Bio
Just a guy playing some games, I write some reviews as well.

My ratings are entirely based on enjoyment.

5✰: My Favorites/Perfect
4✰: Great
3✰: Not Bad
2✰: Bad
1✰: Terrible
Personal Ratings
1★
5★

Badges


Adored

Gained 300+ total review likes

Trend Setter

Gained 50+ followers

GOTY '23

Participated in the 2023 Game of the Year Event

Loved

Gained 100+ total review likes

Gone Gold

Received 5+ likes on a review while featured on the front page

Donor

Liked 50+ reviews / lists

Pinged

Mentioned by another user

GOTY '22

Participated in the 2022 Game of the Year Event

Full-Time

Journaled games once a day for a month straight

Popular

Gained 15+ followers

2 Years of Service

Being part of the Backloggd community for 2 years

Well Written

Gained 10+ likes on a single review

Roadtrip

Voted for at least 3 features on the roadmap

Best Friends

Become mutual friends with at least 3 others

GOTY '21

Participated in the 2021 Game of the Year Event

Liked

Gained 10+ total review likes

Noticed

Gained 3+ followers

On Schedule

Journaled games once a day for a week straight

Gamer

Played 250+ games

N00b

Played 100+ games

Favorite Games

Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Tactics
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight
Persona 5 Royal
Persona 5 Royal

390

Total Games Played

002

Played in 2024

182

Games Backloggd


Recently Played See More

Monster Hunter: World
Monster Hunter: World

Mar 29

Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy IV

Feb 12

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising

Dec 24

Drowning In Problems
Drowning In Problems

Dec 13

Katana Zero
Katana Zero

Dec 04

Recently Reviewed See More

Sekiro is undoubtedly one of Fromsoft's best works, but I often don't see it talked about nearly as much as Bloodborne or Dark Souls. After coming off Elden Ring, I found myself finding it to be a great experience, though overtime the flaws have become more clear to me. I don't think it was until I played Sekiro however that I realized how many steps back Elden Ring took compared to Sekiro.

Sekiro has an incredibly rich setting, filled with disturbing and elegant creatures, the balance struck in environments is top-notch. I can appreciate a lot of Sekiro's melancholic winter feel while also being able to be bright and beautiful in many instances. This delicate balance between the monster and environmental design makes it stand out in the same ways Bloodborne does with an incredibly rich atmosphere complimented by the nature of the world and story. I think Sekiro does a bit better in specific instances like with the giant white snake, that really highlights just how great the environment can look without being compromised by gameplay mechanics. Just as well, Sekiro’s environment provides new gameplay opportunities such as being able to swim underwater, and the option of stealth elevates Sekiro higher since the environment and gameplay mechanics are married perfectly together and don’t fight each other, making for an incredibly immersive and engaging experience.

Environment design is probably some of the best I’ve seen in a game purely from a gameplay perspective as well. Right from the start, Sekiro encourages and rewards using stealth to take out enemies, since you can assassinate them and take them out in one shot while also not alerting other enemies nearby. While you can most definitely play Sekiro like any other Fromsoft game and rush in to fight everyone all at once, it’s how Sekiro balances both playstyles of stealth and aggression that’s particularly amazing. The grappling hook allows you to approach many battles in many different ways, since the environment has plenty of spots you can grapple onto, once again not compromising environment design for gameplay while still working perfectly. You can either take out foes one-by-one, using the grappling hook to stay in their blind spots, as well as bushes and other obstructions to methodically get through a fight unscathed. Or, you can rush in, and use the grappling hook as a quick method to reposition if you get overwhelmed, allowing you to take the high-ground and using your ranged tools to dispose of enemies, or to get the jump on them, or even to get away and heal. I believe this to be one of Sekiro’s strongest assets, since every part of the game maintains this balance between both options, it never neglects what was introduced at the start which is really commendable.

