Raybann
The HD-2D style of RPG has become very popular in game development these past few years, and while my interest has risen in recent times, The Second Story R is the first game that I’ve actually gotten to playing due to how beautiful and cool this game looked.
The art direction is honestly so good it’s hard to put into words, like this is a perfect modernization of PS1 styled pre-rendered backgrounds without feeling unfaithful.
The suite of customization for how you want this experience to be is phenomenal, you can change the VA’s, character art, soundtrack, and quality of life changes on top of that makes this game incredibly special.
The story is nothing revolutionary, but the characters are enjoyable and their interactions are cute and fun.
I played Claude’s story and am definitely interested in replaying this game in the future, due to the 99 god damn endings that are available.
This very well may be a 10/10 but I’ll just need to let this experience sit with me for a little before I can speak to that.
The art direction is honestly so good it’s hard to put into words, like this is a perfect modernization of PS1 styled pre-rendered backgrounds without feeling unfaithful.
The suite of customization for how you want this experience to be is phenomenal, you can change the VA’s, character art, soundtrack, and quality of life changes on top of that makes this game incredibly special.
The story is nothing revolutionary, but the characters are enjoyable and their interactions are cute and fun.
I played Claude’s story and am definitely interested in replaying this game in the future, due to the 99 god damn endings that are available.
This very well may be a 10/10 but I’ll just need to let this experience sit with me for a little before I can speak to that.
1982
Played through the Atari 50th Anniversary Collection:
Incredibly solid update to Centipede even though the volume intensity is actively trying to ground you into submission.
Incredibly solid update to Centipede even though the volume intensity is actively trying to ground you into submission.
1990
And people say art is dead...
1972
Ya had to be there man.
2015
Such an engaging and fleshed out narrative on display here, and backed up by such believable and compelling performances that I always found myself wrapped up in the story being told.
The gap between the serious and moving story and the silliness that can be found in side content is really interesting and kind of awesome at it shows the developers are still able to make room for more light content.
The gameplay loop wasn’t the most enthralling thing in the world, but I’m glad I finally beat this game, even if my interest in the series going forward is terrifying considering how there are so many of these things.
Also this is the only era in the Yakuza timeline that I would have trouble believing if you told me Kiryu and Majima kissed.
The gap between the serious and moving story and the silliness that can be found in side content is really interesting and kind of awesome at it shows the developers are still able to make room for more light content.
The gameplay loop wasn’t the most enthralling thing in the world, but I’m glad I finally beat this game, even if my interest in the series going forward is terrifying considering how there are so many of these things.
Also this is the only era in the Yakuza timeline that I would have trouble believing if you told me Kiryu and Majima kissed.
2023
I would buy this game if I could.
I can understand how opinions could vary on this game, considering there isn't a story mode or a campaign to tie these courses together. It mainly relies on the gameplay loop being entertaining enough to keep players interested.
But I cannot express how much more fun this game is than I was initially expecting it to be since I haven't found much interest in the other 99-player games made during the Switch generation.
But the amount of content, the variety of customizable items you can get, and the legitimately really great online play and balancing make for a really addicting game to play.
Some might not consider this a mainline F-Zero game, but with the amount of engagement I have seen with this game, I would legitimately be surprised if no new F-Zero came of this.
I can understand how opinions could vary on this game, considering there isn't a story mode or a campaign to tie these courses together. It mainly relies on the gameplay loop being entertaining enough to keep players interested.
But I cannot express how much more fun this game is than I was initially expecting it to be since I haven't found much interest in the other 99-player games made during the Switch generation.
But the amount of content, the variety of customizable items you can get, and the legitimately really great online play and balancing make for a really addicting game to play.
Some might not consider this a mainline F-Zero game, but with the amount of engagement I have seen with this game, I would legitimately be surprised if no new F-Zero came of this.
2021
An extremely silly but undeniably charming game, which never fails to bring the humor through the writing, animations and voice delivery.
This is a rad as hell collection purely for how much stuff is provided for these games that oftentimes are forgotten about when discussing games from that era.
The updated version has more content and is a better all around package but the amount of artwork and extra content still present in this version stands as a solid package and celebration of these games and the films they were based on.
