100% completion.

Metroid Dread probably shouldn't exist - let alone be this good. Truly floored with the quality on display here. My hopes for the game were high, but honestly not too high after Samus Returns. The official remake of 2 was good, but sugar coated metroid quite a bit. It did however innovate the gameplay and combat a lot and I'm glad to see those ideas expanded on even further.
Dread is the best feeling metroid game ever made. It continues the snappy fast paced feel of samus returns without putting too much reliance on the counters. It feels amazing and even looks amazing. Samus animates so well here. This is the best she has ever looked. The level design here is also outstanding. It strikes the perfect balance of previous 2d metroid games. Its far less linear than fusion but not as intensely open as Super. I still prefer that aspect of super over dread, but I love that dread ends up with its own identity instead of desperately trying to imitate what previous games did. This is the perfect sequel. A true metroid 5. It's honestly amazing how unapologetic it is with its continuing story - as if there was never a 20 year gap in between this and fusion. I truly feel like mercury steam learned so much remaking metroid 2. They took every criticism to heart and ended up making one of the best entries in the series. Even visually this game shocked me. Samus returns lacked a lot of atmosphere and interesting environments. The use of lighting and backgrounds in Dread is great. It really is a gorgeous game at times and has such a strong visual identity when compared to the rest of the series. I'll reiterate this point here as well - it isn't trying to be fusion or super, its trying to be dread. I have some nitpicks but nothing that hindered my experience. The cut to credits is sort of jarring after how bombastic the finale is. Sometimes the map pushes you to certain areas due to story events (but shortly opens up again before it feels too restrictive). 100% completion was shockingly easy (though this is likely due to my experience with the series. Surely it will not be a breeze for newcomers). It also made my playthrough 14 hours long as opposed to most people beating it in 6-7, so it's still very time consuming if you enjoy the grind.

The hype of this game should have lead to disappointment. This is my favorite game series, and suddenly I have Metroid 5 and it stands alongside the best games in the series, and prime 4 is on the horizon. It warms my heart that so much care is being put into metroid again. Samus returns felt like a toe in the water, and dread is a cannonball. I can only pray that the quality shown here is a sign of the future. This is the happiest a game has made me in a long time. I feel incredibly satisfied and I can't wait to try out hard mode.

Alright let me preface this whole review by saying that I review games more through a purely subjective and emotional lens. 5 stars isnt really a claim to one of the best games ever made, but an indicator of a game that I consider impactful or special to me personally. If a game resonates with me enough despite some clear flaws I'm more than willing to not dock points off for my own personal ratings. Anyways - lets talk about it.

I played the ps4 version of FF7 remake twice when it came out and I loved it. The original ps1 game also holds a huge place in my heart. I grew up around the world of FF7, whether it was the original game, kingdom hearts stuff, advent children etc. I just loved this world and its characters (despite most of the characterization being handled poorly outside of the original game). I never really cared though because as a kid I was filtering all that other content through the perspective of how I interpreted those characters when they were voiceless roblox lookin dudes. I loved them a lot. So the remake happens and I'm much older and aware of these issues. My main worry was how the characters would be portrayed here. Would it fall in line with the tone of the compilation content where everyone was emotionless and angry, or would they recapture what I always believed them to be from the start? Thank god it was the latter.

FF7 remake is the best these characters have ever looked, sounded, acted, played, so on and so forth. They truly nailed the essence of what made this cast so likable back on the ps1. Some people playing it without that original attachment are even capable of growing attached through this remake alone. It has encouraged a lot of people to revisit the original game which I think is a great thing. I can't praise the voice cast, animation team, artists, and writers enough here - they killed it.

The original narrative is in tact as well. Some have a lot of disdain for FF7 being split into multiple parts, but I love that we have a chance to see midgar in such detail. Only rarely did some moments feel a little drawn out, but I felt like I got a whole game's experience here instead of a slice of a pie that clearly wasn't finished. They paced it well and I may be on the unpopular side of being cool with multiple parts - because without that, so many things would be condensed and lost. I feel like this team really wants to bring every aspect of the original game to modern life and celebrate it as much as possible.

