This review contains spoilers
I can't outright say that there's no fun to be had here, in fact I think in terms of in the moment combat it feels pretty nice. It's mainly everything surrounding it.
Bizarre gameplay implementations like new weapons that can be unlocked whenever, unskippable walking segments, QTE's that add nothing to the experience and are just there for needless spectacle, the "steel on bone" mechanic which (while flashy) never really justified its placement next to the far superior essence system which added another layer of depth to the gameplay.
In terms of environments this entry is also quite drab, there's no part of the art direction or environmental design that really popped, when I think back on the look of this game all that comes to mind is how generic everything was. It doesn't help that they reused a lot of the demonic enemies from the second game and have the other type of enemies you fight be "soldier men."
Judging by the story they obviously wanted to take the franchise into a far more introspective and serious direction. Before, Ryu killed demons without a second thought because it was his duty. Now it feels like an entirely new person has taken his place, one who is far more talkative and spends all of his free time lamenting on the killing he partakes in.
It's a very weak concept to hinge the entire narrative over, as not only does it ignore the character that Ryu was until this point it also does not come to ahead in any meaningful way whatsoever. The conclusion to his inner turmoil being another character stepping into frame and telling him "Eh, you're kinda good AND bad"
There is also a scene that was in the original that's been entirely cut from the Razor's Edge version. This being a moment that takes place early in the game of Ryu killing a soldier who had already thrown down his gun and was begging for his life. Pure shock value that means nothing and especially feels tone deaf when two minutes later you're comboing people into Swiss cheese.
Why harp on the story when talking about a character action game? Simple. Because there really isn't much else to talk about.
This is just the prior game but worse in every regard. It's a lose-lose scenario, this game comes out trying to do it's own thing and it gets ripped to shreds by fans. They re-release it with much more enemy variety and weapons and it comes off as a shallow retread that does nothing to improve on the two games that came before it and includes a plethora of pace killing gimmicks.
If pushed to ask if I'd recommend it...I have no clue. It would depend on how big of a fan you are of the series. There's nothing you really lose from playing this, but nothing to gain either.
Actually, I lie. With the knowledge that this was written by the man who wrote the story of Chrono Trigger, it is pretty entertaining.
Bizarre gameplay implementations like new weapons that can be unlocked whenever, unskippable walking segments, QTE's that add nothing to the experience and are just there for needless spectacle, the "steel on bone" mechanic which (while flashy) never really justified its placement next to the far superior essence system which added another layer of depth to the gameplay.
In terms of environments this entry is also quite drab, there's no part of the art direction or environmental design that really popped, when I think back on the look of this game all that comes to mind is how generic everything was. It doesn't help that they reused a lot of the demonic enemies from the second game and have the other type of enemies you fight be "soldier men."
Judging by the story they obviously wanted to take the franchise into a far more introspective and serious direction. Before, Ryu killed demons without a second thought because it was his duty. Now it feels like an entirely new person has taken his place, one who is far more talkative and spends all of his free time lamenting on the killing he partakes in.
It's a very weak concept to hinge the entire narrative over, as not only does it ignore the character that Ryu was until this point it also does not come to ahead in any meaningful way whatsoever. The conclusion to his inner turmoil being another character stepping into frame and telling him "Eh, you're kinda good AND bad"
There is also a scene that was in the original that's been entirely cut from the Razor's Edge version. This being a moment that takes place early in the game of Ryu killing a soldier who had already thrown down his gun and was begging for his life. Pure shock value that means nothing and especially feels tone deaf when two minutes later you're comboing people into Swiss cheese.
Why harp on the story when talking about a character action game? Simple. Because there really isn't much else to talk about.
This is just the prior game but worse in every regard. It's a lose-lose scenario, this game comes out trying to do it's own thing and it gets ripped to shreds by fans. They re-release it with much more enemy variety and weapons and it comes off as a shallow retread that does nothing to improve on the two games that came before it and includes a plethora of pace killing gimmicks.
If pushed to ask if I'd recommend it...I have no clue. It would depend on how big of a fan you are of the series. There's nothing you really lose from playing this, but nothing to gain either.
Actually, I lie. With the knowledge that this was written by the man who wrote the story of Chrono Trigger, it is pretty entertaining.