4 reviews liked by NB4Y
Lost Judgment
2021
This review contains spoilers
One of the best games in the Yakuza/Judgment series.
A lot of improvements from the previous game, the 3 main styles feel a lot more unique and fun (plus boxer style is insanely fun to play, though a bit overpowered), the school substory was pretty fun (except robotics, we'll get to you) and in general i liked the sidecontent more.
The general story was maybe a tad bit worse than the first one, but this game's new characters are really really good, especially Kuwana, whom i found extremely compelling and interesting as an antagonist, probably my favourite in the series, and i really really loved his dynamic with Yagami.
OST great as usual, nothing to say there.
Now to the "bad", which is honestly not much, but i feel like i need to mention it because it did bother me somewhat.
To me, the only flaw in this game are the stealth/following/run/parkour sections, which i found very boring and very easy, especially stealth which was basically just "throw coin>step around the guy/choke him". Also, robotics club game was a travesty, annoying at best, disgustingly hard and RNG dependant at worst.
Anyways, very, very, very good game that cements itself as one of RGG's best, in my opinion.
A lot of improvements from the previous game, the 3 main styles feel a lot more unique and fun (plus boxer style is insanely fun to play, though a bit overpowered), the school substory was pretty fun (except robotics, we'll get to you) and in general i liked the sidecontent more.
The general story was maybe a tad bit worse than the first one, but this game's new characters are really really good, especially Kuwana, whom i found extremely compelling and interesting as an antagonist, probably my favourite in the series, and i really really loved his dynamic with Yagami.
OST great as usual, nothing to say there.
Now to the "bad", which is honestly not much, but i feel like i need to mention it because it did bother me somewhat.
To me, the only flaw in this game are the stealth/following/run/parkour sections, which i found very boring and very easy, especially stealth which was basically just "throw coin>step around the guy/choke him". Also, robotics club game was a travesty, annoying at best, disgustingly hard and RNG dependant at worst.
Anyways, very, very, very good game that cements itself as one of RGG's best, in my opinion.
An enormous step forward for the series, which stubbornly and rightly so refuses to move away from his arcade roots.
Midnight Club 3 is an improvement on most if not all aspects of the previous entries of the series, adding in the already exhilarating mix an addition which will find its way in the 6th generation era of racing games: car customization.
This is not only a way to slowly guide the player towards faster (and it gets crazy fast) racing but also a chance to add in more player expression: the offering is not quite crazy as Need for Speed Underground 2 or Pro Street, but Midnight Club 3 fixes this by giving fine-tuned options for every car types. Just as this concept will find his way in Need for Speed Carbon, the car classes and types featured are a way to specialize your play-style into a more hit-and-run, aggressive or precise approach. You won't need to try every single thing out in order to reach the credits, but it's highly advised, as variety truly is the spice of this game.
The car collection is not only huge but also quite unique: a never-seen-before focus on saloons and muscle cars, a lot of high-end super-cars, most of the Japanese cars you'd be fond of, and bikes. If you're into rarely seen cars in video-games, this is the stuff you should try out. The environments are ever-so detailed, taking again crazy approaches with some vertical, almost flying sections. San Diego, Atlanta and Detroit all feature an almost "7th generation" color scheme and blur, but their designs are varied enough in order to not become stale.
Thing which could happen given how huge this game is. Tons of rivals, tournaments and race series. The rivals are not quite characterized as they do in Midnight Club 2, the unordered races are quite rare, and the police presence can sometimes be one-sided...
But all those things are pardoned once you try the handling model.
This handles like a dream. The arcade, float-y, and "pick-up and play" approach still remains the same: the wackiness and often unbearable frustration of the physics, the traffic and some races still remains.
And that's what makes this series special: an adrenaline-pumping speed freak, which can either end very well or very bad. There's no in between. Once again, knowing the city is everything. More so than ever, knowing your car, its "ins-and-outs", and the ability you're provided with that car type.
DUB Edition Remix features an additional location, Tokyo, bundled in a Challenge mode where you can bring your cars from the Career, race them here and bring your prizes back. Not quite striking as the other locations but a welcome addition for sure. Obvious as it may sound, the featured songs are a perfect companion to the game's already thick atmosphere: the selection is big, striking and once again varied.