The main issue with FF7 remake is the fact that its so faithful that even the level design still feels straight out of the ps1/ps2 era. Level design is not good here. That isn't a huge deal with JRPGs as long as environments and the narrative are pushing you along, but it is still quite apparent that the levels are pretty linear or corridor ridden. Kind of like final fantasy 13 done correctly if that makes sense. Everything else gameplay wise is flawless though. FF7R has my favorite FF combat system now. It does an insane job of making it feel familiar with the ps1 game and adding a flair of action. The way everything slows down while you choose abilities and combine action inputs is super fun and retains that classic turn based thought process while becoming more action oriented at the same time. Materia is a brilliant system too - no surprise there to those familiar with that system.

This next paragraph is vague on details but I'll give a brief spoiler warning just in case you want to skip this part.
The big controversy with this remake is the fact that it introduces some new elements when compared to the original. The entirety of the original story is still in tact here and you get to see all of it plus more. The way some new elements interfere with the story is offputting though. At first I wasn't sure if I enjoyed the approach, but near the end I honestly found it to be an incredibly smart meta narrative about the nature of video game remakes. It's like a dissection of what developers and consumers want when it comes to them. A lot of people say Nomura tainted this game with his crazy kingdom hearts weirdness but honestly the original game reaches points of insanity that aren't any more grounded than the confusion of KH. (FF7 is just told in a more cohesive way obviously).
What I find exciting about this crazy approach is that we know we are still going to see all the things we want to see from the rest of this world, but we have new theories and story beats to ponder about. Major story beats will remain in tact but we will be able to be surprised by new things instead of watching a checklist of events based on the original take place. I understand those who strictly wanted a 1:1 faithful remake, but personally I find this approach smart and a lot more engaging. I'm so excited that I get to make up theories and be confused about story elements again. Everyone talking about it passionately (positively or negatively) is great! Getting reactions out of people like this is a sign of doing something right - or at least taking a risk because they have a vision.

I'm a good chunk into the ps5 version and it's easily one of the most insane looking games out there right now. I thought the ps4 version was incredible - but my god the ps5 upgrade dramatically improves it. The texture issues on the ps4 are so apparent now, and the 60fps makes everything 5x as gorgeous. It's crazy to be playing a video game where the in game models look better than the original CGi movie from back in the day.

I love this game, man. I think it's doing something really special and I cant wait to spend the next several years awaiting future installments. It's gonna be an awesome journey (if they don't fuck it up at least, but I have a lot of faith in them right now. I think they know what they're doing)

well I finally beat the main story.

Ghost of Tsushima is an interesting game for me. Honestly it doesn't really do anything that interesting with the open world formula. Its combat is great but not as deep as one might think. The stealth is fun but doesn't leave room for a lot of creativity. Basically what I'm saying is that instead of doing one thing incredibly well above all other games, it does about everything good or on the same level as other typical open world games. It has the Infamous style open world that focuses on destroying enemy bases, which leaves room for some fun end game content. The controls are tight and there's a nice natural flow to platforming and fighting multiple enemies. It tries to introduce creative ways to deal with enemies, but at the end of the day you're just going to charge in and fight everyone because its the most effective way to do things. There isn't much motivation to be stealthy or use bee hives etc etc.

This kind of game would usually be incredibly average to me. In fact I stopped playing it a while back to play other things and it took me months to get back to it. However, coming back to it was really easy and it wasn't hard to get decently hooked again.
The story was a roller coaster of me not giving a shit and being somewhat invested. I thought some side characters had interesting missions and I honestly found the final encounter pretty effective, if a bit abrupt. It's not a remarkable story but its passable. I pray the Kurosawa comparisons don't turn people away from his movies because his narratives have a lot more passion behind their themes and characters. The story is not what kept me playing at all. So why am I dropping a 4 star rating on this game if I don't think its anything special in this genre? It mostly comes down to polish.

I can't remember the last time I played a huge open world game that had this much polish. I never encountered a single bug or glitch. The combat scenarios were repetitive on a technical level, but visually the combat was animated so well and it was incredibly fun to try and pull off things that looked cool. Not to mention the art style here is fantastic. Yes games like Last of Us 2 are technically more impressive with textures, motion capture, voice acting etc, but GoT might have the most beautiful lighting of any game I've played. The final area becomes a bit lame compared to the map early on, but I was so excited to explore and see more sights. Atmosphere is a huuuuge thing for me. My favorite games have so many moments where I just walk around and look at the environments because I love to absorb the art.
Ghost of Tshushima is a very intrinsically motivated game for me. The story and mechanics weren't always pushing me to keep going, it was mostly the excitement of physically exploring the map and having that honeymoon phase with the graphics until the very end.

