Smellbringer
1990
Mega Man 3 is a game too ambitious for its own good.
Overall Mega Man 3's level design and bosses are very solid and well done. On top of this Mega Man himself has a new slide ability that the game really forces you to use. Combine it with fun weapons and evolving the Item concept from Mega Man 2 and you have a recipe for a great game.
And then you beat the main robot masters at which point everything goes to crap.
The problem is the Doc Robot remix stages, which is not in of itself a bad idea. The concept of refighting the Mega Man 2 bosses is honestly cool. But the remixed stages are such a poorly designed difficulty curve that it's less curve and more steep hill.
Then you get to the Wily Castle and suddenly the opposite problem occurs, it's too easy. It's a damn cake walk that showers you in E-Tanks and extra lives with the only hard boss being Yellow Devil MK. II.
Hell, there's even signs in the Wily Castles that there was meant to be more but it got scrapped.
Combined with slowdown issues that make me highly recommend using Legacy Collections Turbo CPU function and you have a recipe for a mid game that could be so much more.
At least it gave us the History Repeating album, that slaps.
Overall Mega Man 3's level design and bosses are very solid and well done. On top of this Mega Man himself has a new slide ability that the game really forces you to use. Combine it with fun weapons and evolving the Item concept from Mega Man 2 and you have a recipe for a great game.
And then you beat the main robot masters at which point everything goes to crap.
The problem is the Doc Robot remix stages, which is not in of itself a bad idea. The concept of refighting the Mega Man 2 bosses is honestly cool. But the remixed stages are such a poorly designed difficulty curve that it's less curve and more steep hill.
Then you get to the Wily Castle and suddenly the opposite problem occurs, it's too easy. It's a damn cake walk that showers you in E-Tanks and extra lives with the only hard boss being Yellow Devil MK. II.
Hell, there's even signs in the Wily Castles that there was meant to be more but it got scrapped.
Combined with slowdown issues that make me highly recommend using Legacy Collections Turbo CPU function and you have a recipe for a mid game that could be so much more.
At least it gave us the History Repeating album, that slaps.
2012
A classic for the ages, a game that still holds up over 25 years later, and a must play for any fan of JRPGs or Final Fantasy.
While going for 100% achievements is a nightmare, going from zero to hero and summoning 13 blood knights to murder the final boss before topping it up with a flashy 15 slash combo will always be euphoric.
And of course the story, the characters and world of FF7 are iconic for a reason. Remake/Rebirth get away with stretching out the story to 100 hours and very few moments felt wasted in those for a very good reason.
That said, I did play with mods but none of these altered gameplay or mechanics. Just graphical patches like AI upscaled backgrounds/textures/cutscenes and new models by Ninostyle. It's not mandatory but I think they're great all the same. And yes Steam Achievements still work with the mods, you just need to flip the switch in the 7th Heaven menus.
While going for 100% achievements is a nightmare, going from zero to hero and summoning 13 blood knights to murder the final boss before topping it up with a flashy 15 slash combo will always be euphoric.
And of course the story, the characters and world of FF7 are iconic for a reason. Remake/Rebirth get away with stretching out the story to 100 hours and very few moments felt wasted in those for a very good reason.
That said, I did play with mods but none of these altered gameplay or mechanics. Just graphical patches like AI upscaled backgrounds/textures/cutscenes and new models by Ninostyle. It's not mandatory but I think they're great all the same. And yes Steam Achievements still work with the mods, you just need to flip the switch in the 7th Heaven menus.
1989
The game where the Mega Man series really began, if you could only start with one game in the series, make it 2 and skip 1.
1 is miserable by comparison, and that's odd because structurally there's not much different. But as a Mega Man fan, 1 feels like obligation when you're playing Legacy Collection and 2 feels like actual fun.
With tightened up control, improved physics, better level design, fun weapons, and even better graphics and soundtrack than the first, Mega Man 2 blows the original away.
My only real problem are the 3rd and 5th Wily Castle Bosses. The third requires you to blow through all your Crash Bomb ammo and Game Over if you can't do it right on the first go.
And the fifth can only be hurt by your bubbles with, again, no way to regain your ammo so it's an instant Game Over.
Save states are a must in those cases but other than those late game hurdles, Mega Man 2 has stood the test of time.
