Rensie
i don't like that there are no metal or darkness energy (Scizor had grass attacks), and having played with the real cards when they came out (for example making baby pokemon completely worthless, borifying or removing some pokemon powers, changing pokemon powers into old powers from the first gen like neo slowking) i would have preferred them without balance tweaks. A lot of changes had me scratch my head, because they made those cards less interesting to play with. Some of my favorite combo cards are a far cry from the original versions. But i take any chance to play with jhoto cards in some form. I appreciate how it has a lot more sets then i envisioned, that must have taken a lot of time to program.
Difficulty was almost nonexistent. My Thyplosion starterdeck with fire and psychic wreaked havoc on everything without changing much, especially when i got the fire psychic shining mewtwo. But the original game wasn't that hard either. Some weird AI decisions (bugs?)
Difficulty was almost nonexistent. My Thyplosion starterdeck with fire and psychic wreaked havoc on everything without changing much, especially when i got the fire psychic shining mewtwo. But the original game wasn't that hard either. Some weird AI decisions (bugs?)
Like so many others before me, i tried the mechanics but couldn't really get into it. I made it to wonderland where i had enough. Not because of that world (although the Trickmaster really ticked me off), i guess it could have been anywhere as i didn't have fun. There is however really essential story in the many cutscenes, especially if you play these games in order. The stuff with Organization 13 really intrigued, and the members remind me of the Espada in Bleach for some reason (even the numbering between them). Also a really interesting plot about memories for Sora and dealing with the darkness for Riku. Much meatier than anything the last game had to offer in the story department. Looking at the cutscenes on youtube like a movie is definitely worth it if you also abandon the game!
Conclusion: Story is worth a lot more than 2,5 stars, but the game play is 2 stars max for me.
Conclusion: Story is worth a lot more than 2,5 stars, but the game play is 2 stars max for me.
As a mostly turnbased kind of RPGplayer, i didn't expect to get pulled in this one like i did. I have to admit that i almost didn't though.
That start felt extremely slow phased. The First island was the biggest drag, and Traverse Town took a bit getting used to as well. I don't know why they chose a really confusing world as the first Disney world to visit (Wonderland). I actually had to use a guide at some point to see what to do, that didn't really leave the best first impression). The next world (Tarzan's Jungle) had even worse platforming jumps (i had to repeatedly swim back and redo the jump on the hippo's)that put me off as well. It was after those worlds that the game really started to click for me. After that i was hooked!
the combat is easy to get but quite deep, with direct combat abilities, ff magic spells, and Disney summons. Every completed world gives a lot of rewards. You get a lot of new things to play around with constantly, and that makes it addicting. There are a lot of optional bosses stronger than the end boss, so people who like difficult challenges are really treated well.
The gummyship parts were a good idea on paper and there is lore behind their existence, but more an yawnworthy timewaster than anything else in practice. You don't need to interact with the gummiship improving garage at all to get by, which says plenty about the difficulty. It's not that intruding because you can warp to worlds you've been to quite early in the game, and you can speed up your ship to get by faster. In my opinion it would be better if it was just small cutscenes of the ship going from and to planets, and keep it at that.
Soundtrack is legendary (love that piano!), and the game looks great for it's time, i even dare to say one of the best of it's time.
At this time, Kingdom Hearts seems to be a simple shounen anime like story with Disney fan service, and just enough world building to keep you engaged. It came out when the Disney renaissance was still in full swing (not the current Disney), so seeing all the different Disney villains work together would feel very special. The marvel shared universe before that was a thing, that seems the idea the storyboard was going. Some worlds are a bit to much just parts of their respective movies with a bit of heartless in it, but there is also a certain charm in it. You sure get extra if you somewhat enjoyed the older Disney properties (and there is a lot to love about some of those!). The FF characters (from 7 and 8) didn't feel that impactful in the story in any way, and only there for the 'I know him/her!" effect. But i can imagine how amazing it would be to beat up Sephiroth (with his famous music and all) before smash ultimate was a thing. He really gives a hard fight as well.