I know this seems like a really shallow way to play a game and I typically am not one to just play a game for its visuals alone, but I don't mean to imply the rest of the game is awful either. The combat is really solid, it's just not breaking new ground is all. If you like standard action games - this might have just a hair more depth than something like Witcher 3, assassins creed, or Skyrim. The main story isn't great and is riddled with boring mission design, but I spent most of my time doing side missions and clearing enemy forts. Climbing buildings during a fight to grapple hook across a tree and do a multi kill on a horde of enemies, pulling off perfect dodges to get those special animations. The presentation of a game can really boost everything about it and I think its okay to really enjoy something while recognizing that its nothing special.

I wouldn't say this game comes close to executing open world in the same way as breath of the wild, but its somewhat comparable in the sense that BOTW has incredibly simple combat that was made great by its players and the crazy things they did to make it look cool. Simple mechanics are bad when you can't do anything with them except for what the game expects from you. Simple mechanics are great when players discover ways to expand upon it outside of the way the game teaches you to use them.

I had a lot of fun running through this world, constantly having those E3 camera shot moments, jumping into hordes of enemies to fight them in a way that made me look really cool, upgrading new armor, hunting for flowers to unlock new colors, searching for secrets behind waterfalls, taking photos every 10 minutes because the lighting was perfect. The big difference when compared to a usual ubisoft game for me is the motivation to be in the world they created. Assassins creed typically has a very repetitive environment, no visual queues or landmarks to tease you into seeing what its about, and so on. Gameplay wise they are quite similar, but its the way the developers motivate you to make your own fun and seek out content any way you want. An icon labeled 'side quest' does not excite me because I already know where I'm going and what I'll get from going there. Seeing a smoke signal in the distance, or a bird inviting you to follow it is a clever way to do just that - but in a way that doesn't feel mundane. There's still a little mystery to it. Even if you do have a set location in mind, those visual teases will always yank you from the beaten path and that is something not a lot of open world games understand. Make your world feel interesting. Not every game needs to be visually insane and atmospheric, but I think that is beyond important for open worlds games where you spend hours upon hours exploring its world. It's rewarding to explore and find a mountain with an amazing view of the ocean or another forest with new colors and environments. No this isn't an actual in game reward that boosts your stats, but I still find it rewarding to have moments like that.
This game doesn't do enough things exceptionally well compared to its competition for me to consider it the best playstation 4 game, but I think its onto something with its design philosophy and I hope sucker punch polishes this formula even more. I'm honestly stoked for the upcoming expansion because I cant wait to see more locations, and the gameplay loop is fun enough that I know exploring it will be a solid time.

Ratchet & Clank has been one of my favorite game franchises since its inception on the ps2. I grew up on those games and continued to love them through the ps3 era.
A Crack in Time really set the standard for me when it came to what this series is capable of - this will be the title I commonly compare Rift Apart to because it is most similar to that one and feels like a true follow up.
Obviously the visuals of this game are mind blowing. So far this is the only game to feel truly next gen to me. The animation is outstanding and it's hilarious that the in game graphics are better than the actual CGI film from a while ago.

The series has been dormant in my mind since A Crack in Time on ps3. The ps4 remake was solid but it was a remake of the very first game which means it didn't get to take advantage of a lot of the ideas introduced in the sequels (and it also used the movie for its story which is horrible). The characters were so sterilized in the ps4 game. It was a fun remake, but it was a let down in a lot of areas for me.

Luckily Rift Apart feels back in line with where A Crack in Time was taking the series. The story here is honestly really solid. I've seen complaints that Ratchet & Clank themselves don't have much development here. I agree, but I also don't mind because we've had so many character arcs with them already. This is mostly Rivet's game. Her story is pretty great and I love how the game balances gameplay between her and Ratchet in a natural way. It's not an amazing story though. It honestly doesn't come close to Crack in Time's for me, but it's still easily one of the better ones in the whole series. Not that I only play these games for their story but I do love the world of R&C and adore when they utilize it for interesting narratives.

Sadly Rift Apart seems to forget a lot of what happened in the Ps3 entries. It starts to go in a direction that I found really exciting but the game is rather anti climatic in the end and feels like its leaving room for a sequel, which is fine. The story told here is charming enough, but it teased a lot of interesting things and didn't follow through with them in the end.