The updated version has more content and is a better all around package but the amount of artwork and extra content still present in this version stands as a solid package and celebration of these games and the films they were based on.
1994
Absolutely gorgeous sprite work and music, but god help the kids who ended up getting their shit rocked.
It’s because of this game that Wario canonically has the weirdest friend group in all of gaming.
While the premise of multiverses has recently become more common in mainstream pop culture, I find that it offers a lot of fun opportunities for storytelling and aesthetic variety.
And this game nails that latter aspect, as the levels you get to explore are so varied and visually interesting and pleasing that I think it provides an excellent backdrop for this game.
The gameplay is very much a PS2 esc platformer, which is not a bad thing, but with the added polish and honing in on having SpongeBob be the only character you play as, I’m willing to say this game is better than Battle for Bikini Bottom.
It just nails what it’s going for, and while the writing isn’t crème of the crop, the characters are entertaining and well executed overall and you really get sense that this game was a labor of love.
And this game nails that latter aspect, as the levels you get to explore are so varied and visually interesting and pleasing that I think it provides an excellent backdrop for this game.
The gameplay is very much a PS2 esc platformer, which is not a bad thing, but with the added polish and honing in on having SpongeBob be the only character you play as, I’m willing to say this game is better than Battle for Bikini Bottom.
It just nails what it’s going for, and while the writing isn’t crème of the crop, the characters are entertaining and well executed overall and you really get sense that this game was a labor of love.
2023
An utter masterpiece that brings so many quality of life changes into the gameplay while not lessening what makes Pikmin, Pikmin. Visually this game looks immaculate, the level design is brilliant, the little collectables were adorable and the game feel is just fantastic.
There is no god I wouldn't fight in the name of Oatchi.
There is no god I wouldn't fight in the name of Oatchi.
1991
That final boss makes me want to shit down a chimney.
This review contains spoilers
An incredibly well designed experience, as despite my lack of interest in the world of visual novels, this game deconstructs the interactions between the player and the characters in a way I have never seen before.
The time it takes into getting the player invested in the world, and interested in these characters, only to rip that all away with the scene where you open the door is really powerful.
The way it tears away the humanity that the writing had given to these characters and draws out the artificiality of these interactions is incredibly well done and eerie.
While I would not say that this game scared me, it definitely unnerved me, as the decent into madness isn't super blatant or rushed, but more gradual and under the radar.
This game has been spoiled to hell and back, and while it is hard to experience the game in the context that it was originally intended, I can say I get the hype.
And I'm team Sayori, I'll fight hell or high water for her.
The time it takes into getting the player invested in the world, and interested in these characters, only to rip that all away with the scene where you open the door is really powerful.
The way it tears away the humanity that the writing had given to these characters and draws out the artificiality of these interactions is incredibly well done and eerie.
While I would not say that this game scared me, it definitely unnerved me, as the decent into madness isn't super blatant or rushed, but more gradual and under the radar.
This game has been spoiled to hell and back, and while it is hard to experience the game in the context that it was originally intended, I can say I get the hype.
And I'm team Sayori, I'll fight hell or high water for her.
I respect the hell out of this game for making a deliberate effort to be as creative as possible while still making something that feels like Mario. The cartoony animation, the new music genres they toy around with, the changes in art direction, the iterations in gameplay: these choices make this feel fresh as hell and like a change of pace compared to other, more generic Mario games.
Nintendo obviously will give their most iconic property all the polish it can get, but such strides in being different from what came before is so interesting to me.
Since in the same year, a blockbuster movie for the masses came out, instead of making an easy and standard Mario game to cash in on that audience, they evolved the series and made something that actively tries to stand out.
I love what this game did, and as I work my way through all the postgame content, I'm sure that love will continue to grow.
Nintendo obviously will give their most iconic property all the polish it can get, but such strides in being different from what came before is so interesting to me.
Since in the same year, a blockbuster movie for the masses came out, instead of making an easy and standard Mario game to cash in on that audience, they evolved the series and made something that actively tries to stand out.
I love what this game did, and as I work my way through all the postgame content, I'm sure that love will continue to grow.