It has the passion and heart(get it?) square still had with their RPG's at that time, with that passion really reminiscent of games like FF 7-10. I was surprised just how many little systems and sidethings there were that probably took a lot of time to make and a lot of player's wouldn't even engage with (the synthesizing especially!). Even a whole Winnie the Pooh world with just minigames, and even that had a special ability as a reward. Just to show how there are nice rewards around every corner in this game.
It's not deep in any way story or character wise, but a labor of love, and experimental in it's own way. Not everything works well, but the stuff that does is addicting. You really feel you are playing a game from an begone era of SquareEnix. I'm not surprised that this game sold so well, and started a still ongoing franchise! The only gamefranchise that tries to do something a bit more 'edgy' with the Disney brand (Epic Mickey kind of tried but not on this scale), combined with the JRPG nature makes it really one of a kind in many ways.
That start felt extremely slow phased. The First island was the biggest drag, and Traverse Town took a bit getting used to as well. I don't know why they chose a really confusing world as the first Disney world to visit (Wonderland). I actually had to use a guide at some point to see what to do, that didn't really leave the best first impression). The next world (Tarzan's Jungle) had even worse platforming jumps (i had to repeatedly swim back and redo the jump on the hippo's)that put me off as well. It was after those worlds that the game really started to click for me. After that i was hooked!
the combat is easy to get but quite deep, with direct combat abilities, ff magic spells, and Disney summons. Every completed world gives a lot of rewards. You get a lot of new things to play around with constantly, and that makes it addicting. There are a lot of optional bosses stronger than the end boss, so people who like difficult challenges are really treated well.
The gummyship parts were a good idea on paper and there is lore behind their existence, but more an yawnworthy timewaster than anything else in practice. You don't need to interact with the gummiship improving garage at all to get by, which says plenty about the difficulty. It's not that intruding because you can warp to worlds you've been to quite early in the game, and you can speed up your ship to get by faster. In my opinion it would be better if it was just small cutscenes of the ship going from and to planets, and keep it at that.
Soundtrack is legendary (love that piano!), and the game looks great for it's time, i even dare to say one of the best of it's time.
At this time, Kingdom Hearts seems to be a simple shounen anime like story with Disney fan service, and just enough world building to keep you engaged. It came out when the Disney renaissance was still in full swing (not the current Disney), so seeing all the different Disney villains work together would feel very special. The marvel shared universe before that was a thing, that seems the idea the storyboard was going. Some worlds are a bit to much just parts of their respective movies with a bit of heartless in it, but there is also a certain charm in it. You sure get extra if you somewhat enjoyed the older Disney properties (and there is a lot to love about some of those!). The FF characters (from 7 and 8) didn't feel that impactful in the story in any way, and only there for the 'I know him/her!" effect. But i can imagine how amazing it would be to beat up Sephiroth (with his famous music and all) before smash ultimate was a thing. He really gives a hard fight as well.
It has the passion and heart(get it?) square still had with their RPG's at that time, with that passion really reminiscent of games like FF 7-10. I was surprised just how many little systems and sidethings there were that probably took a lot of time to make and a lot of player's wouldn't even engage with (the synthesizing especially!). Even a whole Winnie the Pooh world with just minigames, and even that had a special ability as a reward. Just to show how there are nice rewards around every corner in this game.
It's not deep in any way story or character wise, but a labor of love, and experimental in it's own way. Not everything works well, but the stuff that does is addicting. You really feel you are playing a game from an begone era of SquareEnix. I'm not surprised that this game sold so well, and started a still ongoing franchise! The only gamefranchise that tries to do something a bit more 'edgy' with the Disney brand (Epic Mickey kind of tried but not on this scale), combined with the JRPG nature makes it really one of a kind in many ways.
2010
The gameplay was wonky indeed, like a harder version of Mario Sunshine. Thanks to Lorcana i went on a bit of a old (20/30's era) disney shorts spree, there is so much to recognize. The developers probably watched them all, and made a love letter to that era of Disney animation. Also old DIsneyland attractions and failed projects of Walt get their attention. The whole 'forgotten' atmosphere is surprisingly dark for a Disney game, they really did go a lot harder than they needed to. Bit of Kingdom Hearts vibes. Game looks amazing as well. So most of my stars are for the creativity and art direction.