Actual combat in Sekiro is very much focused on parries and breaking your opponent’s stance to get a fatal blow. It’s just like a rhythm game to me, since every enemy has specific parry timings you need to learn to defeat them. Though not every enemy needs to be parried to be disposed of, some enemies will allow you to get away with mashing light attacks, though most enemies will require some skill to beat. Other enemies, such as beasts require less parrying and more damage to their vitality so their stagger bar fills up faster. I think Sekiro’s combat is incredibly unique and satisfying, but definitely the most demanding combat of any Fromsoft game so far for sure, since you really need to have good timing.

Prosthetic Tools are another aspect of combat that adds even more layers to combat. Prosthetic tools are softly required to deal with specific enemies, like the loaded axe to break through shields, the Flame Vent is particularly good with beasts and enemies afraid of light or fire, and the firecrackers allow you to stun more aggressive enemies, and are especially effective against beasts as well. While you can get through the game without using the prosthetic tools much, you are rewarded for experimenting and figuring out what’s weak to what, which adds depth and is just fun to do. While some of them aren’t even somewhat required to deal with enemies, the advantages and variety available to you is impressive, and being able to upgrade them throughout the game is even better. Upgrades can be a bit tedious to grind for, but it allows you to personalize what you want them to do that suits your preferences and playstyle, so it’s very a fantastic inclusion I really loved overall.

On top of Prosthetic Tools, you’ll also be able to upgrade your swordplay as you progress the game. A lot of these skills aren’t even required to finish the game, but provide substantial advantages against enemies which makes it a bit easier on the player. Though there’s one specific skill that’s so strong, it overshadows all the rest once you get it, but until then, it’s really up to your discretion on what you want to specialize in. You can increase how many times you can use your Prosthetic Tools, you can gain new sword techniques, new combo routes, and new techniques that all play back into the idea of wanting to be more stealth oriented, or more aggressive. This duality continuing to persist even among these options really hits home how important it was for the developers to maintain this balance, even among the entirely optional components, which I deeply respect and like a lot.

Combat isn’t just about parrying or using your prosthetic tools though, there’s also some specific moves you can’t simply parry. Sekiro has three specific types of attacks that require you to adapt on the fly, which makes combat much harder, but much more satisfying. Each of these three attacks has a visual cue of a red kanji symbol flashing above the enemy using it, which makes them be reactive to and fair, but you do need to be quick to not be punished. Sweeping attacks need to be jumped over, if you do jump over it, you can jump off the enemy who did it which rewards you with a bit of stagger bar. Thrusting attacks need to be countered by pressing forward and circle, which gives you a lot of stagger bar in return for it. Finally, and very rarely are electrical attacks which require you to jump, parry in mid-air, and then you can reflect the lightning attack back, stunning the enemy for several seconds and also giving you some stagger bar gain. While the electric parry is definitely the hardest, the other two are definitely hard to learn initially, but flow incredibly well with the combat. You could get away not doing them, but it’s strongly encouraged you do, especially since many bosses and enemies later will very commonly use these attacks to keep you on your toes. I personally love these additions because it truly doesn’t make any attack unable to respond to, which makes it very fair on the player. Yes, it’s got strict timing, and you got to practice, but I think the reward and flow for these attacks and counters is brilliantly implemented to not make it feel like a chore or unnatural. Though later bosses will start combining them together, like a sweep into a thrusting strike which can be very hard to adapt to, but it feels like a steady progression of difficulty overall. There’s also some variants of the sweep attacks larger opponents use that you can’t jump off of them for, which makes sense in a realistic sense, but definitely a small shortcoming.

Boss fights in Sekiro are spectacular as well. You’ll be fighting all kinds of beasts and warriors. Boss fights really do boil down to rhythmic timing, dodging, memorization, and immense skill. There’s definitely a few that aren’t very good, especially one particular… demon that goes against everything Sekiro hammers into you throughout the game only to throw all that away for a not so spectacular boss fight that not only is frustratingly long, but again, just doesn’t fit with the combat of Sekiro at all. Besides that one boss however, every boss feels amazing to fight, there’s certainly some difficulty curves throughout the game as well that will really challenge and expect you to master the game. My personal favorite fight in the game though is Guardian Ape, because it’s a combination of a beast you need to attack, but also an opponent you need to parry to defeat them, while also taking advantage of your grappling hook to avoid particularly dangerous moves. I think Guardian Ape balances every mechanic and enemy archetype in the game perfectly and was awesome to fight. Some of my other favorites were Genichiro, Owl (Father), and the final boss. Bosses overall were really good, with two or three stinkers, but that’s par for the course in Fromsoft games, so it’s not a big criticism. While the bosses can get insanely difficult later on, Sekiro tips the scales by allowing you to respawn after you die once, giving you another shot. Had this not been in the game, I’d actually say the difficulty might be the slightest bit over-tuned, but since you do get one more chance after you die, it motivates you to get back up and make a comeback, which I really appreciate.

