SoraMC
270 Reviews liked by SoraMC
The Deathstroke fight for this game is just Tank Among Us
Among Us
2018
The number 1 review for this game is an 8 page essay that takes a deep dive into the mechanical nuances of the game in excruciating detail that clearly had an insane amount of love, effort, and passion poured into every word, and the number 2 review for this game is literally "SUS".
Absolute masterclass of gaming.
Absolute masterclass of gaming.
PaRappa the Rapper
1996
Kick, Punch, it's all in the Mind!
Parappa the Rapper is one of those games I SO STRONGLY want to love in it's entirety, but just can't because the gameplay doesn't click with me. It's one of the most charming and influential games of the PlayStation 1 era (and for good reason too!), and it's impact on video game culture is undeniably profound. This review is just a couple things I wanted to comment on about this game.
God, this game is so charming. The paper-esque art style takes advantage of the PS1 hardware, and to this day really holds up. The UI is simple but appealing, and it gets the point across. Of course, with this being a rhythm game, the music is BOPPING. The actual lyrics are, well, pretty bad, but I'm 90% sure that was the point, it's meant to be cheesy! However, the actual instrumental tracks themselves unironically beat pretty hard, I especially love the Stage 5 instrumental.
Now for my main point of contention with this game, the gameplay itself. Now Parappa is deceivingly easy from footage you may see, but play it yourself and you'll know what I'm talking about. The timing is just EXTREMELY strict, and I swear I've tried multiple different timings and they would never consistently work. There were times where I'd do EVERY note correctly, but I'd lose points, but even WEIRDER is there are times I'd miss like half the notes and EARN points. Is it something to do with how the "freestyle" mechanic is coded...? I don't understand how the game wants me to play it.
I loved the presentation and stuff so much so I TRIED to play all the way through, but after a bunch of failed attempts on stage 5, I just had to put it down, I was so frustrated. I was SO CLOSE, but I felt my head would explode if I played any more. Maybe it's just a skill issue on my behalf, I don't know, but regardless I'm done. Hopefully someday I can finish this game in full, but I have no idea if that will ever come. In short, I love the world, music, characters, and aesthetic of Parappa the Rapper, but I cannot get behind the very punishing and janky rhythm game mechanics. Give it a shot yourself, though, maybe you'll see something I didn't.
UPDATE: I played the PSP version quickly after my completion of Um Jammer Lammy, and SOMEHOW finished the entire thing in a single sitting, and beat my ever so hated stage 5 on my fourth attempt. My feelings here are exactly the same, but I'm glad I finally pulled through. I guess all I had to do was believe.
Parappa the Rapper is one of those games I SO STRONGLY want to love in it's entirety, but just can't because the gameplay doesn't click with me. It's one of the most charming and influential games of the PlayStation 1 era (and for good reason too!), and it's impact on video game culture is undeniably profound. This review is just a couple things I wanted to comment on about this game.
God, this game is so charming. The paper-esque art style takes advantage of the PS1 hardware, and to this day really holds up. The UI is simple but appealing, and it gets the point across. Of course, with this being a rhythm game, the music is BOPPING. The actual lyrics are, well, pretty bad, but I'm 90% sure that was the point, it's meant to be cheesy! However, the actual instrumental tracks themselves unironically beat pretty hard, I especially love the Stage 5 instrumental.
Now for my main point of contention with this game, the gameplay itself. Now Parappa is deceivingly easy from footage you may see, but play it yourself and you'll know what I'm talking about. The timing is just EXTREMELY strict, and I swear I've tried multiple different timings and they would never consistently work. There were times where I'd do EVERY note correctly, but I'd lose points, but even WEIRDER is there are times I'd miss like half the notes and EARN points. Is it something to do with how the "freestyle" mechanic is coded...? I don't understand how the game wants me to play it.
I loved the presentation and stuff so much so I TRIED to play all the way through, but after a bunch of failed attempts on stage 5, I just had to put it down, I was so frustrated. I was SO CLOSE, but I felt my head would explode if I played any more. Maybe it's just a skill issue on my behalf, I don't know, but regardless I'm done. Hopefully someday I can finish this game in full, but I have no idea if that will ever come. In short, I love the world, music, characters, and aesthetic of Parappa the Rapper, but I cannot get behind the very punishing and janky rhythm game mechanics. Give it a shot yourself, though, maybe you'll see something I didn't.