A modern remaster with improved gameplay in a bundle with the sequel, They could have a hidden gem in their hands.
A modern remaster with improved gameplay in a bundle with the sequel, They could have a hidden gem in their hands.
This game really gets elevated by the way it animates it's cutscenes. I saw nothing like it in other games on the Genesis/SNES. I thought it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but it really helps with the immersion. I would give this game half a star just for those alone. Just imagine Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest games having them like this. I wonder why they don't do these kind of cutscenes on snes based indiegames these days, it really is a lost art.
It also reminds me of Dragon Quest 3 in the ways it connects with earlier Phantasy Star games and the lore of those games (except 3, they want you to forget that one). PS 1 wasn't really that loreheavy, but 2 was and it is great to see the characters rediscover what happened in the millennia before. It does it in a way like the Trigun anime, with advanced technology lost, and people trying to make the best with what they still know of it. I love that kind of setting, and while the year it came out holds back it's full potential, the story was interesting throughout.
The gameplay is the regular JRPG experience of the time (turn based, high encounter rate, some grinding required), with the added annoyance of having to try out and remember what each spell and skill does, because the names of them are not intuitive and there is no description what they do. Hated it in Lufia and hated it here.
This definitely is the best JRPG on the Genesis, and better than a whole lot of those on the SNES. Highly influential with the way it does party chat and develops it's cast. I'm pretty sure this is a game the developers of games like Tales of Phantasia and Legend of Heroes looked at. The whole hunter association and how you can complete jobs for it is really familiar to the adventures guild Legend of Heroes came up with not much later, and that eventually evolved in the Bracer guild from the Trails series.
It's a shame there never was a PS 5, there was potential to chase the darkness in other solar systems. I guess some later PS titles go into that (the PSP ones which i didn't play), but i heard it was not on a level a good main line title could have. And PS online is a MMO.
It also reminds me of Dragon Quest 3 in the ways it connects with earlier Phantasy Star games and the lore of those games (except 3, they want you to forget that one). PS 1 wasn't really that loreheavy, but 2 was and it is great to see the characters rediscover what happened in the millennia before. It does it in a way like the Trigun anime, with advanced technology lost, and people trying to make the best with what they still know of it. I love that kind of setting, and while the year it came out holds back it's full potential, the story was interesting throughout.
The gameplay is the regular JRPG experience of the time (turn based, high encounter rate, some grinding required), with the added annoyance of having to try out and remember what each spell and skill does, because the names of them are not intuitive and there is no description what they do. Hated it in Lufia and hated it here.
This definitely is the best JRPG on the Genesis, and better than a whole lot of those on the SNES. Highly influential with the way it does party chat and develops it's cast. I'm pretty sure this is a game the developers of games like Tales of Phantasia and Legend of Heroes looked at. The whole hunter association and how you can complete jobs for it is really familiar to the adventures guild Legend of Heroes came up with not much later, and that eventually evolved in the Bracer guild from the Trails series.
It's a shame there never was a PS 5, there was potential to chase the darkness in other solar systems. I guess some later PS titles go into that (the PSP ones which i didn't play), but i heard it was not on a level a good main line title could have. And PS online is a MMO.
2016
After playing so many Kaga games (The old Fire Emblems, Tear Ring) i see a lot of the similarities in plot and execution. But somehow they keep sucking me in in a way modern FE just doesn't. Even when i found three houses quite decent, it just doesn't have the soul and ways the gameplay is used for story purposes. Still took me ages to do each Three Houses route, where this game i devoured in no time. The product value for this one is a lot lower than the playstation titles, but it doesn't seem to bother me. It even adds to charm. My favorite FE gameplay is having interesting maps and plot events, without all kinds of unnecessary bells and whistles. I might be Kaga a fanboy at this point..
I definitely play the sequel when i find the time, at the very least to support the guy.
I definitely play the sequel when i find the time, at the very least to support the guy.
1993
This is completely on me, but i don't like revisiting levels for upgrades. I never went out of my way to collect every coin or letter in Donkey/Kong Mario, or the chaos emeralds in sonic. I'm more a " straight from start to end and done with it" kind of platformer player. This is a big issue with Mega Man X, because actual performance stuff like health on your life bar and armor is locked behind exactly those shenanigans. Sigma's fortress seems even balanced around you not going through there with just the dash upgrade (which i unfortunately pretty much did and it was hell). I quite prefer the old Mega Man where you get your whole health bar upfront. It's not better or worse in general, just personally don't like it.