The actual story of Sekiro is much more involved compared to other Fromsoft games which I really enjoyed as well. Having actual characters driving the plot forward was refreshing, and while none of them are exceptional or anything, they definitely had me a bit invested in the plot and how things were going to conclude. What I really appreciated about Sekiro’s story though was how it took a lot of direct inspiration from Japanese legends and folklore, seeing it all being realized in the setting and story was awesome, and definitely made Sekiro unique and stand-out in all the right ways I’d say. Much like Souls and Bloodborne as well, there’s plenty of interesting lore to read on, and how something as trivial and game-like as respawning is explained in the world and why it occurs, which I really liked.

Graphically stunning as I’ve mentioned before, and the music is also quite great. I actually don’t listen to the OST outside the game much if at all, but while playing Sekiro, I can say I enjoyed it and it only enhanced the experience. I really enjoyed the unique Japanese instrumentation in a lot of the tracks since it really helped emphasize the setting is Japan. While the tracks don’t really stick in my mind much methodically speaking, they are very well done and match the bosses, environments, and story beats well.

Sekiro is truly an amazing experience, and it’s such a shame Elden Ring couldn’t recapture the amazing environmental design of Sekiro, or really the quality of the bosses either. I understand Elden Ring is an open-world game so there has to be certain sacrifices to achieve that, but after I played Sekiro, I was honestly shocked at the difference in quality to me. Not to say Elden Ring is a terrible game or anything, I’m just surprised by Sekiro’s quality really since I neglected it for a long time thinking I wouldn’t like the emphasis on parrying attacks, but boy was I wrong. Sekiro is definitely the hardest and most demanding Fromsoft game I’ve played that is also fair which is a huge achievement. This game is absolutely not for everyone, but absolutely give it a chance if it looks interesting, you will not be disappointed! Thank you all for reading my review. I've been trying to do one review a week, so I hope I can keep the momentum up from here. I’m very close to finishing Final Fantasy IV, so please look forward to that review soon as well! Got some other reviews in the works as well, so I hope you all enjoy reading them as they come. See you all in the next one!

Super Mario World is an absolute classic, and is my favorite 2D Mario game due to it being one of my most beloved childhood games. I would always come home from school to play Super Mario World, the bright, cheerful aesthetic and music combined with the addictive gameplay always made me happy and left an impact on me to this day of being very much partial to the SNES, and sprite-based games. Eventually I would branch out and start playing Super Mario World Romhacks way back in the early 2000's as a kid. Romhacks like Kaizo Mario really opened my eyes to how much potential the mechanics of this game had, and Brutal Mario being my personal favorite, showcased just how customizable and adaptive platformers could actually be, it was an incredible experience. This is one of those games I play every other year, so I like to think I have a pretty deep understanding of this game. Today, I'd like to point my critical eye though and see just how good or bad Super Mario World really is.