Anyways the story here isn't the most important thing, it's the gameplay of course. It's hands down the best the series has been. New mechanics introduced in Rift Apart really change up the combat scenarios in a way that was necessary to keep the series interesting. It almost plays out like Doom for kids. Insanely fast paced shooting and warping around stages to avoid enemies. Scattering for ammo pickups etc. It's insanely fun and I wasn't bored for a second. Visually you can hardly believe the things you're pulling off.

The weapons are sort of weak here too compared to previous games. There are some great ones for sure, but a lot of them do similar things and cancel each other out. They were fun to use and served a practical purpose, but they really lacked a lot of personality from previous arsenals. Not the worst by any means but I feel like some of the ps2 and ps3 games had more interesting weapon selections. Or at least on par rather than doing something totally new.
However, this is sort of made up by the way you use the weapons. The ps5 trigger functionality is really awesome and makes the weapons a lot more interesting to play around with. Having different functions for different types of trigger presses is a great idea and it becomes pretty engaging because of the way the ps5 triggers react.

The levels and set pieces are also consistently high quality. Nothing felt like filler. There was a perfect balance of platforming and shooting - whereas some previous games fail to find a good balance of the two.

I have minor issue here and there. Rift Apart failed to surpass A Crack in Time in a few areas. I was heavily disappointed to see them abandon constructo mods and space exploration. No insomniac museum is shocking as well, as that was one of the first things I started anticipating when this game got announced. And of course the story not being as impactful. Thankfully Rivet (and other characters that I will not spoil) were fantastic additions, and I would actually be sad to not see them return in some way for future installments. While I complain about the story being a little too simple, It does a great job at introducing new likeable characters that I really want to see more of.

It's not the best in the series for me personally but I wasn't expecting it to be since crack in time is a very personal game for me. The fact I even quesetioned if I liked Rift Apart more at one point shocked me and is a testimant to how much I loved it.
Rift Apart is about everything I could have wanted from a new Ratchet & Clank game. Seeing a new installment with this much care and budget puts a huge smile on my face. So glad to see this series continue strongly after having a bit of a slump. Insomniac are champions. I'm stoked to see more from them in the future. Fingers crossed R&C can continue to thrive on playstation in a world where these types of games seem to only come from indie devs or nintendo.

It's pretty crazy that this 40 dollar expansion has more content than a lot of full priced games.
This is one of the best expansions I've played for a game. It adds so much needed development for some characters from 2. I already loved characters like Mythra and Jin, but seeing more background for them solidified them as some of the best in the series. The main cast here I honestly enjoy a bit more than the main game. Hugo felt a little under utilized, but I enjoyed the main party's banter and personalities. The dialogue was consistently good from the start and didn't hit the same awkward moments that the first few chapters of 2 suffer from. They are all instantly likeable and develop together in a more natural way.
I also appreciate the new combat system. This kept it feeling fresh after playing 2 instead of forcing me to progress through the same battle system again. I think overall I prefer the combat of 2, but Torna's combat is perfect for this expansion and provides some clever narrative context for how blades developed in this world through its gameplay.

I spent a little over 30 hours playing this which is about half the length of the main game. I expected maybe 15 or 20. And honestly...it probably should've been this length because I feel like a good chunk of this game suffered from padding. Longer doesn't equal better.
The pacing is brilliant until later in the game where you are hit with a road block due to the community system. You need to reach community level 4 near the end to continue the story. Community is built by doing side quests. I don't mind this mechanic, but it was a horrible idea to block off story progression until you do a certain amount of side quests. Perhaps I have only myself to blame for not doing side quests very often, but I DID do quite a few in between story missions. Theres not much incentive to do them because I never struggled to keep my combat level up to speed. I never felt under leveled. Usually xenoblade games use side quests to prevent the player from needing to grind. Well I never had to grind so the incentive to do side quests was minimal. I should just do them for the stories right? That'd be great but so many of the side quests are just fetch quests or "bring me this specific item". And on top of that, a lot of items people request you need to craft. Oops, it appears you lack the materials to craft that item so now you need to run around looking for those materials to craft the thing to give to the guy to build your community level to then finally continue the story. It is such a frustrating design philosophy and I feel like it was only implemented to make the game longer. If this game was 5-10 hours shorter I would have still enjoyed it just as much, but being forced to do side quests to get to the part I'm actually interested in totally ruined the pacing of this expansion near the end. Which is a shame because the rest of this game is fantastic.

