out there for this review.
I think this game is one of the best Pokémon games of the last decade. The story is good (for a Pokémon game), the designs are excellent, and the music as always is chock full of bangers. I especially liked the mechanic of riding around on Koraidon in the open world of this game. I loved Arven and Penny; their arcs were pretty good. There's a bit of everything for everyone in this game too, with the three storylines for Titans, Gym Challenges, and Starfall Street. Finally, the ending of the game genuinely blew me away with how stunning and oddly serene it was with such eerie opera music.
My main criticisms are that the open world is just too dull at times and far too expansive. Items would be thrown at your face constantly. The Star Raids are just way too boring and don't take anywhere near as long as the 10 minutes they give you for one. The gym challenges are also painfully easy, with some of them not even being challenges that would traditionally be found in older games. Nemona was just a one-dimensional brat too. Finally, the towns you get to on the map are boring and you only really need to be there for the gyms.
Definitely a good refresher and a nice reminder of how good this series can be at times.
I think this game is one of the best Pokémon games of the last decade. The story is good (for a Pokémon game), the designs are excellent, and the music as always is chock full of bangers. I especially liked the mechanic of riding around on Koraidon in the open world of this game. I loved Arven and Penny; their arcs were pretty good. There's a bit of everything for everyone in this game too, with the three storylines for Titans, Gym Challenges, and Starfall Street. Finally, the ending of the game genuinely blew me away with how stunning and oddly serene it was with such eerie opera music.
My main criticisms are that the open world is just too dull at times and far too expansive. Items would be thrown at your face constantly. The Star Raids are just way too boring and don't take anywhere near as long as the 10 minutes they give you for one. The gym challenges are also painfully easy, with some of them not even being challenges that would traditionally be found in older games. Nemona was just a one-dimensional brat too. Finally, the towns you get to on the map are boring and you only really need to be there for the gyms.
Definitely a good refresher and a nice reminder of how good this series can be at times.
This review contains spoilers
From a gameplay perspective, I think this DLC is a lot more fun than the base game. It felt really weird that I didn't get control of Sonon, as I would have really liked to see him following my camera instead of listening to the somewhat useless AI. However, just playing as Yuffie alone was super fun. She provides some much-needed aerial combat and ranged combat like Aerith and Barret.
From a story perspective, they still kept the more linear PS2-era dungeon design for exploring both Sector 7 and Deepground. Felt more like a chore to crawl through the story. However, I still loved Nero at the very end of the story. Even on Normal mode, his boss fight was pretty challenging, especially considering his darkness would drain out your HP pretty quickly. It got to the point where casting Cura wouldn't happen in time and Sonon would have to self-sacrifice, which is both intriguing and frustrating. The story itself is also very sad towards the end of it and I really love that there isn't a happy ending here.
Overall a solid 4/5.
From a story perspective, they still kept the more linear PS2-era dungeon design for exploring both Sector 7 and Deepground. Felt more like a chore to crawl through the story. However, I still loved Nero at the very end of the story. Even on Normal mode, his boss fight was pretty challenging, especially considering his darkness would drain out your HP pretty quickly. It got to the point where casting Cura wouldn't happen in time and Sonon would have to self-sacrifice, which is both intriguing and frustrating. The story itself is also very sad towards the end of it and I really love that there isn't a happy ending here.
Overall a solid 4/5.
This is the exact same Crisis Core we got in 2007, with the same kind of bad story, awful side quests and the sheer amount of them, and absolutely atrocious villain in the form of Genesis. However, this game presents the ideas and designs of its PSP predecessor in such a way that I enjoyed doing a bunch of the things I disliked in the original game.
Namely just walking around absorbing the reworked music and environments and the updated combat system alone made me enjoy this game a whole hell of a lot more. I found myself going out of my way to experience these things at times away from the game's main story.
Unfortunately, this game does introduce new problems, while also having some of the same problems as the original game. While I don't dislike the new Zack VA, as I do find that he does sometimes shine over the old one, he does unfortunately fall flat on some line deliveries. Also, with the fact that this game came out on pretty much every modern platform, you could tell that this game was meant for handhelds on platforms that aren't the Nintendo Switch, as all the levels in this game are exactly like its predecessor; boring, bland, long, and repetitive pathways that can become exploitable to avoid encounters. Yes, you can still run against walls to avoid encounters.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this game instead of the PSP version to anyone who's played the original FFVII and wants to get into Crisis Core. To the newer fans of the franchise who have only indulged in the Remake, you may either want to hold off on this game until more parts are released or play it to get an idea of who Zack is and his importance to the Remake's chronology.
Namely just walking around absorbing the reworked music and environments and the updated combat system alone made me enjoy this game a whole hell of a lot more. I found myself going out of my way to experience these things at times away from the game's main story.