First thing I think makes Super Mario World incredible is the World Map. Right from the first world, Super Mario World makes it clear that there isn't always one way to go when progressing. You start the game with a fork in the road, the path on the right clearly indicates it'll lead to the first castle, as well as teasing a few levels ahead, such as the first water level which I really enjoy. On the left however, it's a path that leads somewhere we cannot see yet, which adds mystery and curiosity on where exactly it will lead. Progression versus curiosity is a strong opener since either way, both choices are correct and will reward the player regardless. Curious players who decide to take the left path will make their way to the Yellow Switch Palace which will make every level after activating it that much easier by providing blocks that will prevent you from dying to pits or make certain sections easier, and also give you additional super mushrooms in the levels. Going this path also allows you to see the next upcoming World, which not only could excite the player for the future, but also present a great sense of scale in that the first world you're on is just a small island compared to the infinite possibilities ahead of you once you leave it. Even if a player decides to not take the left path, they're rewarded with faster progression which will allow them to leave the first world faster, allowing them to take in that sense of scale still just by comparing how much bigger and open the next world is compared to the island you were just on.

This stays true for the remainder of the game, as every World after this always has multiple paths that can lead to shortcuts, Switch Palaces, hidden levels, and of course, the Star Road. One thing I love about Super Mario World though is how they present striking landmarks to inform you that there might be an alternate route from the one you're taking. Take the pipe in the upper left of Vanilla Dome as an example. The pipe itself seems completely unreachable and potentially just a decoration, but its contrasting coloration and what pipes represent in Mario will make the player notice it and wonder where it'll go. Just as well, Donut Plains does something similar with more pipes and even a Boo House that seems impossible to reach, but since Donut Plains establishes Boo Houses as levels, it becomes immediately apparent to the player that they probably can reach it and be able to play it. However, even with these visual cues, it could be far too vague which levels lead where which could be very frustrating and demoralizing. Thankfully, this is not the case, as levels with multiple exits are marked with a red dot rather than a yellow dot, which is an incredibly important distinction that they establish early with Yoshi Island levels all being yellow dots and the World itself being incredibly linear. Even if you didn’t know what the red dots represented, their presentation alone should indicate some sort of difference that would be easy to distinguish with a bit of thought..

One of my favorite additions to Super Mario World though is The Star Road. Star Road is a secret World that has special teleports to other worlds you can find. Star Road also has five unique levels of its own that upon finding the secret exits for, will connect to another different teleporter. These teleporters can be used anytime, though some of them will lead to dead-ends, but give you a substantial clue to what levels have secret exits in order to unlock them which is a nice consolation and encourages replaying and thoroughly exploring more levels. However, one specific teleporter will actually lead you straight to Bowser’s Castle with the path unlocked for you, allowing you to finish Super Mario World in record time. Star Road by all means is the definitive evolution of Warp Zones from previous Mario games, though instead of just being some pipes, or a world select, they took the time and care to not only make it visually striking, but also give it unique levels that, while short, are very fun to play and find the secret exits to. It doesn’t end there for Star Road however, as by completing every level’s secret exit, you will gain access to a secret sixth teleporter which will lead you into the “Special Zone”. The Special Zone is the final challenge of Super Mario World, as the eight levels here are tremendously more difficult than any other level, even harder than Bowser’s Castle. While these levels are very hidden, I love their inclusion because the levels themselves justify putting so much time into this game, from the amount of effort it takes to unlock, to gaining the mastery of the game itself to overcome these levels. While it’s a staple now to have this sort of “secret final world” in Mario games, I feel like the requirement is less cumbersome from future incarnations, such as New Super Mario Bros. Wii’s 9th World which requires grabbing every star coin in a given world to unlock the correlated level. While it does serve the same purposes of putting in time and mastering the game, it also requires 100%’ing the whole game, whereas Special Zone only requires you find it to play it, which I vastly prefer. Also, I feel as though the final reward for completing the Special Zone is so much more interesting since it could allow someone to play the entire game again and get so much out of it. I personally don’t, but it’s enough to make it feel meaningful and worth doing, which I very much love.

