Nokato
this is a game of very high highs and painful lows. for every motorcycle chase or insane boss fight, there are equal slow moments in both the story and gameplay that slowed the games pace to a painful crawl, to where even someone like me who hasn't played the original yet can tell that this is dragged out. however, uematsu went hard with the ost and those last few chapters besides some confusing story elements went IN so most things are forgiven
2022
what an amazing game exploring this massive world was so fun, although it did get a bit annoying near the end with how much certain bosses and areas repeat (like the catacombs). some of the bosses were also NUTS and had me on the edge of my seat with the ost going unnecessarily hard LOL insane game with some gripes holding it back a bit
forgot to log this but i went through this while bedridden with covid in 2021 and let me tell you it was one of the worst experiences ive ever had with media
what an amazing game the way it handles mature topics was surprising considering i didn't have any particular expectations going into this besides "cute romance story" there are so many impactful moments in this game and the writing is so nuanced and had me thinking for quite awhile. the main cast is one of the strongest ive seen in any romance media and kaoru is the GOAT also whoever was the pianist for the ost went insanely hard for no reason LOL i cant recommend this enough
wow what a game i beat it in like 8 hours but there were some surprisingly emotional moments that got me hard i really love these types of games where the grand scope of the world isnt the focus but rather the characters you interact with it really makes the game feel a lot more personal, especially with this game where theres a fairly consistent chill vibe present with bartending despite the dystopian world they live in great ass game i just wish it was longer
in my experience, long waits for games usually arent worth it but this is one of the few games that was actually worth the wait LMAO although the story wasn't amazing or anything, the ost, gameplay, and cast more than make up for that i had a blast playing this and i heard the postgame is even better so im looking forward to that
time to review this 7 months after beating the game LMAO this game wears its ace attorney inspirations on its sleeves, but in my opinion it definitely reaches those same heights while having its own identity. cases 4 and 5 of this game especially are, imo, every bit as good as some of the best cases in ace attorney. the cast is very memorable and goated with characters like tyrion, celeste, aria, and ruby being stand outs and while i will say this games a bit rough around the edges in the same way a lot of indie games are, theres clearly a lot of love put into this game i cant wait for the sequel
i may come back to this eventually but god i feel like i came into this game with the wrong mindset lmao do not play this if you want a good narrative the gameplay however is very fun and easy to break and experiment with, which is why ill come back to this eventually with a better frame of mind
2021
haven't finished yet but so far have done a few endings what the fuck is this LMAO
Before I even start, I should probably make something clear here. If you haven't played FC yet, do yourself a favor and get to it if you're interested in this arc of games. This game's the textbook definition of a sequel done right, but it won't mean much without FC.
To give my short version of the review first, Sky SC is simply one of the best games I've ever played and I think everyone should give this series a shot for its world building, amazing cast of characters, memorable music, and its narrative. It takes everything good about FC and just cranks it up to 11.
For the actual review, Sky SC is one of the best sequels I've ever played for several reasons. Back in Sky FC, you get to see Joshua and Estelle's journey through Liberl through the lens of Estelle, where her pure yet unknowledgeable view of the world lets you learn more about the continent of Zemuria, glimpsing into some of its political conflicts, different nations, the time line, etc. Joshua, on the other hand, is Estelle's much more intelligent half, often being the one to guide Estelle and make up for her more reckless and head empty actions. On the journey, you meet what is the main cast of the arc as each chapter passes by, with each character coming and going after their respective chapter until the final chapter, where they all come back together. This allowed them to get some spotlight, but it also made this game feel almost episodic in nature with the main plot slowly building up till the end. With Sky SC, Joshua has left and Estelle is now left to find him, leading to some of the best character development I've ever seen. Her naivete is left behind as she is faced with worsening odds of finding Joshua due to her getting a glimpse at just how powerful some figures in the world of Zemuria truly are, but even when her idealistic views are put to the test, her core as a bright and bubbly character who attracts everyone around her "like the sun," as the game puts it, never changes. Rather, it is recontextualized and takes on new meaning because said ideals are no longer coming from a bubbly and naive child, but rather an experienced bracer who has gone through many hardships and having to make up for what she lacked when Joshua left, making their reunion all the more emotional. She's not the only one that gets excellent characterization, as everyone in the main cast gets more attention in this game now that FC has set the background for not only the rest of this arc, but also the rest of the series I'd argue. We get to see more of the effects of the Hundreds Day war that happens before the events of the