One of the best Final Fantasy, and definitely my favourite. The Zodiac Age makes a great game only better and, no matter how many years pass between playthroughs, the world and characters are still lovely. It still has its issues, like, why is every single person in this desert country white, but nothing we haven't seen in a JRPG before, to be honest. The gambit system is very useful, and the fact that you can change the difficulty makes it easier for begginers and/or people who want to play the game without suffering (like myself), which is ALWAYS a plus, and incredibly welcome.

P.D: Balthier, Fran, I love you, you were my bisexual awakening.

Gravity Circuit feels like a true love letter to the Mega Man X franchise. Some might say it's a clone but honestly as much as i like the Mega Man X games I think Gravity Circuit does it better. Gravit Circuit is also a great game for those looking to play that style of game while not get frustrated. Gravity Circuit has a lot of quality of life stuff that I think a lot of modern gamers will appreciate like stages having check points, infinite lives and spikes and pits are not instant deaths. At the same time though while this does make Gravity Circuit a much easier experiance in comparison to other games in the genre it certaintly isn't dumbed down either. The game is just a smooth experiance the first time through. A lot of the fun was getting 100% complete for me. Trying to beat stages in certain ways or avoinding stage hazards to beating the game with different limitations. It gave me a reason to keep coming back.

Gameplay is simple and easy to get into. At first it might feel limiting, especially with a such short reach meele attack but the more you play and aqiure moves and buffs you get you can get very powerful very fast. The special burst attacks are really cool and a welcome addition to this kinda game, although they are a little too powerful on bosses, i feel. It is great to be able to customize my character and have him play how i want. Once i found my loadout i liked I never changed it. I really liked the tool kit that you have at the start as well. Meele, dash and grappling hook all feel really great. Plus weakening enemies enough and you can pick them up and throw them. Throwing them into other enemies usually kill them both in a single hit and the explosion and effects make it satisfying every time. Being able to pick up and throw any enemey was a cool mechanic.

Game plays like your typical Mega Man X game with bosses stages and a intro and three final levels. Bosses don't have weakness's like in MM so you can play them in any order you like. Once you get a feel to the game and learn the stages you can breeze by them in no time. The default ninja run is so fast and useful and much better than a typical dash. It made my final speed run playthrough feel like I was a pro.

I had a lot of fun with this one. I could tell playing two levels of this I knew this was something special. I think the core fundementals of this game are really good. I think with some minor balance changes and maybe more to do inbetween missions would have helped. Hub world was kinda useless. I also didn't care for the story or how the characters interacted with each other as well but that is a minor gripe in a game like this. I think Gravity Circuit is an under rated gem and will definitly is one of the better games this year.

Platinum #189

I've played a lot of Mega Man content this year, so what better way to satiate my love for this series than trying out some Mega Man-like games, and the one that caught my eye the most was Gravity Circuit. Developed by Domesticated Ant Games, the game centers around Kai, an amnesiac lone hero who harnesses the power of the Gravity Circuit and has awakened only to discover that the eight guardians who were previously protectors have joined the opposing Virus Army. He now must fight his old allies from wreaking more havoc and save the world with some assistance from Kernel of the Guardian Corps and the eccentric Nega. Kai will eventually regain his memories as he takes down more of his former allies, giving us glimpses into their dynamics and how they used to cooperate as a team. I found the other characters to be interesting when interacting with them in the headquarters, and it does a good job with characterization. The story isn't entirely original or complex, but I don't think it needs to be for a fun 2D action platformer like this, and I was satisfied with how the story was told.

What matters most in a game like Gravity Circuit is having fast and smooth gameplay that provides an enjoyable experience to the player and encourages replayability, and let me tell you, they've delivered. The game is sort of a hybrid between an action platformer and a beat 'em-up; Kai doesn't have a special weapon equipped at all times but instead relies on melee attacks, depending on the directional inputs. He can dash and also grab enemies and chuck them like they're yesterday's garbage, it's great. Kai has a grappling hook perfect for swinging through ceilings, but can also be used to reach far-items and attack enemies. It's a nifty tool for speeding past obstacles and incorporating it into your move set, using the skills you've learned and using that as an advantage towards the enemies and level design.

Kai has access to passive circuits that can fine-tune his abilities, like giving him a double jump and grip through walls without sliding down. Some of these enhancements are fun to use, and it was worth utilizing my skills to save all the civilians to purchase these abilities. He also has access to purchase burst techniques that are tied to a Burst action with a directional button press. I feel a sense of satisfaction when executing properly against a major but be mindful of these powerful moves as you're limited to how many times you can use them before they need recharging. Still, firing a powerful punch and sending a shockwave is cool to pull off and naturally fulfilling.

The levels are fun to traverse as I love using the environment to my advantage and uncover secrets that I've missed, and it's made better with quality-of-life features. In Gravity Circuit, spikes and bottomless pits don't equate to instant death like in the Mega Man games, rather it sends you back to the checkpoint or to the platform you've failed to overcome previously. It provides accessibility that doesn't interfere with the pacing while still giving the player a challenge, and the final few levels remind me of that. I would say the only flaw I have with Gravity Circuit is the headquarters, because outside of interacting with people and buying upgrades from the shop, there isn't much to do outside of that, but this is just minor.

Gravity Circuit is a damn good time. The visual presentation is top-notch, the animation and controls are fluid and snappy, the music is a jam, and I like how the characters and plot were told. This is one of the best platformers to come out this year, and if you love Mega Man X, this is a must recommend.

Much better than I remember it being. I'd also consider this the first good Final Fantasy game. It does everything that its predecessors do but better. The job system returns and has actual depth and amazing customizability options. Dungeons have some actual depth with puzzles (kinda) and interesting designs, for the most part. The ATB is back but works much better with this game's combat system than the 4th's. Levelling up means nothing really since the main way to get stronger is levelling up classes. And this leads to some addicting gameplay loops, wanting to max out all jobs for all 4 of your heroes. The music is great and has a lot of standout tracks. And while the writing in this game can't really be taken seriously because of all the awful humour. It has some key moments that would cement this franchise as the classic JRPG franchise it is. Mainly 'Battle on Big Bridge' and anything to do with Gilgamesh. I do feel this game is overlooked but the pixel remasters have made it more noticeable thankfully.

7/10