I also didn't find most of the stages that memorable design wise. A lot of repetition, and a bit of waiting here and there, like the marble zone in the original Sonic. I don't know if i feel that way because i played the games in order without any nostalgia or i'm starting to get a slight Mega Man burnout. Might also be because i didn't go out of my way to explore for goodies.The bosses however were challenging but in a fun way.
What the game obviously does very right is the setting and design. The animal like theme of the bosses, the stages are beautiful, the intro stage was unique in both gameplay and looks. Zero's design is the stuff of legends, as is the OST.
The setting at it's core isn't that much different from normal Mega Man, just a little bit edgier and even more futuristic. Zero is just a better looking Protoman with his role in the story. It does a great job mixing the franchise up in a way which was desperately needed at the time.
Certainly a classic. It spawned a whole subseries, and by proxy countless Zero and other titles of the franchise.
I also didn't find most of the stages that memorable design wise. A lot of repetition, and a bit of waiting here and there, like the marble zone in the original Sonic. I don't know if i feel that way because i played the games in order without any nostalgia or i'm starting to get a slight Mega Man burnout. Might also be because i didn't go out of my way to explore for goodies.The bosses however were challenging but in a fun way.
What the game obviously does very right is the setting and design. The animal like theme of the bosses, the stages are beautiful, the intro stage was unique in both gameplay and looks. Zero's design is the stuff of legends, as is the OST.
The setting at it's core isn't that much different from normal Mega Man, just a little bit edgier and even more futuristic. Zero is just a better looking Protoman with his role in the story. It does a great job mixing the franchise up in a way which was desperately needed at the time.
Certainly a classic. It spawned a whole subseries, and by proxy countless Zero and other titles of the franchise.
1994
The unique gameplay traits the characters have are a lot more creative than in ff4, pretty much a direct upgrade. The
Esper system however seems a step backwards from ff5. It's to easy to give everyone all the spells they need, making everything a lot more unbalanced than the job system of last game. If everyone has ultima and the right relics, the personal combat traits aren't even needed at all. Probably less of an issue back when guides weren't so readily available. I have to admit there is also is something enjoyable about how easy you can acquire powerful stuff, even having zero random encounters whenever you desire.
What i enjoyed most about this game is the designed ways to force players to use a lot of different characters. An assemble cast of 12 characters is crazy for a SNES game, and it's would be a shame if people would just use their four favorites. Having different routes for different characters and sometimes even multiple parties working together is a really smart way let players accomplish variety. Why isn't this used in many other games? Even with a lot of modern RPG's you DO end up with mostly the same characters unless you go out of your way to try other party members. Or they split up and you just follow the main characters that stay (or have to see the other route on newgame +) FF6 shows that it can be done in a single playthrough, and that you don't need a single main character to focus on.
Some people (on reddit) complain that ff16 is to dark for them (not the ff they know). FF6 seems to have very dark subject matter as well. Even monsters from past games have a darker design. The idea of the story itself is not that novel (instead of a new world, let's do changes to the old one), but really effective because of the dark presentation. Wouldn't have fit in the mostly lighter atmosphere of last game.
(slight story spoilers from here)
The desperation and hopelessness after an apocalypse (even the thought of suicide) really comes across with the music and choreography. The subject matter is dealt with in anime like Trigun or Devilman/EVA, but really raw for a SNES game. I'm surprised the suicide stuff got through the Nintendo of America censor police. Even though you don't see much of the villain in the second act of the game, a crazy despot that finally has real power that can cast judgement at any moment is a scary thought. Also shown really great visually on the worldmap (and with cinematics), it pulled all the stops with mode 7 and otherwise. I feel this is around the ceiling with what you can do on the system.
Looking for your party throughout the world, seeing them dealing with the apocalypse, it never was boring for me. They all go trough a personal arc, like Terra finally understanding what love is, or Cyan finally letting go of the past, Locke being able to love another after the love of his life passed away etc.