I haven’t even gone into gameplay yet, Super Mario World’s gameplay is amazing. Mario controls like an absolute dream, combined with the SNES graphics, this game not only plays perfectly, but looks fantastic. Every innovation from Super Mario Bros. 3 is here, as well as some new inclusions like Yoshi, the Cape Feather, and the spin jump. Yoshi brings a lot of unexpected depth to Super Mario World, as Yoshi can eat enemies and spit out shells. Koopa shells of different colors give Yoshi different abilities and attributes, such as shooting fireballs, gaining a stomp, or even wings. Yoshi provides you with an extra hit, but he’ll run away, forcing you to chase after him and remounting him to stop. A lot of the time he’ll run into a pit and that’ll be the end of it, but it does require some skill to get him back if you lose him, which is a good negative to have since Yoshi provides you with so much utility You can use Yoshi to gain a lot of extra height on a jump if you think you can’t make it, and is even used for a secret exit or two which rewards the player for learning it. There’s even some niche mechanics utilized as well, like Yoshi being able to eat objects through walls which is also used for a secret exit, which is really clever and makes use of the programming very well. Yoshi cannot enter castles or boo houses, or any level with an anti-Yoshi sign at the start via a cutscene, which I like because becoming too reliant on Yoshi can make this game even easier than it already is. There’s even different colored Yoshi’s that will provide the same ability no matter what shell is eaten, but can only be found in Star World usually, giving Star World even more benefits. Very rarely however, you can find a pair of magic wings in question blocks that you can grab as Yoshi to turn him into a Blue Yoshi. Blue Yoshi is arguably the best one since any shell consumed gives him wings, and wings pretty much allow you to skip levels with ease, as well as find secrets in the skies.

Speaking of wings, the cape feather is the only new power-up in Super Mario World, and is only one of four in the entire game, the others being the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Invincibility Star. It’s definitely arguable Super Mario 3 had the better selection of power-ups, but the cape feather has so many applications, I think the depth it brings to the table is just about equal to Mario 3’s power-ups. You can spin with your cape to deal with pretty much any enemy with ease, but cannot reflect projectiles like it can in Smash Bros. The cape also allows you to fall slower than normal, providing much more control on where you land, and being able to make longer jumps. There is one capability however I think trivializes the entire game a bit too much, and that's flying. In Super Mario Bros. 3, the Super Leaf granted flight upon filling your P-meter and you’d be able to fly for a little bit before you stopped and would float back down. The only time the Super Leaf could fly through an entire level was if you had a “P-Wing” which made your P-meter full at all times for an entire level, essentially letting you fly over it without any issues. The caveat was once you used the P-wing for one level, the effect would go away, reducing it back to just a super leaf in the next level. In Super Mario World, this isn’t the case, with enough practice, the Cape Feather’s ability to fly is endless. You can fly over any level without a ceiling with very little effort, as long as you had a cape feather. It makes so many levels feel so meaningless when you can just fly over everything, it becomes especially bad as a crutch if a level is too hard or feels unfair, you can simply grab a cape feather, practice a bit, and skip the level. That is until you reach a boo house, castle, or most of Vanilla Dome since these levels have ceilings that pretty much disable the ability to fly over them, which is great. Had every level allowed you to skip it by flying, Super Mario world could feel really meaningless and boring, but I think they strike the balance really well here having enough levels that prevent you from doing that. There’s also levels that won’t scroll up for you while flying, which makes the visual cue for timing your flying harder, but unfortunately doesn’t stop you entirely from doing it, but makes it a bit harder which I can appreciate. Overall, the cape is certainly flawed a bit, but I think the amount of mechanical depth it has that is really pushed in Romhacks is incredible, and I think in the original game, it’s a bit over-tuned, but not fully compromising, definitely the largest flaw in the game. Though I will say, mastering the cape is incredibly satisfying, and I quite like the idea of having to get good with it compared to the Super Leaf in Mario 3, though even the Super Leaf has its difficulty curve with utilizing the tail swipe effectively since it’s so small.