It can't be explained how the most frustrating aspects of this series are, in the same time, the most exhilarating and engaging ones. Embrace the chaos, and find your way in.
Recommended.
Midnight Club 3 is an improvement on most if not all aspects of the previous entries of the series, adding in the already exhilarating mix an addition which will find its way in the 6th generation era of racing games: car customization.
This is not only a way to slowly guide the player towards faster (and it gets crazy fast) racing but also a chance to add in more player expression: the offering is not quite crazy as Need for Speed Underground 2 or Pro Street, but Midnight Club 3 fixes this by giving fine-tuned options for every car types. Just as this concept will find his way in Need for Speed Carbon, the car classes and types featured are a way to specialize your play-style into a more hit-and-run, aggressive or precise approach. You won't need to try every single thing out in order to reach the credits, but it's highly advised, as variety truly is the spice of this game.
The car collection is not only huge but also quite unique: a never-seen-before focus on saloons and muscle cars, a lot of high-end super-cars, most of the Japanese cars you'd be fond of, and bikes. If you're into rarely seen cars in video-games, this is the stuff you should try out. The environments are ever-so detailed, taking again crazy approaches with some vertical, almost flying sections. San Diego, Atlanta and Detroit all feature an almost "7th generation" color scheme and blur, but their designs are varied enough in order to not become stale.
Thing which could happen given how huge this game is. Tons of rivals, tournaments and race series. The rivals are not quite characterized as they do in Midnight Club 2, the unordered races are quite rare, and the police presence can sometimes be one-sided...
But all those things are pardoned once you try the handling model.
This handles like a dream. The arcade, float-y, and "pick-up and play" approach still remains the same: the wackiness and often unbearable frustration of the physics, the traffic and some races still remains.
And that's what makes this series special: an adrenaline-pumping speed freak, which can either end very well or very bad. There's no in between. Once again, knowing the city is everything. More so than ever, knowing your car, its "ins-and-outs", and the ability you're provided with that car type.
DUB Edition Remix features an additional location, Tokyo, bundled in a Challenge mode where you can bring your cars from the Career, race them here and bring your prizes back. Not quite striking as the other locations but a welcome addition for sure. Obvious as it may sound, the featured songs are a perfect companion to the game's already thick atmosphere: the selection is big, striking and once again varied.
It can't be explained how the most frustrating aspects of this series are, in the same time, the most exhilarating and engaging ones. Embrace the chaos, and find your way in.
Recommended.
Born out of a years long hiatus, while having to carry decades of heritage on his shoulders. Yet, it still manages to stand on his own legs.
Armored Core VI is unwilling to please everyone, but only who wishes to dig in its trial-and-error, experimentation and overwhelmingly fast gameplay. If you played any other game in the franchise, you'll know the drill. If you didn't, no pressure. This is by far the best entry point out of all the numbered titles.
Don't get me wrong, though. At first, I was worried. So much information on screen. The streamlining of the customization. And yet... All those concerns started to fade away at the first bosses and arena encounters.
There's no time to think about patterns, move-sets and such. The plan has to be made in the garage. In the mission, you are a relentless, implacable rancor-fueled man-machine of death and destruction. Drown the target with disgustingly massive amounts of firepower, attack using all of your resources with no restraints whatsoever. Execution is everything.
And then... When you'll overcome your next challenge, you'll start to feel "that". Swap out some components. Try a new approach. Slowly, carefully treading into the realm of removing your target from existence faster and better. Efficiency and effectiveness, constantly improving...
...And in that moment, all the fascination of this series finally reveals itself. The "thing" which makes this experience unique.
Unparalleled player agency.
Mission variety's on par with the series' top performers. Best environment art of the whole franchise. A lot of parts for a numbered entry, although with some restrains in the legs and arms departments. The boss encounters are by far the best of Armored Core VI's offering, and even if there's one entry which its "fun factor" could be debatable, his set-piece is still wonderful to go through. Arena's on the easy side, but its integration with the story is a nice touch, reminding somehow of Master of Arena. The narrative, just as the gameplay, keeps pushing faster and faster, with some beats, themes and characters reminiscent of Ace Combat along the expected references to older Armored Core games.