Unfortunately, this game does introduce new problems, while also having some of the same problems as the original game. While I don't dislike the new Zack VA, as I do find that he does sometimes shine over the old one, he does unfortunately fall flat on some line deliveries. Also, with the fact that this game came out on pretty much every modern platform, you could tell that this game was meant for handhelds on platforms that aren't the Nintendo Switch, as all the levels in this game are exactly like its predecessor; boring, bland, long, and repetitive pathways that can become exploitable to avoid encounters. Yes, you can still run against walls to avoid encounters.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this game instead of the PSP version to anyone who's played the original FFVII and wants to get into Crisis Core. To the newer fans of the franchise who have only indulged in the Remake, you may either want to hold off on this game until more parts are released or play it to get an idea of who Zack is and his importance to the Remake's chronology.
2013
Revisited this game after over half a decade because I didn't remember much about this game at all. Lo and behold, there wasn't much to remember in the first place.
Like any Pokémon game, this is still quite enjoyable. You will have a good time playing this game. The game really falls short in substance until the end where they shove it all in your face as an excuse to give you the legendary on the cover art.
That's really all I have to say about this game. It's Pokémon but just uncomfortably mid.
Like any Pokémon game, this is still quite enjoyable. You will have a good time playing this game. The game really falls short in substance until the end where they shove it all in your face as an excuse to give you the legendary on the cover art.
That's really all I have to say about this game. It's Pokémon but just uncomfortably mid.
1999
This review contains spoilers
This one leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth. There were some things that I felt were great, but most of this game either falls flat or just outright stinks.
Triple Triad, the soundtrack, and the cities were amazing. I also liked that the junction system allows for exploration of synergies and building of your own unique characters in battle. In the final fight against Ultimecia, I had Squall's stats boosted to the extremes, Zell as the middle ground, and Irvine as a healer thanks to the junction system.
There are some major downsides to this game, however. The junction system, while great for exploration, SUCKS. It gets really tedious and confusing when every character has their own specific stock of magic that acts like reusable items, and the Draw feature that lets you get magic is also the most tedious thing in the world. (Most of) the characters are all flatter than cardboard, which sucks because Squall is one of the more iconic Final Fantasy protagonists. The story is a convoluted mess with no sense of direction at times, which made me realize that "oh shit, this is a love story" instead of it actually being one.
In the end, I think that this game can be picked up by anyone. It is by no means a bad game, but there are definitely better ones in the Final Fantasy department.
Triple Triad, the soundtrack, and the cities were amazing. I also liked that the junction system allows for exploration of synergies and building of your own unique characters in battle. In the final fight against Ultimecia, I had Squall's stats boosted to the extremes, Zell as the middle ground, and Irvine as a healer thanks to the junction system.
There are some major downsides to this game, however. The junction system, while great for exploration, SUCKS. It gets really tedious and confusing when every character has their own specific stock of magic that acts like reusable items, and the Draw feature that lets you get magic is also the most tedious thing in the world. (Most of) the characters are all flatter than cardboard, which sucks because Squall is one of the more iconic Final Fantasy protagonists. The story is a convoluted mess with no sense of direction at times, which made me realize that "oh shit, this is a love story" instead of it actually being one.
In the end, I think that this game can be picked up by anyone. It is by no means a bad game, but there are definitely better ones in the Final Fantasy department.
This review contains spoilers
I'm surprised I never wrote a review on this, but here goes. This game is amazing. I played with the restoration patch, so I don't have to complain about audio and visuals.
What I liked about this game was that it has Kefka, probably the best villain in all forms of storytelling. Also, the fact that Kefka splits this game into 2 acts, with the latter being better, makes this game far more impactful. Most (keyword here) of the characters have their own dedicated development scenes, which allows you as the player to decide which one you feel is the main protagonist. The opera scene of World of Balance was a masterpiece to go through.
What I didn't like was the fact that a good chunk of characters gets zero development, or that their development is ruined by a censoring Nintendo. I understand that there are 14 characters, but Gogo, Relm, Strago, and Umaro didn't need to exist. There are also the characters you don't use who get left out in development. Finally, there's a whole plot point of magic no longer existing and that when your team finally gets magic you use it to stop Kefka, but there has to be a fine line between making magic accessible for plot reasons and making it insanely overpowered. There was a tower in World of Ruin where it felt like "spam Ultima or die."
There's just a lot of missed potential, but this game is still probably one of the best Final Fantasy games ever. Too bad it doesn't get nearly as much attention as 7. I would really love to see a FF6R just like the FF7R.
What I liked about this game was that it has Kefka, probably the best villain in all forms of storytelling. Also, the fact that Kefka splits this game into 2 acts, with the latter being better, makes this game far more impactful. Most (keyword here) of the characters have their own dedicated development scenes, which allows you as the player to decide which one you feel is the main protagonist. The opera scene of World of Balance was a masterpiece to go through.
What I didn't like was the fact that a good chunk of characters gets zero development, or that their development is ruined by a censoring Nintendo. I understand that there are 14 characters, but Gogo, Relm, Strago, and Umaro didn't need to exist. There are also the characters you don't use who get left out in development. Finally, there's a whole plot point of magic no longer existing and that when your team finally gets magic you use it to stop Kefka, but there has to be a fine line between making magic accessible for plot reasons and making it insanely overpowered. There was a tower in World of Ruin where it felt like "spam Ultima or die."