UPDATE: I played the PSP version quickly after my completion of Um Jammer Lammy, and SOMEHOW finished the entire thing in a single sitting, and beat my ever so hated stage 5 on my fourth attempt. My feelings here are exactly the same, but I'm glad I finally pulled through. I guess all I had to do was believe.
Strider 2
1999
Thank you to Josh_The_Fourth for recommending this neat game!
For me, Capcom was absolutely hitting their stride (no pun intended) during the mid to late 90's era. Arcades were booming with all of their Street Fighters, Darkstalkers, and Marvel vs Capcoms. Sega Saturn users were getting a good taste of that arcade action, as well as PlayStation users getting to experience platformers such as Megaman 8 and Megaman X4. A new subseries for the Megaman franchise, Legends, found its footing for the PlayStation userbase, and generally both systems were PACKED with Capcom published titles.However, Capcom wasn't afraid to push out a more obscure and flashy title here or there, and Strider 2 is the one I wanna talk about today.
Strider 2 is a sequel to the classic 1989 arcade game Strider, releasing a full decade apart. Gameplay in this one is tight and appealing, seeing Strider absolutely tear through enemies with his sword is immensely satisfying and quick. Strider also has alot of mobility to work with, which makes his many options for platforming limitless with the player's skill. Levels aren't too long and will probably take you about 10 minutes or less, keeping them lengthy but not overstaying their welcome. Perfectly paced.
This game absolutely oozes that "we made a random unique game for fun" Capcom charm. The slick and eye catching comic book style is very unique compared to many other Capcom games at the time, and does wonders to differentiate itself to the status quo. The mashup of 2D sprites with sweet 3D environments actually looks really great and allows for some awesome camera angles for the spectacle. The music uses alot of instrumentation that sounds familiar many other capcom arcade games at the time, and I love that.
Strider 2 is like that one game you'd rent on a weekend to just enjoy for a Friday afternoon after school in the 90's, if that makes any sense. I never grew up in that era but it really gives that feel. It's some decently lengthy but sweet and appealing arcade style action that I'd recommend anyone to check out, maybe even on a lazy afternoon to enhance the experience.
For me, Capcom was absolutely hitting their stride (no pun intended) during the mid to late 90's era. Arcades were booming with all of their Street Fighters, Darkstalkers, and Marvel vs Capcoms. Sega Saturn users were getting a good taste of that arcade action, as well as PlayStation users getting to experience platformers such as Megaman 8 and Megaman X4. A new subseries for the Megaman franchise, Legends, found its footing for the PlayStation userbase, and generally both systems were PACKED with Capcom published titles.However, Capcom wasn't afraid to push out a more obscure and flashy title here or there, and Strider 2 is the one I wanna talk about today.
Strider 2 is a sequel to the classic 1989 arcade game Strider, releasing a full decade apart. Gameplay in this one is tight and appealing, seeing Strider absolutely tear through enemies with his sword is immensely satisfying and quick. Strider also has alot of mobility to work with, which makes his many options for platforming limitless with the player's skill. Levels aren't too long and will probably take you about 10 minutes or less, keeping them lengthy but not overstaying their welcome. Perfectly paced.
This game absolutely oozes that "we made a random unique game for fun" Capcom charm. The slick and eye catching comic book style is very unique compared to many other Capcom games at the time, and does wonders to differentiate itself to the status quo. The mashup of 2D sprites with sweet 3D environments actually looks really great and allows for some awesome camera angles for the spectacle. The music uses alot of instrumentation that sounds familiar many other capcom arcade games at the time, and I love that.
Strider 2 is like that one game you'd rent on a weekend to just enjoy for a Friday afternoon after school in the 90's, if that makes any sense. I never grew up in that era but it really gives that feel. It's some decently lengthy but sweet and appealing arcade style action that I'd recommend anyone to check out, maybe even on a lazy afternoon to enhance the experience.
