In a strange way, Bravely Default II manages to be a regression in so many ways from the previous entries. Starting mechanically from the battle system which employs a turn gauge that is far more flawed in execution than the original turn system. The other new addition to the core battle system is the counter system where enemies perform specific actions in response to certain triggers, which sounds great in theory, but in execution by around the halfway point of the game you're being bombarded with bosses that have the "counter every ability" trigger. Combined with the turn gauge system some of the battles can involve enemies taking 3-4 turns due to gaining BP from counters before your highest speed character can even take 1 turn.

The side quests in this game are some of the worst I've played in JRPG history, they're even lower than MMORPG sidequests. At least in MMORPGS you get flavour text or something to give you context on why you're doing these bitch quests for people, one amazing npc in this game just tells you "I hate goblin archers!" before the game prompts you to go kill 4 goblin archers. It's ludicrous to forgive content like this just because its optional, especially in a classic style jrpg where exploration is meant to be mechanically rewarded with a decent reward, and there are so many side quests in this game that give you nothing of value.

The story is also a huge step backward, crazily enough, the main cast is okay, with the exception of the main protagonist, Seth, who is an lifeless, boring, flat character insert that just gets incredible powers through a completely nebulous chosen one plot. The side characters also share the same fate as Seth, with the saving grace that they appear for far less time than Seth does. The games presentation is also super flawed, and ruins the emotional impact scenes are meant to have. The cutscene direction is extremely weak except for the last few cutscenes in the game and not even the music can save those scenes from feeling completely undercooked.

Overall Bravely Default II had me oddly perplexed at how little it has to offer, even in the Switch's limited library of exclusive JRPGs. Despite having very low expectations going in, especially after Bravely Second, I find myself astounded by how it has broken those expectations by delivering me one of the most undercooked, underdeveloped, and forgettable JRPG's I've ever played.

Code Vein is one of the most incredibly insane and laughably bad games I've ever played. It somehow jacks up everything that was bad about the Souls games to an incredibly degree that it's hard not to see as a parody of souls games and anime. Full disclosure but I also played most of the game in multiplayer which furthered added to the experience of playing an interactive version of The Room where I can see the passion seeping through every aspect of this game but misdirected passion much like Tommy Wiseau himself.

The level design is some of the worst I had the pleasure of laughing the whole way through with my mates, so many fuck you moments I have to assume the developers were sitting at their desks with the biggest shit eating grins on their faces going "HEHEHEH IM SO SMART" and I lapped up every unseeable death pit and enemy spawning from a wall. It is incredibly impressive for a game to have made a map that is useless in 2019, the map doesn't have layers and a lot of the levels vertically stack across large distances so the map becomes a liability more than anything.

This game is really seen to be believed how ludicrously bad it is, give it a shot and drink in all the awful map design, terrible combat choices, and baffling systems that were just put in because they looked cool while misunderstanding everything that a good soulsborne does right

When I first touched down on the Sector 7 Slums, after getting off the train, I cried. It's difficult to really boil down those euphoric feelings floating in my brain, the complete wonder and majesty I was experiencing, or seeing something that I cherish captured in painstakingly incredible detail. This tipping point for me defines the whole game, and surprises me at every turn with how much it genuinely understands and soulfully carries the legacy it now seeks to work atop of and, in some cases, defy.

Simultaneously, it's difficult for me to know where to begin talking about the game from here. There's so much to talk about that is just going to come off as fangirling gushing. And while I'm not ashamed of that, I still don't want to say more than I really need to.

I think I'd like to describe another scene, a bit of small spoilers ahead. There's a point of falling action where the cast has to decide what the next option should be. In the middle of the night you walk out to see Barret in the garden, thinking about what keeps him going. He talks to you about his reverence for the people he's known, implying that he's lost them. He tells a history of the wonderful happiness each of them brought, that he continues marching forward with. It's such a powerful characterizing moment for Barret. It as well is a heartfelt honest telling of how these characters act, and respond to what's in front of them.

There's a moment where the game goes full on against its legacy, cutting the threads metacontextually to forge a path of its own. That path is laid in with a next-level orchestration that blissfully captures the energy, and a combat system that is absolutely excellent and is tested to its complete limits here. The final bosses, like ones before, offer incredible tactics and balancing acts between the ATB management and correct positioning. And I fucking loved every single minute of it.

There are a few niggles of course. The pacing is off-center and leads to a lot of parts that outstay their welcome. The combat system while I can heap praise and honestly analyze in a lot more detail than I'm putting here, has issues in terms of feedback both in learning the systems as well as enemy telegraphs. There's also full-on meme additions that really should've been left to the cutting board.

Either way, FF7R surpasses all my memories and feelings of the original. Despite barely taking up like 15-20% of the original game's plotline, it exceeds the entire game. I really can't wait for the unknown adventure ahead.