VN + retrowave + future funk music, what do you need more?

Exploring the island is a lot of fun, it's beautiful and quite big. You can find secrets everywhere, and it is worth exploring.
Just wandering around with the music in the background... I am fully immersed.

The visual novel part and character interactions are very charming and every character feels written well. Everyone has a cool design. The investigation part is really good although sometimes I was a bit clueless where to go next.

You can partake in the trial anytime but it gets easier the more you explored. The vibe during the trial is just amazing, it is just unique.

PLEASE PLAY THIS GAME!!

Absolute bonkers! <3

I love everything about this game! The plot is not as simple as you think it is but it's well done if you think about it more. The last chapter had me screamin. All the (new) characters are amazing, including Viola.

The combat is even better in this game. The Demons/Kaijus are a great addition to the already perfect combat. You have a big selection of weapons and demons with their own unique moveset. Unfortunately Viola's combat is kinda basic and doesn't work as perfect as Bayonetta's does. You are supposed to parry to get Witch Time but it doesn't work against 50% of the enemy. That's my only complain.

BUT YES, KAIJU KAIJU KAIJU!!! The special levels when you fight as a Kaiju are my favorite. The level design is top tier, you got secrets and collectables everywhere and some small puzzles too. The different dimensions are just so cool.

AND DON'T FORGET THE AMAZING OST!! Bayonetta's OST is superior and this game doesn't miss! Viola's theme is top tier. You just get into the right flow when the music starts playing during combat.

ALL IN ALL, PLEASE PLAY IT! The game tries a lot but it works in the end!

I tried to like the game... but I just don't like it. It's a mixed bag.

First of all the story. The story is very basic and picks up later on. l'Cie are awesome and everything around them is always cool. The ending actually made me very emotional, especially with the song playing. It was in the end a very emotional war story about just children meant to fight and nothing else.

As mentioned before, the music is really good, as expected from Final Fantasy. Especially "Zero" by Bump of Chicken hits hard. One of the tracks reminds me of "Under the Apple Tree" from Crisis Core.

Unfortunately the game suffers from a lot of problems, for example the characters. You have 13 characters in the class that basically get no scenes during the main story and only in very short free time scenes. The only ones that get moments are Rem and Machina. That's it. It basically has a replacble cast.

Also the combat... it's easy and fun in the first few missions but too repetitive later on cause nothing changes. RTS combat just sucks. (ALSO REMOVE THAT MOTION BLUR PLEASE, HOLY SHIT IT HURTS)
Level and dungeon design is okay, nothing amazing.

This game just plays like a PSP game, a very old one. I might have enjoyed it more on the handheld back then cause it's clearly structured like that. You got your "wait time", limited options etc.

All in all... expect a PSP game and you will be fine in the long run.

Sonic Frontiers - A successful experiment.

I played a lot of Sonic games and I think this one became of my favorites. It does a lot of things right but also a lot of things wrong.

First of all, thank you for actually using a good writer, Ian Flynn. This game's story (and lore) is surprisingly very good. You have tons of references to old games. Unfortunately you also notice that the budget was tight. The final scenes didn't feel as impactful and it felt very abrupt.

Now the most important part of Sonic: The gameplay.
We got the Cyberspace levels and the open areas. Sonic plays differently in both of them and ALWAYS good. Even in the 2D sections. I think I prefer the overworld gameplay. You have a lot of "rpg" mechanics but the fighting is just a lot of fun, building up combos is great.

The cyberspace levels are A LOT of fun. Most of them are based on old sonic levels, such as Metal Harbor or a canceled Unleashed level. It gives you an "AAHHHH" moment once you realize. Weirdly enough, the S-rank requirements are randomly chosen, they are just not consistent. The islands are well designed, but I just don't really like the third island that much.

Also I think this game has almost the best music. A lot of punk for boss fights, a lot of EDM for the levels. It's great, I am listening to the OST on a daily base.

The gameplay loop is the following: Beating guardians for gears -> do cyberspace levels -> get keys to unlock chaos emeralds -> boss fight. It is very satisfying. Super Sonic PLAYS and FEELS awesome.

All in all, it's a great game and I am glad Sonic is back. x)