Sonic the Hedgehog
1991
EDIT: thanks so much for all the support everyone, means a lot. after a LOT of thinking, i've decided that i'll still be writing reviews, just shorter, as to not exhaust myself. thanks again.
anyone who knows me knows that i love all the classic sonic games. they’re my comfort games and i’ve been playing them for probably a decade by now. a friend of mine recommended me to play this one again today so i decided to revisit it. this isn’t an unbiased review that’s trying to see if this game “still holds up” or “is as good as i thought it was when i was a kid.” far from it. i love this game lol. my rating is my general critique mixed with my biases and nostalgia i have towards it. sonic 1 is a game that i can pop in anytime and get enjoyment out of it.
green hill is my goat. marble is tolerable. spring yard is cool. labyrinth is ass. star light is awesome. scrap brain is mid. that’s it. that’s the whole review.
console wars, genesis vs super nintendo, america, who gives a fuck. you’ve heard it all before and it doesn’t impact the game’s quality very much at all. sonic defined a generation partly because of sega’s great marketing and shit or whatever, but if the game was no good then it wouldn’t have lasted. sonic 1 is a good game, always was. it didn’t age, it didn’t change. it’s sonic T. hedgehog on the Sega. for years little kids everywhere rushed to their shiny wrapped boxes under that prickly tree to find the Sega they wanted bundled with the sonic edgehog they wanted too. kids aren’t stupid, they knew sonic was our goat. it’s a great time with some dull moments that don’t hinder the overall package all that much. does it suffer from first game syndrome? certainly, but this only further proves that what was laid down here was great enough to allow the construction of the fantastic sequels…
———
i’m burnt out man, what do i write next. critical analysis my ass, it’s 10:41 PM on a weekday and i should be sleeping, but guess what? i’m not. sonic the hedgehog sega genesis baby, it does wild shit. to get real for a second i genuinely wrote like a page of some critiques and shit i have with this game. scrapped. i’ve been slowly feeling like my reviews have been becoming really forced and this was it. this was the one that made me genuinely angry. i want to write more reviews but it is really hard. shits becoming stale for me and i feel like there’s nothing i can do. i’m trying to break away from this boxed up structure i see some of my reviews share. the same words and phrases again and again. Backloggd.com. maybe it’s time for me to play a video game and not write a review about it. maybe i should play games and genuinely let them penetrate my soul and allow me to soak in their great, mid, or even terrible juices without having the need to pull out iOS Notes to jot down thoughts or justify how i feel to a seemingly invisible opposing party. maybe it’s time to say goodbye to backloggd.com, just for a little while. to those who follow me and like my stuff i’ll always be thankful to you guys. it means a lot to me that my little ramblings and shit about video games actually interest people. never in my life did i think i’d gain a following on this site. to everyone who reads this mess of a review, thanks.
Sonic the Hedgehog is a platform video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis home video game console. The first game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, it was released in North America in June 1991 and in PAL regions and Japan the following month.
No, I didn’t proofread this, nor do I intend to.
anyone who knows me knows that i love all the classic sonic games. they’re my comfort games and i’ve been playing them for probably a decade by now. a friend of mine recommended me to play this one again today so i decided to revisit it. this isn’t an unbiased review that’s trying to see if this game “still holds up” or “is as good as i thought it was when i was a kid.” far from it. i love this game lol. my rating is my general critique mixed with my biases and nostalgia i have towards it. sonic 1 is a game that i can pop in anytime and get enjoyment out of it.
green hill is my goat. marble is tolerable. spring yard is cool. labyrinth is ass. star light is awesome. scrap brain is mid. that’s it. that’s the whole review.