I know that was rather negative, but in defense of the game, all of that frustration is compiled near the end of the game rather than throughout the whole thing. Not to mention doing side quests right from the start to avoid it later could prevent it. I just didn't know there would be such severe punishment for only doing maybe half of the quests I come across. Like seriously, do every side quest you come across or you'll pay for it later. (then again maybe constant fetch quests through the whole game would ruin an otherwise beautifully paced adventure). I pray the next xenoblade game stays far away from this quest design.

Back to the positives. The main story is great and very focused on its characters. This narrative not only works pretty well as a stand alone story, but it really does make 2 better overall. I would not suggest playing this before 2 because the context of 2's main story is necessary in my opinion, but this is meant to build upon it, and it does so perfectly.

Also the music in Torna has a very strong identity. The touch of jazz within its themes is incredible, and the Torna battle theme might be my favorite battle theme in the whole series. I was surprised how unique the style was compared to 2 and that it didnt simply rehash tracks from the main game. I adore Torna's OST and I think it barely topped the OST of 2.

My only other complaint would be the fact that the locations are pretty repetitive since you don't go to a lot of different areas, but there are still some gorgeous sights to behold.

This was so close to being a 9/10 until the quest design shattered the pacing of the game towards the end.
I was also close to giving it a 7 due to this frustration, but I had to remind myself that it is partially my fault for not consistently completing side quests throughout since its clearly implied to be important, but I still feel the actual design around its implementation is horribly flawed and could've been far less frustrating. Of my 30+ hour journey, I'd estimate 7 hours or so were spent focusing on leveling up community, so its far from a majority of the experience.

If you enjoyed 2 - there is no question that you need to play this. I'd say it's essential to the experience of 2. It's not just a simple DLC that provides some more quests. It adds more depth to its world and characters and in return improves aspects of 2's story. It's cool to see so much thought go into DLC for xenoblade 2. Ignoring the community road blocks, I do feel like there are a lot of things in Torna that are an improvement over 2 which gives me more hope for the future of the series.

Imagine a game like metroid prime giving you all of your tools right from the start. Sounds broken right? Now imagine you also have access to all areas right away. This may be a crude comparison - but Outer Wilds sort of takes this idea and crafts a genius game with it. Outer Wilds made me rethink everything I knew about progression in video games.

First off I’ll clarify that this game isn’t what I’d call a metroidvania - but I think comparing it to one will serve my purpose here. Metroidvanias involve the player freely exploring a map and acquiring items or abilities to help you reach new locations that were blocked off before. They have a huge emphasis on exploration and finding your way around the map. Outer Wilds is the epitome of an exploration game. As soon as you get your ship you are granted access to the entire universe. No distinct goal other than “find out what’s happening”.

Outer Wilds is brilliant because if you know the answers to this game, you can complete it in probably 10 minutes. You are able to reach the ending right away. Progression is not locked off by the lack of an ability or item - it’s simply blocked off by the player’s knowledge. The fact that the game is designed in a way where it’s almost impossible to accidentally find the final solution is also brilliant. There is a huge risk with a game like this because there is a possibility that players will miss out on a lot of your game. Upon watching others play - I too noticed things I missed when I played it. I’ve watched a few people play this and no 2 people progress the same way after a certain point. It’s truly a unique experience per player. A lot of games claim to have this kind of flexibility with the “player to player” experience, but I’ve never seen a game pull it off so perfectly. They make it seem easy. I had a moment where I asked a friend for help and he simply could not guide me in a sensible way without spoiling another part of the game because I had gone about things so differently than him. The challenge of what to do next can be daunting but is incredibly rewarding with the right amount of patience.

The point of this game is to be as intrepid as possible. To allow yourself to overcome fears or paranoias. One planet might seem intimidating or confusing. It’s not that you shouldn’t be there yet, but maybe you just aren’t ready to take on something new. Why not explore familiar territory for some guidance until you feel more confident? A person’s personality will shine through this game and how they approach it. Your experience isn’t dictated by items, mechanics, invisible walls etc. it is strictly dictated by you and how you want to approach things.

In metroid you get a grappling hook to reach a new location. In outer wilds - you obtain knowledge. You were always able to do that, but now you know. It’s a similar feeling to building your Arsenal in metroid, but now it’s all in the players brain. The design of this game is so tight that it can allow such freedom and still guide everyone towards the same goal.

Outer Wilds also has some of the most striking imagery I’ve seen in a game. It’s not graphically intense or mind blowing with its textures - but the art direction is bold and witnessing the natural movement of this universe is so enthralling. I encourage you to watch the making of documentary on YouTube. The technical achievements made by this development team is astounding.