There's just a lot of missed potential, but this game is still probably one of the best Final Fantasy games ever. Too bad it doesn't get nearly as much attention as 7. I would really love to see a FF6R just like the FF7R.
This game was wonderful. No way I could not recommend this to someone. The only reasons why I took off half a star were that I found the lack of diverse cases a bit boring (it was all murder cases), the logic to be a bit stretched sometimes, and the gameplay to be a bit boring as time goes on.
But even after that, this crime drama is something that you cannot be deemed a gamer for if you haven't played this at ALL.
But even after that, this crime drama is something that you cannot be deemed a gamer for if you haven't played this at ALL.
This was the version I played FF4 on, and I feel like I would've liked this a lot more if I were born earlier. This game's story, characters, etc. felt way too generic for someone in 2021. While there were really good highs, such as the entirety of Cecil's development, I did think most of this game was a slog as the narrative and characters were definitely not up to par with later entries in the series. Still, I do think that this is a great starting point for someone who just wants to get into Final Fantasy.
2011
I only have 2 problems with this game: it's too short, and the atmosphere is worse than the original game. But those are nitpicking at best. This game is a fucking masterpiece. It might not be in my favorite games list, but oh BOY does it feel good to just sit down and play this. This is the peak puzzle game experience. Even if it is a decade old I would recommend this game to absolutely EVERYONE.
Quite honestly one of my favorite Pokémon games as a whole, but revisiting this after a while this game is WAY slower than I remember. Still amazing if you can bear how god-awfully slow battles would go.
This review contains spoilers
Entirely superior to its predecessor, but I do think there are some pacing issues, and Hugh being horrible.
I did feel that there were some pacing issues with Coballion, Terrakion, and Virizion appearing almost randomly. I knew that they are set encounters but I didn't know where they were set at and would forget to save beforehand. I knew you could come back to them postgame, but I didn't want to do that since I wanted to move on to other games after this one. And the whole Plasma Frigate business right after the 8th gym. I just wanted to go to the Pokémon League after this, but nope, can't do that. Colress fight was cool though :)
I don't think you need to play BW1 first, so if you want to, dive right into this one if you want. If Gen 4 didn't steal my heart, I'd say this is the best Pokémon game ever.
I did feel that there were some pacing issues with Coballion, Terrakion, and Virizion appearing almost randomly. I knew that they are set encounters but I didn't know where they were set at and would forget to save beforehand. I knew you could come back to them postgame, but I didn't want to do that since I wanted to move on to other games after this one. And the whole Plasma Frigate business right after the 8th gym. I just wanted to go to the Pokémon League after this, but nope, can't do that. Colress fight was cool though :)
I don't think you need to play BW1 first, so if you want to, dive right into this one if you want. If Gen 4 didn't steal my heart, I'd say this is the best Pokémon game ever.
Inferior version to the sequel, but I still enjoyed it. Typical Pokémon game in terms of gameplay, story was good, music was phenomenal, setting with 3D graphics looked shockingly well, and locking out of older Pokémon until the postgame was good to stress the importance of Unova. Did have a few problems with it though.
The seven sages were all irrelevant, the rivals would battle you constantly, the gym leaders would almost always make you run an errand before actually fighting them, and the story is just inferior to its sequel.
Overall, not bad. I don't think it lives up to all the hype, but comes close to it in my opinion.
The seven sages were all irrelevant, the rivals would battle you constantly, the gym leaders would almost always make you run an errand before actually fighting them, and the story is just inferior to its sequel.
Overall, not bad. I don't think it lives up to all the hype, but comes close to it in my opinion.
2008
This review contains spoilers
One of the best games ever made. Apart from one flaw I can think of (which is a nitpick at best), I can honestly say this is a perfect game. The pacing of the story is flawless for a 20-hour game, gameplay being perfect with no grinding whatsoever, all the characters are amazing (my personal favorites being Frog and Magus), the soundtrack is something which I will always love, and this game truly lives up to the name of "being made by the Dream Team."
My only gripe about this game is the fight against Lavos. I found it kind of annoying how you have to go through several phases of all the bosses in the game, then fight the shell, then fight the core, and then, finally, fight the pots and the dummy. It's just really tedious to me, but I can excuse it sometimes due to just how perfect this game is otherwise.
This game needs to get more recognition. It's the underrated GOAT that Square put out and I think everyone should give this a chance and enjoy it.
My only gripe about this game is the fight against Lavos. I found it kind of annoying how you have to go through several phases of all the bosses in the game, then fight the shell, then fight the core, and then, finally, fight the pots and the dummy. It's just really tedious to me, but I can excuse it sometimes due to just how perfect this game is otherwise.
This game needs to get more recognition. It's the underrated GOAT that Square put out and I think everyone should give this a chance and enjoy it.