console wars, genesis vs super nintendo, america, who gives a fuck. you’ve heard it all before and it doesn’t impact the game’s quality very much at all. sonic defined a generation partly because of sega’s great marketing and shit or whatever, but if the game was no good then it wouldn’t have lasted. sonic 1 is a good game, always was. it didn’t age, it didn’t change. it’s sonic T. hedgehog on the Sega. for years little kids everywhere rushed to their shiny wrapped boxes under that prickly tree to find the Sega they wanted bundled with the sonic edgehog they wanted too. kids aren’t stupid, they knew sonic was our goat. it’s a great time with some dull moments that don’t hinder the overall package all that much. does it suffer from first game syndrome? certainly, but this only further proves that what was laid down here was great enough to allow the construction of the fantastic sequels…
———
i’m burnt out man, what do i write next. critical analysis my ass, it’s 10:41 PM on a weekday and i should be sleeping, but guess what? i’m not. sonic the hedgehog sega genesis baby, it does wild shit. to get real for a second i genuinely wrote like a page of some critiques and shit i have with this game. scrapped. i’ve been slowly feeling like my reviews have been becoming really forced and this was it. this was the one that made me genuinely angry. i want to write more reviews but it is really hard. shits becoming stale for me and i feel like there’s nothing i can do. i’m trying to break away from this boxed up structure i see some of my reviews share. the same words and phrases again and again. Backloggd.com. maybe it’s time for me to play a video game and not write a review about it. maybe i should play games and genuinely let them penetrate my soul and allow me to soak in their great, mid, or even terrible juices without having the need to pull out iOS Notes to jot down thoughts or justify how i feel to a seemingly invisible opposing party. maybe it’s time to say goodbye to backloggd.com, just for a little while. to those who follow me and like my stuff i’ll always be thankful to you guys. it means a lot to me that my little ramblings and shit about video games actually interest people. never in my life did i think i’d gain a following on this site. to everyone who reads this mess of a review, thanks.
Sonic the Hedgehog is a platform video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis home video game console. The first game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, it was released in North America in June 1991 and in PAL regions and Japan the following month.
No, I didn’t proofread this, nor do I intend to.
Policenauts
1994
Somehow much longer and a fair bit more convoluted than Snatcher, but it retains that great world building and characterization from Snatcher. The game could really use a new PC port with mouse and keyboard controls though; some of the shooting sections can get a bit dicey with controller aiming. Still worth your time for sure if you're looking for a more out there narrative driven title that really influenced the MGS series.
they put yu-gi-oh in my dating sim
This town has been taken over, too. By countless, faceless ghosts. ▋
The Silver Case at its surface is a story of what can happen when you try to kill your past. Can you kill the past? Play the games and find out, but it is an indisputable fact that attempting to do so will lead you into strange directions, which is what lies beneath the surface. More likely than not your past will end up changing you. Consumed by the past. Consumed by the darkness. This is why it has to be killed, or else it kills you.
The 25th Ward is a twist in perspectives of how the past is tackled by different people. Some face it head on, some have to find it, some are so consumed by it that they are unaware of what it truly is. These are Matchmaker, Placebo, and Correctness respectively (at least that’s how i interpreted it). Just like the original game, all of the storylines bounce off one another while still filling in each other’s story gaps in a focused on-the-edge-of-your-seat way.
I’m gonna be real with y’all I have almost no fucking idea what to write next. I broke up my play sessions to give myself time to absorb the story. I spent two days after finishing it contemplating what the hell I was even going to write, and now I’m here. Sitting alone in my living room listening to Phantogram’s Eyelid Movies in somber over a video game. I still don’t know what to say. Video games have impacted me heavily in the past but none as strangely and uniquely as the Kill the Past series so far. The 25th Ward is the perfect embodiment of Suda’s expression in the industry and how far he can go. A complexity of ideas and themes intertwined to articulate, at its core, human ideologies. It’s all paced so well that when I reached the end I thought, “That’s the end?” but not necessarily in a negative way at all. Every point the game strove to get across was proven effectively, I was just a bit sad to see one of my favorite video game stories come to a close. I wanted more because it was so amazing. Admittedly I also wanted more time to figure out what the fuck had happened for the last 13~ hours lol. I wish I could go more in depth but if I did I would probably be spouting nonsense regarding spoilers and whatnot.