Another crazy thing is that a lot of people end up with a similar play time. It took me around 12 hours to beat and that seems to be a common length for a lot of people give or take a couple hours. I’m sure there are plenty of variables out there, but it’s important to know that you likely won’t beat the game in 2 hours.

Obviously I need to touch on the music as well. It’s incredible. I’m a big fan of folk music so I love the focus on the instruments. I’m a big fan of how actual instruments are utilized in this world as well. There are even synth based tracks that provide a compelling sense of atmosphere. It’s a genius blend of styles that just works. Folk music in space seems like an odd combo, but this world is perfect for it. The music plays a good role in the game until the very end. No spoilers of course, but this also happens to be one of my favorite video game endings of all time now.

Honestly my only complaint with this game is that I can never experience it the same way again now that I know all of the answers. I envy people who have the opportunity to experience it for the first time. There are plenty of things I didn’t mention here, but I want this review to be as vague as possible. Please give this game a shot if you’ve ever so much as considered it because it ‘looked pretty cool’. It may not be for everyone, but I think this game will mean a lot to those who it’s for.

I remember being somewhat underwhelmed by my first experience with this game back on the Wii U. Not because it was disappointing or mediocre, but because it was just a good mario game that didn't blow me away in any regard.
Something I've come to realize is that not every entry in a series needs to be groundbreaking or reinvent the wheel. Yes - that's always an exciting experience - but sometimes a game just needs to take familiar ideas and polish them to a ridiculous degree. Not that this game lacks new ideas, but it builds upon previous games with a sharp focus on tight level design and smooth controls.

I feel like this game has somehow come back and shattered my original impression. I cannot confidently say that this is my favorite mario game or anything, but I firmly believe that 3D world is one of the most beautifully paced and creative platformers I have played.

One thing I realized upon my replaying of this game is just how varied and consistently creative these levels are. It's apparent within the first several levels. The world design and mechanical variety is on full display pretty quickly. The new power ups are utilized for creative problem solving or player freedom - rather than a gimmick surrounded by an environment that isn't built for it. You never need a power up to progress, but you are provided a multitude of ways to reach your goal.

There may be a few levels that border on becoming tedious - but those are sparse and nothing outstays its welcome. 3D world also has one of the best post-game worlds of any mario game. There is a shocking amount of content here and it isn't a tiresome experience to fully complete this game (excluding the whole 'beat the whole game with every character' thing. That's a bit too far).

It isnt flawless though. Kind of a pointless statement as this applies to any video game - but there are a couple things worth noting.
If this is your first time playing this game, this is a really good deal. You get a better version of the original with a free expansion. It somewhat justifies the $60 price.
However if you have completed this game before - there isnt much in the realm of new content (aside from Bowser's Fury which I will touch on later in the review). The movement has been updated and I do believe this faster pace fits this game perfectly. It feels better in my opinion. There is also the use of gyro aiming with a cursor to replace the touch screen controls - which some levels require the use of. This new control scheme works pretty well - but it isnt as natural as the touch screen, but the effort to make it work is appreciated. It is also surprising to see that there are no new characters. People returning to this game may not have much incentive to do so unless theyre utterly curious what it is like to run a little faster.
This re release is saved by the fact that you get Bowser's Fury with it, but on its own it is not worth the $60 bucks. If you haven't played it before though - I think its a safe purchase.
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Now let's touch on Bowser's Fury.
I think this might be the most inventive idea the mario series has seen since the first Galaxy game. It takes the engine of 3D world and puts you in an open world platformer essentially. The full camera control feels great and the transition to this style works shockingly well for this engine. The freedom to explore and collect Cat Shines in any order makes for a really unique platformer. Bowser is actually a threatening foe for once. Every encounter is exciting, and the new musical compositions made for this expansion are incredible. It's an addictive and satisfying journey, and I would love to see a full title attempt to utilize this formula if possible. It may only keep you busy for 3-4 hours, but it provides a lot of post game content to do squeeze another couple hours out.

If you only want to play BF and plan on skipping 3D World - BF does not warrant 60 dollars on its own. If for some reason it was ever sold on its own for 20 dollars maximum - I'd say go for it. Nintendo proves they still have new ways to reinvent the platformer genre and I hope they continue to tap into that creativity.