Multiplayer plays really good, even though it feels like an afterthought in terms of options and systems.
Shoji Kawamori's back in the mechanical design department, but you won't see any of it until you progress through the game. Do you wish to see the best the industry has to offer? Get at it.
Kota Hoshino's back in the soundtrack department, mixing compositions reminiscent of old entries along with a new dark, synth-wave, industrial tone, somehow close to DOOM (2016). The only match for a gritty, melancholic, hopeless landscape which, in hindsight, feels really close to the apocalypses of Last Raven and For Answer. All of that, alongside a crisp, state-of-the-art sound design and voice cast.
By the way, you won't be done with one play-through. Keep at it.
Technically-wise, the best release From Software ever put out, perfectly fitting the most sincerely written love letter to the mecha genre.
Armored Core has always been good. This is only the reminder.
Armored Core VI is unwilling to please everyone, but only who wishes to dig in its trial-and-error, experimentation and overwhelmingly fast gameplay. If you played any other game in the franchise, you'll know the drill. If you didn't, no pressure. This is by far the best entry point out of all the numbered titles.
Don't get me wrong, though. At first, I was worried. So much information on screen. The streamlining of the customization. And yet... All those concerns started to fade away at the first bosses and arena encounters.
There's no time to think about patterns, move-sets and such. The plan has to be made in the garage. In the mission, you are a relentless, implacable rancor-fueled man-machine of death and destruction. Drown the target with disgustingly massive amounts of firepower, attack using all of your resources with no restraints whatsoever. Execution is everything.
And then... When you'll overcome your next challenge, you'll start to feel "that". Swap out some components. Try a new approach. Slowly, carefully treading into the realm of removing your target from existence faster and better. Efficiency and effectiveness, constantly improving...
...And in that moment, all the fascination of this series finally reveals itself. The "thing" which makes this experience unique.
Unparalleled player agency.
Mission variety's on par with the series' top performers. Best environment art of the whole franchise. A lot of parts for a numbered entry, although with some restrains in the legs and arms departments. The boss encounters are by far the best of Armored Core VI's offering, and even if there's one entry which its "fun factor" could be debatable, his set-piece is still wonderful to go through. Arena's on the easy side, but its integration with the story is a nice touch, reminding somehow of Master of Arena. The narrative, just as the gameplay, keeps pushing faster and faster, with some beats, themes and characters reminiscent of Ace Combat along the expected references to older Armored Core games.
Multiplayer plays really good, even though it feels like an afterthought in terms of options and systems.
Shoji Kawamori's back in the mechanical design department, but you won't see any of it until you progress through the game. Do you wish to see the best the industry has to offer? Get at it.
Kota Hoshino's back in the soundtrack department, mixing compositions reminiscent of old entries along with a new dark, synth-wave, industrial tone, somehow close to DOOM (2016). The only match for a gritty, melancholic, hopeless landscape which, in hindsight, feels really close to the apocalypses of Last Raven and For Answer. All of that, alongside a crisp, state-of-the-art sound design and voice cast.
By the way, you won't be done with one play-through. Keep at it.
Technically-wise, the best release From Software ever put out, perfectly fitting the most sincerely written love letter to the mecha genre.
Armored Core has always been good. This is only the reminder.
Persona 5 Strikers
2020
this game's really fun and I love the play styles of the other party members; my favorites ones to play as were Skull, Panther, Wolf, and Fox. The gameplay is nothing special, but I think it's a great musou game I have played so far. My only complaint is that the fusion mechs are so boring and P points are not a good addition since it just makes the game super grindy for leveling personas, but leveling stats with these points aren't so bad. in addition, Zenkichi and Sophia are amazing new characters in the story and the concept of jails are a better rendition of palaces because the villains are actual characters compared to the palace ruler counterparts. the only thing bad part of the story is the last part since it just felt like the same rendition of Persona 5's final act. overall, a good game with new, great characters added to the phantom thieves along with a nice story but the gameplay has a few flaws. if you liked persona 5, then i think it's good to pick this one up.