series personally through Agate's backstory, where he lost his sister to the battle and has been since venting his anger as a bracer as almost a form of self punishment, like a wandering blade with no purpose. Tita ends up helping him through this trauma and accepting what happened, and although no one could replace what Agate lost, she serves as a little sister figure to him that makes him realize what he still has and gives him new conviction to fight, rather than running on sheer anger. Hell, you can see how Agate develops just by comparing his Sky portrait to his Cold Steel portraits. His fire is still there, but he's overall a much more mature and less angsty character now. Olivier doesn't change that much, but he is still probably one of my favorite characters in the series and one of the contributing factors is this game, where we get to see his true identity as an Erebonian prince and glimpse into what would be his main battle for the rest of the saga, which is his opposition to Osborne. He also just makes every cutscene he's in better with his whimsical nature lmao. There are more examples, but this reviews already getting awfully long. Gameplay wise, this game is nothing too special, but I always have fun customizing with the games orbment system, even if there are some spells you will quite literally never use. To cut it short, this games overall an amazing experience with peak characters, peak story, peak music (which I didn't get to talk about all that much, but this game has one of the best final boss tracks I've ever heard), and peak world building. It takes everything good about FC and just makes it better on every front, building on every story beat, character, etc. A must play series for any rpg fan.
To give my short version of the review first, Sky SC is simply one of the best games I've ever played and I think everyone should give this series a shot for its world building, amazing cast of characters, memorable music, and its narrative. It takes everything good about FC and just cranks it up to 11.
For the actual review, Sky SC is one of the best sequels I've ever played for several reasons. Back in Sky FC, you get to see Joshua and Estelle's journey through Liberl through the lens of Estelle, where her pure yet unknowledgeable view of the world lets you learn more about the continent of Zemuria, glimpsing into some of its political conflicts, different nations, the time line, etc. Joshua, on the other hand, is Estelle's much more intelligent half, often being the one to guide Estelle and make up for her more reckless and head empty actions. On the journey, you meet what is the main cast of the arc as each chapter passes by, with each character coming and going after their respective chapter until the final chapter, where they all come back together. This allowed them to get some spotlight, but it also made this game feel almost episodic in nature with the main plot slowly building up till the end. With Sky SC, Joshua has left and Estelle is now left to find him, leading to some of the best character development I've ever seen. Her naivete is left behind as she is faced with worsening odds of finding Joshua due to her getting a glimpse at just how powerful some figures in the world of Zemuria truly are, but even when her idealistic views are put to the test, her core as a bright and bubbly character who attracts everyone around her "like the sun," as the game puts it, never changes. Rather, it is recontextualized and takes on new meaning because said ideals are no longer coming from a bubbly and naive child, but rather an experienced bracer who has gone through many hardships and having to make up for what she lacked when Joshua left, making their reunion all the more emotional. She's not the only one that gets excellent characterization, as everyone in the main cast gets more attention in this game now that FC has set the background for not only the rest of this arc, but also the rest of the series I'd argue. We get to see more of the effects of the Hundreds Day war that happens before the events of the series personally through Agate's backstory, where he lost his sister to the battle and has been since venting his anger as a bracer as almost a form of self punishment, like a wandering blade with no purpose. Tita ends up helping him through this trauma and accepting what happened, and although no one could replace what Agate lost, she serves as a little sister figure to him that makes him realize what he still has and gives him new conviction to fight, rather than running on sheer anger. Hell, you can see how Agate develops just by comparing his Sky portrait to his Cold Steel portraits. His fire is still there, but he's overall a much more mature and less angsty character now. Olivier doesn't change that much, but he is still probably one of my favorite characters in the series and one of the contributing factors is this game, where we get to see his true identity as an Erebonian prince and glimpse into what would be his main battle for the rest of the saga, which is his opposition to Osborne. He also just makes every cutscene he's in better with his whimsical nature lmao. There are more examples, but this reviews already getting awfully long. Gameplay wise, this game is nothing too special, but I always have fun customizing with the games orbment system, even if there are some spells you will quite literally never use. To cut it short, this games overall an amazing experience with peak characters, peak story, peak music (which I didn't get to talk about all that much, but this game has one of the best final boss tracks I've ever heard), and peak world building. It takes everything good about FC and just makes it better on every front, building on every story beat, character, etc. A must play series for any rpg fan.