Like The other Final Fantasy games, the theme is about hope. And i find that theme delivered a lot more effectively in this entry, because here it really is grimdark before it gets better. And even then a lot of scars stay, you just have accept that and live with them. Something most adults in real life (or with a bad hand of cards dealt in life even children) have to eventually come around to. This theme is even more firmly established in personal arc of the main character in Persona 2, but the gameplay there is miles behind.
This game (like 4 and 5) added a whole lot to the Final Fantasy mythos (countless stuff references in ff14), and it still holds up.
P.S: The Backloggd description of this games says "the first story that did not revolve around crystals", but unless i'm remembering this wrong ff2 also didn't revolve around crystals.
Esper system however seems a step backwards from ff5. It's to easy to give everyone all the spells they need, making everything a lot more unbalanced than the job system of last game. If everyone has ultima and the right relics, the personal combat traits aren't even needed at all. Probably less of an issue back when guides weren't so readily available. I have to admit there is also is something enjoyable about how easy you can acquire powerful stuff, even having zero random encounters whenever you desire.
What i enjoyed most about this game is the designed ways to force players to use a lot of different characters. An assemble cast of 12 characters is crazy for a SNES game, and it's would be a shame if people would just use their four favorites. Having different routes for different characters and sometimes even multiple parties working together is a really smart way let players accomplish variety. Why isn't this used in many other games? Even with a lot of modern RPG's you DO end up with mostly the same characters unless you go out of your way to try other party members. Or they split up and you just follow the main characters that stay (or have to see the other route on newgame +) FF6 shows that it can be done in a single playthrough, and that you don't need a single main character to focus on.
Some people (on reddit) complain that ff16 is to dark for them (not the ff they know). FF6 seems to have very dark subject matter as well. Even monsters from past games have a darker design. The idea of the story itself is not that novel (instead of a new world, let's do changes to the old one), but really effective because of the dark presentation. Wouldn't have fit in the mostly lighter atmosphere of last game.
(slight story spoilers from here)
The desperation and hopelessness after an apocalypse (even the thought of suicide) really comes across with the music and choreography. The subject matter is dealt with in anime like Trigun or Devilman/EVA, but really raw for a SNES game. I'm surprised the suicide stuff got through the Nintendo of America censor police. Even though you don't see much of the villain in the second act of the game, a crazy despot that finally has real power that can cast judgement at any moment is a scary thought. Also shown really great visually on the worldmap (and with cinematics), it pulled all the stops with mode 7 and otherwise. I feel this is around the ceiling with what you can do on the system.
Looking for your party throughout the world, seeing them dealing with the apocalypse, it never was boring for me. They all go trough a personal arc, like Terra finally understanding what love is, or Cyan finally letting go of the past, Locke being able to love another after the love of his life passed away etc.
Like The other Final Fantasy games, the theme is about hope. And i find that theme delivered a lot more effectively in this entry, because here it really is grimdark before it gets better. And even then a lot of scars stay, you just have accept that and live with them. Something most adults in real life (or with a bad hand of cards dealt in life even children) have to eventually come around to. This theme is even more firmly established in personal arc of the main character in Persona 2, but the gameplay there is miles behind.
This game (like 4 and 5) added a whole lot to the Final Fantasy mythos (countless stuff references in ff14), and it still holds up.
P.S: The Backloggd description of this games says "the first story that did not revolve around crystals", but unless i'm remembering this wrong ff2 also didn't revolve around crystals.
2019
The first game has such a bog standard story that it makes the plot of the first Fire Emblem seem intricate. It's the typical destroy evil story, without many surprises or originality. Barely anyone in the party has much of a personality. It's by no means bad, and i enjoyed myself, it's just not standing out at all.
The many alternate routes are a nice addition, but sometimes feel forced narrative wise, like some of those old marvel 'What if?' comics where someone does illogical actions completely out of character just to get a bad ending. It also ends up with fighting many of the same characters in slightly different settings. I completed all the routes and by the last few it became a bit tedious, even with the built in 'go to the chapter with the branch off point' function it has.