Although 3D world on its own is an incredibly standard re-release of a superb game - its worth is validated by Bowser's Fury being included. If you are dying to replay this or haven't given it a shot, it is 100% worth your time.

I had a really strange relationship with this game.
First off - The original xenoblade game is one of my all time favorite games. It has my favorite story and main cast of characters in any RPG (or game in general). It was always going to be nearly impossible for a sequel to top that.
I remember feeling slightly disappointed with X - a really fun game with awesome ideas but a repetitive gameplay loop and hollow story/ characters. When 2 was announced I was genuinely excited to see the series go back to a more linear narrative and similar structure compared to the first game.

I bought 2 on release day and did not get very far - I played for 8 hours at most before calling it quits. I ended up selling it as well because it did not jive with me at all. It was a let down at the time. I found the combat very slow and over simplified, the characters tropey and stereotypical, the writing awful, and the story far from engaging.

This was my first experience. These first few hours are why people give up on the game so quickly.

4 years later I decide to give it another chance. I tell myself I'm going to push through it and see why some people actually adore this game. I can honestly say I'm really glad I did. I also happened to get pretty far in this game before pyra/mythra got added to smash bros, so I actually felt some excitement for that announcement.

This is bad first impressions the game. It's actually insane how much this game improves after a few chapters. I still think the writing is really rough at times (moreso just the character dialogue) - but those moments become rare or non existent after a while. I still can't ignore that the dialogue made me roll my eyes from time to time though. There are some weirdly misogynistic moments early on and a lot of the characters give off the 'horny anime stereotype' impression before the game properly develops them. Also the ass/boob shots got super old.

This sounds really bad, but it's all shoved at the beginning of the game. Which baffles me because these characters genuinely become fantastic and well developed, but they take too long to get there - so it's hard to blame people who are so put off by the first few hours. I won't say they are wrong, but I can officially say that I was wrong in assuming the whole game would be this way.

It was a few chapters in where I found myself realizing how invested I had become in this world. As soon as you reach Indol the game captures the spirit of the original game so well. That spirit from then on lasts until the very end of the game. All of the main party members have unique backstories and motives. I appreciate that they are not simple copies of the first game's cast. I still prefer the first game's characters by quite a bit - but these characters are fantastic. Rex is still the weakest link but he really does find his footing as a solid protagonist. He's the only character who's voice actor is kinda hard to take seriously at times. Everyone else does a stellar job - especially the other party members, jin, and malos. Malos is a really compelling antagonist even though his motivations are sort of generic, but it's his connection with those motivations that make him interesting. I obviously cannot spoil anything here, but the directions this game takes its story are unpredictable and really impressive. The contrasting themes between this and the first game are cleverly thought out and brilliant. The last couple chapters of this game are prime xenoblade.

The combat is also wayyyy better than I originally anticipated. My first time playing this game I was worried it was simplified from the first game. However, I came to realize it is actually far more complex than the first game's combat system. I'm honestly not sure which combat i prefer more. They are similar but the depth of the systems are so vastly different. There is so much strategy and planning involved with every battle. Blades are a really cool idea and theres a pokemon-like aspect in trying to collect rare ones for your party.
To those who don't like the combat based on the first couple hours - I promise it will click with you if you stick with it. As soon as I understood and started utilizing all of the mechanics, the combat became one of the most engaging systems I have ever experienced in an RPG.

Like I said earlier - this is bad first impressions the game on almost every aspect (aside from music perhaps - which is consistently amazing and almost on par with the first game). If you liked the first game but couldn't get far with this one - i promise there is something to get from this experience if you stick with it. I hate when people tell me "it gets good after a while" but here I am essentially saying the same thing.

I still have my problems with it and it even has flaws clear to the end of the game. The dialogue becomes more consistently good later in the game - but there are still moments that make me roll my eyes. There was sadly a couple really serious moments that were stunted by the choice to use a backing track with vocals. It gave me worship music vibes and it felt really out of place during these moments and it distracted me from what should've been a really devastating moment. However, these moments are not common or consistent. I just want to make sure that people are aware that the game doesn't become a perfect masterpiece after a few chapters - but that its positives eventually outweigh the negatives by a lot.

I never expected I would defend this game. I was someone who thought that game was 'overly anime' and kinda hard to take seriously. I'm not even a big anime fan in general, but as a huge fan of the original game, I am so so soooo glad I gave this a second chance. It gives me hope that this team is still capable of making amazing games and stories.