97 reviews liked by Neaa


If you wanna swim, you first gotta learn how to sink...


They got me man ...

For what's still ongoing, I'm really impressed by the way they're going about this story arc, and it reassures me in a sense that HSR is able to put a really interesting spin on what HI3rd does and expand on it (as someone who hasn't finished part 1 yet and stopped at Otto's conclusion), regardless I'm floored by what's been shown so far and makes me want to go back and finish 3rd, LOVE U AVENTURINE

Basic bitch cliff notes understanding of the most mainstream psychologists and philosophers possible. Dan Hentschel says more about psychology than this garbage.

I have no clue if this is still the last bastion of our culture war or if it’s too woke now so I’m giving it a 5/10 to average those two possibilities out

Alas, people won't make all the right choices in their lifetime... Though luck always seems like it's on your side.

You will keep winning, having never lost before. But why you? Why... must it be you?

If all your luck is built on the pain of someone you love, on the loss of dozens more - if these windfalls, these jackpots aren't a gift from Gaiathra- if all they are is a long string of meaningless deaths...

how did they make the biggest tearjerker of an ending what the fuck

I was walking in circles around my room for over an hour after finishing it last night and am still trying to collect my thoughts. A beautiful finale to the entirety of Xeno and everything I could have ever asked for.

I have never felt such satisfaction upon finishing something before and am so glad I played Gears and Saga beforehand. I played this series, especially 3 and FR, at the best possible time in my life, purely by chance, and don't think its themes would have resonated with me as deeply as they did had I played it at any previous point in my life. I'll never forget what it has taught me and will forever treasure it. Sagabros we won

P.S. DABURU SUPININGU EJJI

This review contains spoilers

This game is amazing. The story is really good, the cast dynamics are the best they have ever been (which is saying something because 7 had amazing cast dynamics already), and the gameplay is a massive improvement over 7's already fun combat. Dondoko Island is also some of the best side content that this series has ever seen, and on Kiryu's side, the Life Links and Memoirs are the best possible use of fanservice.
With all that, it might seem like the perfect game, but while the story is really good, it doesn't have quite the same impact that 6 and 7 had. The villains are also quite weak in this game. I love the theming around Bryce, but he doesn't get enough time in the sun to really hit me hard. I also don't really care about Ebina. They certainly do not reach the heights of Aoki Ryo. I also do not think that Akane has quite the same emotional impact as Aoki Ryo or Arakawa Masumi, but she is a great character in her own right.
Another criticism I have with this game is that the randomised dungeons in Hawaii and Ijincho are quite tedious. They're the main grinding location, but the level 50 tier's exp payout is pitiful (which for main story I guess it's fine, since the final boss is only level 52). That, and the battles themselves aren't as tailored or fun as the Sotenbori Arena in 7.
Again, the game is amazing, and I'm very satisfied with it, but it was not as good as 7.

This game is complicated for me to really talk about. I think the main story is fine, it's short and does what it needs to do, and the game delivers some emotional gutpunches for Kiryu. But I played this game on hard, and the gameplay itself is some of my least favourite in the series. Before you upgrade, you're underpowered and the fights can be quite hard if you actually try to engage with the game's mechanics. Dodge behind a boss while they're attacking and start hitting their back, and the boss won't stagger and will instead slowly turn around and you just eat shit anyway. Spam charged light attacks in Yakuza style, though? The boss staggers on every hit and you do massive damage.
There were also some baffling changes to the starting kit, like being able to die in extreme heat mode until you get a specific upgrade even though you did not need to get an upgrade for that in every game prior. But ok, the game wants you to get upgrades or it's a pain to play. So I upgraded Kiryu's styles almost to completion, and now he's way too powerful, and bosses go down in a few hits. Even the final boss, which they attempted to make like the final boss of 5, having a massive healthbar and a lot of stage transitions, was way too easy because upgrades in this game make you way too strong. Once again, I played this game on hard mode.
I would also like to reiterate that actually trying to engage with the game's mechanics makes you eat shit. Try to grab an enemy and as you press the button they start their attack animation? Well even if your grab hits them before they hit you, you still rebound off them instead of grabbing (unlike literally every other game in the series), and the enemy hits you anyway. Even if you do grab an enemy, don't expect any crowd control. They are a terrible option, and they even removed small fun things like being able to change your hold on an enemy while grabbing them. They also gutted bounding throws, locking them behind extreme heat mode and making it so that you can't use them on strong enemies, once again different from every other game in the series. But if you're in extreme heat mode, why would you use bounding throws anyway? Unlike other games where any enemy in the vicinity will get knocked over, bounding throws barely stagger, so its use as a crowd control method is terrible, and it does very little damage. Meanwhile, you can just use the spider thread to throw a bunch of enemies at once and knock down any enemies they hit outside extreme heat, or you can use Agent style in extreme heat and just spam the light attack button and do way too much damage in a massive area. I do not understand what the thought process was behind gutting grabs and bounding throws so badly.
There was some fun to be had in the gameplay, like messing with crowds of weaker enemies in Agent style, but the game removed any options you did have in previous games against bosses, locking you into a few painfully easy options. I swear, Dragon Engine Kiryu's combat peaked at 6 where you actually had to think about your actions somewhat and from there it was only downhill. It was so boring to play that I didn't even bother doing the 4 kings side story.