The combat is an unique twist on the Fire Emblem formula, each character gains spells and equipable abilities through a skill tree. They can also field a few mercenaries that function as anonymous meat shields and become stronger/heal when close to their commander. Killing an enemy commander kills of the whole attached squad. This makes the map feel like a huge ongoing battlefield with actual armies, more so than what Fire Emblem recently tried(and failed) to do with Battalions in Three Houses. The game is a bit on the easy side, but as a huge strategyrpg fan it was an unique system to enjoy.
Also a great asset is the option to change into the original art and ost. 90's anime art has a certain charm that the new art has trouble replicating (and everyone has HUGE shoulderpads). It might be because i'm a 90s kid and grew up watching stuff with this artstyle, but Imo the vibe of the games fit the old art way better. At the very least i'm glad the option is there.
Langrisser II also doesn't have the most exciting plot, but i saw some characters i really liked. It does have a lot more alternate routes to complete, really tapping into what makes this series unique. I probably finish those routes as well, and it is going to take a while.
A classic turnbased strategycollection to enjoy for fans of the genre. It might even be a perfect introduction to the genre, because of it's lower difficulty. It is also completefriendly with the different routes. You will have a good time with it if your expectations for the story aren't too high going in. They are remakes of SNES titles after all. Not worth full price, but a good pick up target when on a (steam) sale.
The many alternate routes are a nice addition, but sometimes feel forced narrative wise, like some of those old marvel 'What if?' comics where someone does illogical actions completely out of character just to get a bad ending. It also ends up with fighting many of the same characters in slightly different settings. I completed all the routes and by the last few it became a bit tedious, even with the built in 'go to the chapter with the branch off point' function it has.
The combat is an unique twist on the Fire Emblem formula, each character gains spells and equipable abilities through a skill tree. They can also field a few mercenaries that function as anonymous meat shields and become stronger/heal when close to their commander. Killing an enemy commander kills of the whole attached squad. This makes the map feel like a huge ongoing battlefield with actual armies, more so than what Fire Emblem recently tried(and failed) to do with Battalions in Three Houses. The game is a bit on the easy side, but as a huge strategyrpg fan it was an unique system to enjoy.
Also a great asset is the option to change into the original art and ost. 90's anime art has a certain charm that the new art has trouble replicating (and everyone has HUGE shoulderpads). It might be because i'm a 90s kid and grew up watching stuff with this artstyle, but Imo the vibe of the games fit the old art way better. At the very least i'm glad the option is there.
Langrisser II also doesn't have the most exciting plot, but i saw some characters i really liked. It does have a lot more alternate routes to complete, really tapping into what makes this series unique. I probably finish those routes as well, and it is going to take a while.
A classic turnbased strategycollection to enjoy for fans of the genre. It might even be a perfect introduction to the genre, because of it's lower difficulty. It is also completefriendly with the different routes. You will have a good time with it if your expectations for the story aren't too high going in. They are remakes of SNES titles after all. Not worth full price, but a good pick up target when on a (steam) sale.
2000
I remember it being very buggy and quite low budget, and you couldn't play that many decks with it. But it did get me into playing the pokemon TCG for real against other people every week in officially licensed shops. You could even earn badges that way. And eventually even country wide tournaments. That brought me years of joy. It was around the time the the Team Rocket set came out until around the time Nintendo took over from WOTC. So i have a lot to thank this little promotional curiosity for(or hate for a lot of money and time spent).
Still have an complete base set and a lot of the other first sets in maps to this day.
Still have an complete base set and a lot of the other first sets in maps to this day.
While the pathfinder rules, gameplay elements and kingdom management all together were a bit to much of an information overload at times, the worldbuilding and story were worth it.
I believe this game is adapting a well known tabletop pathfinder campaign. What seems to be a simple rags to riches hero fantasy story, becomes something else entirely when all twists and turns are revealed. A slow burn longer than persona 5 royal. With sidestuff and companion stories included it can easily count 200 hours! What's even more insane is the fact that i have the feeling they had to scrap some content towards the end as well for budgetary reasons (Numeria gets a bit of buildup but is a big empty spot on the worldmap).