1 is miserable by comparison, and that's odd because structurally there's not much different. But as a Mega Man fan, 1 feels like obligation when you're playing Legacy Collection and 2 feels like actual fun.
With tightened up control, improved physics, better level design, fun weapons, and even better graphics and soundtrack than the first, Mega Man 2 blows the original away.
My only real problem are the 3rd and 5th Wily Castle Bosses. The third requires you to blow through all your Crash Bomb ammo and Game Over if you can't do it right on the first go.
And the fifth can only be hurt by your bubbles with, again, no way to regain your ammo so it's an instant Game Over.
Save states are a must in those cases but other than those late game hurdles, Mega Man 2 has stood the test of time.
1987
If you look up "needs refinement" you'll certainly find the bizarre US boxart of the original Mega Man staring at you with his cold dead eyes.
The game's controls are both too heavy and too slippery, Mega Man himself takes a moment to either go or stop, and some of the level design is actual butt cheeks. Lookin' at you, Elec Man.
But you do see the trappings of brilliance underneath the poor controls and level design. Getting new powers is fun, the sound track is solid, and the graphics are great for 1987.
Mega Man is a solid enough game, but it's not the one I'd recommend you start the series with. Especially given the lack of healing items and poor control compared to later entries.
The game's controls are both too heavy and too slippery, Mega Man himself takes a moment to either go or stop, and some of the level design is actual butt cheeks. Lookin' at you, Elec Man.
But you do see the trappings of brilliance underneath the poor controls and level design. Getting new powers is fun, the sound track is solid, and the graphics are great for 1987.
Mega Man is a solid enough game, but it's not the one I'd recommend you start the series with. Especially given the lack of healing items and poor control compared to later entries.
2024
A fun little tech demo that could easily be expanded into a full game like Portal. However the control is a bit wonky and the animation needs work. But again it's solid proof of concept and hey, it's free, all you lose is time.
2024
How will you face death?
That's the question Persona 3 Reload asks and largely succeeds in exploring. While I never played the original Persona 3, having only gotten into the series with 5 last year, I found a compelling story with characters I came to care about.
And the gameplay, while expectedly more simple than Persona 5, was fun. The combination of flashy animation and popping music making every battle an absolute joy.
That's the question Persona 3 Reload asks and largely succeeds in exploring. While I never played the original Persona 3, having only gotten into the series with 5 last year, I found a compelling story with characters I came to care about.
And the gameplay, while expectedly more simple than Persona 5, was fun. The combination of flashy animation and popping music making every battle an absolute joy.
The game that seemingly never ends, FFVII Rebirth makes the original Final Fantasy VII's first half look like a mere blueprint by comparision. Characters who went underdeveloped like Cait Sith or Aerith (once you got past Midgar) get a lot of time in the sun. The combat is more fluid than Remake, the new synergy abilities really help the flow of battle.
And of course the game is drop dead gorgeous with plenty of moments that make you go, "This was in-engine?"
The only real fault is that there's too much content, which is like being at a buffet and complaining there's too much good food. But some of it like Gears and Gambits or Fort Condor is a bit much.
That said, I need a Queens Blood standalone game stat. And maybe to try those Yu-Gi-Oh! games I hear so much about.
And of course the game is drop dead gorgeous with plenty of moments that make you go, "This was in-engine?"
The only real fault is that there's too much content, which is like being at a buffet and complaining there's too much good food. But some of it like Gears and Gambits or Fort Condor is a bit much.
That said, I need a Queens Blood standalone game stat. And maybe to try those Yu-Gi-Oh! games I hear so much about.
This game is 100% dooky and I hate most of it.
It's a microtransaction store with a game attached to it, said game is plagued with glitches, the character skins from Homelander to Cheech and Chong are irritating, and the plot has gone from somewhat harrowing to the fucking MCU in terms of storytelling.
It's a terrible game I would not recommend... so why do I keep playing it? The looter shooter take on Zombies, that's really it. And even then I'd still recommend MWII's DMZ mode over this shit.
It's a microtransaction store with a game attached to it, said game is plagued with glitches, the character skins from Homelander to Cheech and Chong are irritating, and the plot has gone from somewhat harrowing to the fucking MCU in terms of storytelling.
It's a terrible game I would not recommend... so why do I keep playing it? The looter shooter take on Zombies, that's really it. And even then I'd still recommend MWII's DMZ mode over this shit.