What I CAN explain though is the expertly arranged presentation and soundtrack. The boxed-in contemporary style of the original game is modernized and accentuated to an extreme. This could possibly be my favorite visual style of any video game. Background elements are now more distinctly interesting and support the themes of the current chapter even better. The color palettes used are also a lot more colorful which I’m absolutely down for. The artists for each of the storylines did spectacularly; I especially love the art style used for Correctness with its black and white pastel tones accompanied by infrequent splashes of color to make everything pop. Everything is just a marvel to look at. The typewriter sound is unchanged just the way I like it. I find it to be an insanely satisfying sound that’s just the cherry on top of everything else the game has to offer. The soundtrack is exactly what I love in electronic music and it's incredibly fitting. Love beat bumpin’ shit like the classic Metropolitan Edge and groovy Galaxy Glitch Groove by Akira Yamaoka of Silent Hill fame, while also vibing hard with Sandalwood and DRIFT. Every track hits me in the feels in incomparable ways. All of this is in tandem with one another becomes, what I feel to be, an unparalleled artistic composition in gaming.
The 25th Ward: The Silver Case is a wildly intense game that will continue to float around my brain for a long time. If you couldn’t tell already, this is everything I loved about the original Silver case and more. There’s honestly nothing I would change about it. Every character is identifiable and the writing stays consistently engaging throughout. Love Jabroni, love Tokio (as usual), love Osato (he’s a little bit of a quirked up white boy). This is a video game for me. It doesn’t conform to industry standards and does its own thing in an astounding manner.
I wish a great rain would fall on this town. And that everything would melt in the rain and be washed away. To the bottom of the ocean. ▋
The Silver Case at its surface is a story of what can happen when you try to kill your past. Can you kill the past? Play the games and find out, but it is an indisputable fact that attempting to do so will lead you into strange directions, which is what lies beneath the surface. More likely than not your past will end up changing you. Consumed by the past. Consumed by the darkness. This is why it has to be killed, or else it kills you.
The 25th Ward is a twist in perspectives of how the past is tackled by different people. Some face it head on, some have to find it, some are so consumed by it that they are unaware of what it truly is. These are Matchmaker, Placebo, and Correctness respectively (at least that’s how i interpreted it). Just like the original game, all of the storylines bounce off one another while still filling in each other’s story gaps in a focused on-the-edge-of-your-seat way.
I’m gonna be real with y’all I have almost no fucking idea what to write next. I broke up my play sessions to give myself time to absorb the story. I spent two days after finishing it contemplating what the hell I was even going to write, and now I’m here. Sitting alone in my living room listening to Phantogram’s Eyelid Movies in somber over a video game. I still don’t know what to say. Video games have impacted me heavily in the past but none as strangely and uniquely as the Kill the Past series so far. The 25th Ward is the perfect embodiment of Suda’s expression in the industry and how far he can go. A complexity of ideas and themes intertwined to articulate, at its core, human ideologies. It’s all paced so well that when I reached the end I thought, “That’s the end?” but not necessarily in a negative way at all. Every point the game strove to get across was proven effectively, I was just a bit sad to see one of my favorite video game stories come to a close. I wanted more because it was so amazing. Admittedly I also wanted more time to figure out what the fuck had happened for the last 13~ hours lol. I wish I could go more in depth but if I did I would probably be spouting nonsense regarding spoilers and whatnot.
What I CAN explain though is the expertly arranged presentation and soundtrack. The boxed-in contemporary style of the original game is modernized and accentuated to an extreme. This could possibly be my favorite visual style of any video game. Background elements are now more distinctly interesting and support the themes of the current chapter even better. The color palettes used are also a lot more colorful which I’m absolutely down for. The artists for each of the storylines did spectacularly; I especially love the art style used for Correctness with its black and white pastel tones accompanied by infrequent splashes of color to make everything pop. Everything is just a marvel to look at. The typewriter sound is unchanged just the way I like it. I find it to be an insanely satisfying sound that’s just the cherry on top of everything else the game has to offer. The soundtrack is exactly what I love in electronic music and it's incredibly fitting. Love beat bumpin’ shit like the classic Metropolitan Edge and groovy Galaxy Glitch Groove by Akira Yamaoka of Silent Hill fame, while also vibing hard with Sandalwood and DRIFT. Every track hits me in the feels in incomparable ways. All of this is in tandem with one another becomes, what I feel to be, an unparalleled artistic composition in gaming.