The last addition Super Mario World added was the Spin Jump. Spin jumping allows you to jump onto dangerous hazards and enemies by bouncing off them rather than dying, you can also destroy yellow bricks underneath you if you’re big Mario. Spin jumping to me was an amazing idea because it now allows you to jump on enemies like spinies without having to break all of your momentum to slow down and jump over them like hurdles. It helps level pacing, and adds much needed variety to how you tackle obstacles in this game which I think makes this game stand out a bit more. Interestingly, spin jumping on an enemy you can normally jump on crushes them, but you immediately land afterward, you aren’t able to jump off them to gain extra height and momentum, so the spin jump rewards you especially for using it on the correct enemies as well, which helps the balance of both jumps being consistently useful in different scenarios. Spin jumping also has less jump height which is another interesting difference. On obstacles such as the buzz saws, Mario can continuously jump on them with the spin jump, but it requires finesse as well, as you need to keep readjusting to the moving object in question to keep bouncing on it, but spin jumping onto something usually pushes Mario around some, so you really have to make minor corrections every time you bounce off to ensure you don’t die or mess-up, once again, it’s just a minor detail that makes spin jumping incredibly fun, but also requires effort to get good with, it’s not always the best universal option, but when it is the solution, it’s not so simple that you can relax or be neglectful, you really got to pay attention. Yoshi’s boots have the same attributes as the spin jump as well, though the bouncing effect seems a bit more severe, making it a bit harder with Yoshi specifically.

A lot of the new enemies in Super Mario World are very iconic, so much so they’ve been staples in the series ever since. Though their popularity is one thing, what they bring to the table for the game itself is more interesting. Charging Chucks to me are the most interesting new enemy introduced as they have many different variants that make each encounter with one interesting. From triplicating themselves, to throwing different sports balls at you, some of them have unique one-time attributes like the whistling Charging Chuck underwater that wakes up the sleeping Rip Van Fish. You have the underutilized Banzai Bill that really demonstrates the SNES’s capabilities, but also just the potential extent to the size of enemies. You have a lot of very popular enemy debuts here as well like Fuzzy, Wiggler, Magikoopa, and Monty mole, each with their own unique mechanics like Fuzzy following lines, Wiggler getting mad when you jump on it, Magikoopa being able to turn blocks into something different, and monty mole that jumps out of the ground and walls to surprise you. A lot of the level design becomes so much better having these enemies present since it can completely change how you approach a level, and a lot of enemies will have a higher priority to dispose of, which gives levels more depth. Overall, there isn’t a single new inclusion in Super Mario World as far as enemies that feel poorly integrated, or just unbalanced, they’re all great and fun to interact with.

A lot of the music in Super Mario World is awesome, but the level theme is actually always the same song, just with different instrumentation and tempo. It’s a lot like Luigi’s Mansion in that regard actually, and I don’t think it’s a negative. While it is the same song every level, the vibe always changes to fit the theme of the level it’s played in, so it makes it come off very differently every time, and because it’s done so well, it doesn’t feel repetitive, uninspired, or bad, it works really well. Without that though, the world themes are all amazingly well done that really enhances them a lot. I specifically really love Vanilla Dome, Forest of Illusion, and Valley of Bowser the most.

There’s really not much left to say really. While I didn’t go into too much of the staple gameplay of Super Mario World, that’s because at its core, it’s still Mario. I much prefer talking about what the game added to the formula that made it (for the most part) a better, more refined experience. While not everything is to its benefit, I think Super Mario World is an utterly amazing game worth playing. A lot of people I know write off this game in favor of Super Mario Bros. 3 which is such a shame because I think a lot of what Mario 3 introduced was improved substantially here, like the World Map and the amount of different routing choices you have to explore and complete the game. While I don’t think the power-ups are better, I do appreciate the attempt to make a power-up with a skill curve only for the reward to be far too good for the game’s own good. Yoshi was a phenomenal addition, and spin-jumping helped Super Mario world increase the enemy variety a lot more without having to compromise the pacing of levels too much which was another plus. Overall, I think if you’re looking for a game to get into Mario with, I’d easily recommend this one because it’s not too difficult of a game, certainly easier than any previous Mario game, but the charm is unmatched, and it’s just an incredibly fun game with a whimsical and really bright aesthetic. It makes you wanna keep playing it, and can put you in a good mood if you’re feeling down, I know it has for me many times over the years.