This game asks a lot of the player in a lot of aspects (time, mechanics, management, following the lore), so i wouldn't dare recommend as something anyone could like. But as an acquired taste it checked a lot of specific boxes i have a weakness for (i love DnDlike fantasy settings). It does have some flaws, and the very last dungeon is a major pain in the ass.
More a game that personally really clicked even with it's flaws. than a generally amazing game.
I believe this game is adapting a well known tabletop pathfinder campaign. What seems to be a simple rags to riches hero fantasy story, becomes something else entirely when all twists and turns are revealed. A slow burn longer than persona 5 royal. With sidestuff and companion stories included it can easily count 200 hours! What's even more insane is the fact that i have the feeling they had to scrap some content towards the end as well for budgetary reasons (Numeria gets a bit of buildup but is a big empty spot on the worldmap).
This game asks a lot of the player in a lot of aspects (time, mechanics, management, following the lore), so i wouldn't dare recommend as something anyone could like. But as an acquired taste it checked a lot of specific boxes i have a weakness for (i love DnDlike fantasy settings). It does have some flaws, and the very last dungeon is a major pain in the ass.
More a game that personally really clicked even with it's flaws. than a generally amazing game.
The only truly unique thing i saw is the flavor of starting the game by beating the final villains, that was quite novel for it's time (not anymore now, for example Fire Emblem Awakening and Engage).
It's a cardinal sin that a RPG this far in the console's lifespan still doesn't automatically target different enemy groups while the current target is dead. It had been done before, so it wasn't exactly rocket science. Also not easy to see what which item and learned spell does.
Feels somewhat low budget graphic wise even for 1993.
An obvious Dragon Quest clone indeed. It doesn't seem to have much of an own identity yet that it's sequel (from what i heard) definitely has. It does have a decent plottwist with the Lufia character. It's worth looking up the final part and the stuff with Lufia up on youtube, but not worth finishing the game for it. That would be +/- 15 min of content trapped in hours of slog.
It's a cardinal sin that a RPG this far in the console's lifespan still doesn't automatically target different enemy groups while the current target is dead. It had been done before, so it wasn't exactly rocket science. Also not easy to see what which item and learned spell does.
Feels somewhat low budget graphic wise even for 1993.
An obvious Dragon Quest clone indeed. It doesn't seem to have much of an own identity yet that it's sequel (from what i heard) definitely has. It does have a decent plottwist with the Lufia character. It's worth looking up the final part and the stuff with Lufia up on youtube, but not worth finishing the game for it. That would be +/- 15 min of content trapped in hours of slog.
1993
Despite having access to SNES games since i was young, i never came around to this title. I only knew it was getting a lot of praise at the time. The music and the sprite work (like it's sequel that i knew a little more of) are indeed high points not only of the game but of the SNES library as a whole. The setting however is a bit wasted on a kind of bland story. I guess since this is kind of a sequel to FF Mystic Quest they wanted to keep it simple. But after having played so many retro titles it's painfully obvious just how by the numbers it is. It's basically the evil empire creating an all powerful fortress storybit from FF2 with a classic Macguffin hunt for items that power you up (that random monsters seem to have). Story beats also 'just resolve'. Like when there was an evil witch that tried to kill us. After the battle she just says that she will be a peaceful person from now on and that is it. I also saw Santa Claus somewhere but that must have been a fever dream.
The characters are also kind of bland and the translation is sloppy. This was par of the course for early snes RPG's, but makes the story and character interaction not a main reason to play this game.
The problem this games has is that the combat (for me) is also more of an annoyance than a reason to play this. A lot of other people complained about the abusive magic system, the weird hit boxes if you do decide to go the more physical route, the performance issues, forced menu hopping and the horrible AI. So I'm not going to deep into it. It's just not very rewarding or fun. They also reuse recolored bosses. I don't mind recolored normal enemies, but with bosses it's a bit lazy.
That leaves just the art and music department as being great. And while those on it's own can of course be a legitimate reason to try the game and enjoy it, i personally have to many games in my backlog to put so many hours in it anno 2023 just for that.
But i do respect the beginning of a (at a point) well regarded franchise, that seems to be the start of their kind of final fantasy action RPG style experiments. It did things in 1993 that people didn't see before, and the combat is clearly an early inspiration for Chrono Trigger. Also co-op in a RPG was quite rare at the time.