The 25th Ward: The Silver Case is a wildly intense game that will continue to float around my brain for a long time. If you couldn’t tell already, this is everything I loved about the original Silver case and more. There’s honestly nothing I would change about it. Every character is identifiable and the writing stays consistently engaging throughout. Love Jabroni, love Tokio (as usual), love Osato (he’s a little bit of a quirked up white boy). This is a video game for me. It doesn’t conform to industry standards and does its own thing in an astounding manner.
I wish a great rain would fall on this town. And that everything would melt in the rain and be washed away. To the bottom of the ocean. ▋
Super Mario Run
2016
What exactly do you feel the need to run from, Mario? What kind of sins, mortal or venial, do you feel the need to escape from no matter the cost, even though they haunt you for the rest of your days. Keep running if you wish, but you can't escape your conscience...
I hate mobile games
I hate mobile games
for my money, probably the best yugioh game you could play at the time. i'm sure duel links probably invalidates this now but if you wanted a game that would give you access to a wide variety of duelists + a metric fuckton of cards to choose from, you really couldn't go wrong with this game. i have spent far more time than i'd care to admit playing this.
This game has a lot of highs and a lot of lows, but the most important feature is it's the only pure Goat Format game, same banlist and cardpool.
The main downside is having to find duelists in the overworld to befriend them which then allows you to duel them whenever you want. Except Pegasus who's bugged but that could be fixed with a cheat I assume. This really comes to a crawl however when the plot requires shadow games to occur at night...which is a random small window otherwise you'll have to grind for minutes to get to night again. Plot progression can also be vague since it never tells you anything and just expects you to keep dueling.
But outside the gameplay being all there, there are other cool things too. There are tournament matches that play Match style rather than single duels. Near the end there are specific win requirements (like forcing Joey into a Draw to continue or needing to beat Marik with your God Card to finish the game), and allowing 1 Forbidden Card in your deck in the second half so you can really Yata Lo...experiment with your options. Everyone else uses 1 Forbidden card so you should too.
But, somehow, this game managed to make the Noah Arc the coolest shit. First, if you lose any duel against the Big 5, you get a unique Game Over cutscene with the millitary satellite. Then after the first 4 Shadow games you enter a 4 duel gauntlet against the last of the Big 5, Mokuba, Noah, and Gozaburo in order. But when you get to Gozaburo the ship is about to explode...so the duel will only last for 20 turns (Final Countdown auto-activates at the start), and he plays Exodia Necross, which also means he can Exodia you at any time. It's incredibly tense.
How did this game turn a filler arc into its best part?
Either or play the Goat format game
The main downside is having to find duelists in the overworld to befriend them which then allows you to duel them whenever you want. Except Pegasus who's bugged but that could be fixed with a cheat I assume. This really comes to a crawl however when the plot requires shadow games to occur at night...which is a random small window otherwise you'll have to grind for minutes to get to night again. Plot progression can also be vague since it never tells you anything and just expects you to keep dueling.
But outside the gameplay being all there, there are other cool things too. There are tournament matches that play Match style rather than single duels. Near the end there are specific win requirements (like forcing Joey into a Draw to continue or needing to beat Marik with your God Card to finish the game), and allowing 1 Forbidden Card in your deck in the second half so you can really Yata Lo...experiment with your options. Everyone else uses 1 Forbidden card so you should too.
But, somehow, this game managed to make the Noah Arc the coolest shit. First, if you lose any duel against the Big 5, you get a unique Game Over cutscene with the millitary satellite. Then after the first 4 Shadow games you enter a 4 duel gauntlet against the last of the Big 5, Mokuba, Noah, and Gozaburo in order. But when you get to Gozaburo the ship is about to explode...so the duel will only last for 20 turns (Final Countdown auto-activates at the start), and he plays Exodia Necross, which also means he can Exodia you at any time. It's incredibly tense.
How did this game turn a filler arc into its best part?