Thank you all for reading! It’s been close to three months since I’ve written any reviews. I’ve definitely been in a slump as far as video games go, and I’ve definitely been busier than before, but I’m definitely getting back into things by writing this review. I have since restarted Final Fantasy IV in hopes of finishing it this time. I've also been gearing up to play some other games like VA-11 Hall-A, so please look forward to those reviews and more this year. I also just want to say thank you everyone for the support lately, I’ve broken 60 followers and over 400 combined likes on my reviews, so thank you all so much for that. I’ll try not to fall into another slump this year, but do forgive me if things get a bit slow here and there. Thank you all for reading, I’ll see you in the next review!

This isn't gonna be a long review since there's not much to talk about, but I would like to share my thoughts on Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising.

Granblue Fantasy is a series I've been meaning to get into for awhile, as a lot of my friends play the original game and always recommend it to me. This was the perfect game to bridge the gap and introduce me to Granblue, and I gotta say, it's very fun. Great character designs, fun world, fantastic music, pretty much everything you need to make a great first impression. I was actually pulled in by this game particularly by my friend showing me Siegfried. I immensely enjoy his design and playstyle, so that alone sold me on this game.

Twenty-five hours later, I've got a pretty cemented outlook on the game now, so let's get into it. This is by far one of the best-looking fighting games I've seen in a very long time, definitely Arc Systems best looking game, very vibrant art style that's incredibly expressive, whimsical, and detailed. Character designs are downright amazing, really I didn't find any design to be too silly or ridiculous, it's all rather well-grounded that really lets you enjoy and connect with the characters, especially the ones you will play as. Fantastic size of a roster, great stages, tons of extra modes to break up the experience, a lot of things you can work to achieve as well besides ranked, which I really liked. Rollback is essential for fighting games, so seeing it here is good, day one crossplay is another plus since it allowed me to play with my PC friends which I'm very thankful for.

Now for the not so good parts about this game. One thing I want to immediately mention is the sheer simplicity of the game itself. Granblue as a fighting game is incredibly beginner friendly, which I appreciate, however I think this focus on simplicity hurts the game in the long run. For starters, everyone does a ton of damage in this game. Most rounds will go for maybe 40-50 seconds, which I actually like how fast-paced it is. What I don't like is the amount of mistakes you can make before losing. If you make two or three mistakes? You're most likely dead without even a shred of a chance at a comeback, snowballing in this game is unreal. Because of this, this game seems to greatly reward aggression more than defensive play, especially due to how many moves are plus on blocks. For those who don't know, being plus on block essentially means when you attack someone who is blocking, if it's plus you basically get to attack again without much fear of being punished for it. So many moves are plus or minus in this game, it's really in your best favor to play as aggressively as possible. This sort of leads to a lot of games just being who can press the button faster than the other, and depending on who wins, you're either stuck blocking for a good amount of time, or wailing on your opponent without really needing to think. A lot of fighting games boil down to this though, but I think the balance of offense and defense is off here. Let me say I'm not a pro player, nor am I the most experienced fighting game player, so I may be completely off the mark here, but this game felt like it rewards aggression way more than anything else and feels off-balance a bit.

As far as balancing goes, it's actually not too bad. A lot of people complain about specific characters, which is a given, but the game hasn't been out long enough I think yet for people to figure out certain match-ups. I personally do think some characters need to be tuned a bit, but otherwise every character feels viable and incredibly fun to play. They're also all very distinct from each other in personality and playstyle, though there's a lot of overlap in move sets which sorta waters them down a bit, but not bad enough where picking a new character feels unwarranted or boring.

Honestly? Not a bad fighting game by any means. I definitely prefer others to it, but this is just a solid game. I'm currently A rank in ranked mode, but I mostly just enjoy playing it with friends. Definitely not a game I'd grind or put a ton of time into, but it's definitely a fun choice if you're looking for something flashy. I play Siegfried, Charlotta, and Yuel for reference, all characters are incredibly good and very good at mashing buttons. I wanted to mention that in-case my outlook on the game is skewed due to my preference in character playstyles, so I invite any to give your opinion on this game, and if you agree or disagree with me or not. With that, thank you all for reading this review, I've been putting off God-Hand for about three weeks now, so I'm gonna get to it and finish that up, so please look forward to that. Until next time!