The characters are also kind of bland and the translation is sloppy. This was par of the course for early snes RPG's, but makes the story and character interaction not a main reason to play this game.
The problem this games has is that the combat (for me) is also more of an annoyance than a reason to play this. A lot of other people complained about the abusive magic system, the weird hit boxes if you do decide to go the more physical route, the performance issues, forced menu hopping and the horrible AI. So I'm not going to deep into it. It's just not very rewarding or fun. They also reuse recolored bosses. I don't mind recolored normal enemies, but with bosses it's a bit lazy.
That leaves just the art and music department as being great. And while those on it's own can of course be a legitimate reason to try the game and enjoy it, i personally have to many games in my backlog to put so many hours in it anno 2023 just for that.
But i do respect the beginning of a (at a point) well regarded franchise, that seems to be the start of their kind of final fantasy action RPG style experiments. It did things in 1993 that people didn't see before, and the combat is clearly an early inspiration for Chrono Trigger. Also co-op in a RPG was quite rare at the time.
- Almost fully voice acted
- Story was interesting and it has an (ys world) east European influence. Also funny that the local lord is originally from the Ys roman empire, because in the real world the Romans indeed traded with that area.
- On the shorter side. These days that's a positive for me. The story didn't feel incomplete, so that just means that it didn't do needless filler to increase the runtime.
- Great quality sprites in the Falcom style
- Amazing OST, also love the violins in it
- Dungeon design that plays with height but not overly frustrating/confusing
- the amulets that give you different powers are much better than the different elemental swords in Ark of N. You don't need to grind endlessly to power them up. They even gave an easier dash option than the one in the last game. The dev team learned a lot from the mistakes they made there.
- really good bossfights even compared to the other earlier titles
This one checks all Ys boxes for me. Amazing remake.
- Story was interesting and it has an (ys world) east European influence. Also funny that the local lord is originally from the Ys roman empire, because in the real world the Romans indeed traded with that area.
- On the shorter side. These days that's a positive for me. The story didn't feel incomplete, so that just means that it didn't do needless filler to increase the runtime.
- Great quality sprites in the Falcom style
- Amazing OST, also love the violins in it
- Dungeon design that plays with height but not overly frustrating/confusing
- the amulets that give you different powers are much better than the different elemental swords in Ark of N. You don't need to grind endlessly to power them up. They even gave an easier dash option than the one in the last game. The dev team learned a lot from the mistakes they made there.
- really good bossfights even compared to the other earlier titles
This one checks all Ys boxes for me. Amazing remake.
I find the 'around the world' theme something that games do when they don't really know what to do with the plot (a lot of beat them ups did this as well), so i don't know how creative this really is. But i guess Castlevania didn't do that one before.
It did have some amazing set pieces, like the whole climbing up the tower of Pisa, the fountain in Versailles that became bloody (and was that supposed to be the ghost of Marie Antoinette as boss?), the German WWI skeleton soldiers. The Death bossfight was amazing since he teleports you to old bosses with the theme of real tarot cards. Like the tower, wheel of fortune and the magician (and death itself is of course one of the tarot cards). I don't like reusing bosses in general but this one was really clever. Last phase of Dracula was really trippy with the background like that.
Because i suck at these games i chose the 8 diagonal spear, and had a good time without too may frustrations.
Outside the setting it doesn't really break the mold in any way, but it's good comfort food if you like this kind of old school Castlevania.
It did have some amazing set pieces, like the whole climbing up the tower of Pisa, the fountain in Versailles that became bloody (and was that supposed to be the ghost of Marie Antoinette as boss?), the German WWI skeleton soldiers. The Death bossfight was amazing since he teleports you to old bosses with the theme of real tarot cards. Like the tower, wheel of fortune and the magician (and death itself is of course one of the tarot cards). I don't like reusing bosses in general but this one was really clever. Last phase of Dracula was really trippy with the background like that.
Because i suck at these games i chose the 8 diagonal spear, and had a good time without too may frustrations.
Outside the setting it doesn't really break the mold in any way, but it's good comfort food if you like this kind of old school Castlevania.