Either or play the Goat format game
Snatcher
1992
Game #4 of my "seasonal game binge"
Beaten in one sitting to celebrate the Sega CD's anniversary. Best game on the system ez and dare I say a contender for Kojima's magnum opus which is saying a lot.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/920211203924570142/unknown.png
Having just played 3 "Christmas games" in a row where the seasonal setting was a tiny footnote, I appreciated how Snatcher truly felt like a Christmas game. Shopping families are consistently brought up, Santa outfits appear, and somehow Konami got me to rock out to a remix of fucking Jingle Bells, the music was just that well done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qQ7V-RjpwY
Indeed, setting the game in the season to be jolly really helped emphasize how there was warmth to humanity worth protecting. This helped separate the humans from the SNATCHERs thematically while also helping the player feel bad for the loss of innocent life in the prologue.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/920212552112275476/Santa.mp4
I don't even know where to start with how impressed I was with this masterpiece. I guess a good place would be audio. The sound design is very top notch. Different characters have their own footsteps such as Metal Gear, a large variety of catchy music comes on for just about any situation even including a groovy remix for Theme of Tara when Metal Gear appears, and the voice acting fits all too well. Even though only 7 voice actors recorded for dozens of characters, they all had enough range to help each character sound unique; it's truly a miracle work of dubbing in this era, especially since they also had convincing lip flaps.
https://youtu.be/2swZCYSRFt8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeUbRd3eIeY (I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be Pressure of Tension rather than Pleasure of Tension, but great track lol)
The sheer amount of facial expressions for each character resulted in each cutscene feeling surprisingly lively. I'm genuinely impressed what could be fit in only 400 MB of data. The CGs are chock full of smooth animations and the Sega CD port makes great use of the colours available on the system to enhance the portraits and backgrounds over the more limited pallet of the MSX2 version while still keeping the soul alive.
Gameplay wise, it's pretty typical adventure game/visual novel fare. Endless reading and constantly checking the same options until new ones appear. A big shoutout to the hidden Neo Kobe Pizza and flirting scenes. I cannot say much about the gunplay except it was too far on the easy side of things. Perhaps it would be more fun if I had a lightgun to use, but it's only a few minutes of a 7-10 hour game so I will not comment much on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCxiP4blwmo
Regarding the puzzles, they're all pretty logical. I had plenty of fun solving pic related.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920170309938716712/unknown.png
Overall the main reason to play Snatcher is for the story, most notably the little tender moments (try calling the freeman's son) and balance of humour with dark themes. While the story can seem silly at times, it's not afraid to pull its punches in regards to how awful nuclear weapons are, a trend for Kojima stories. Yet all the humourous moments show there is more to life than conflict and bloodshed. It even contains Kojima's signature 4th wall breaking jokes.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920107712916906024/unknown.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920134537793634434/unknown.png
I will say act 1-2 are so strong (Random really steals the show <3) act 3 kinda feels like it had trouble following a tough act (a certain revelation is so stupidly handled, you know the one if you played it) but the final cutscene is still strong enough I didn't feel it dragged the game down. After all, act 3 wasn't even in the original version.
One final point of interest is the censorship. People overblow the hell out of it. I dare say some of the gore is even more disturbing and graphic in the English version. I also think the Outer Heaven cameos being changed from Kamen Riders and Xenmorphs to Konami characters is much cooler, sue me.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920133791601803264/unknown.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920133262532296804/unknown.png
Beaten in one sitting to celebrate the Sega CD's anniversary. Best game on the system ez and dare I say a contender for Kojima's magnum opus which is saying a lot.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/920211203924570142/unknown.png
Having just played 3 "Christmas games" in a row where the seasonal setting was a tiny footnote, I appreciated how Snatcher truly felt like a Christmas game. Shopping families are consistently brought up, Santa outfits appear, and somehow Konami got me to rock out to a remix of fucking Jingle Bells, the music was just that well done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qQ7V-RjpwY
Indeed, setting the game in the season to be jolly really helped emphasize how there was warmth to humanity worth protecting. This helped separate the humans from the SNATCHERs thematically while also helping the player feel bad for the loss of innocent life in the prologue.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/920212552112275476/Santa.mp4
I don't even know where to start with how impressed I was with this masterpiece. I guess a good place would be audio. The sound design is very top notch. Different characters have their own footsteps such as Metal Gear, a large variety of catchy music comes on for just about any situation even including a groovy remix for Theme of Tara when Metal Gear appears, and the voice acting fits all too well. Even though only 7 voice actors recorded for dozens of characters, they all had enough range to help each character sound unique; it's truly a miracle work of dubbing in this era, especially since they also had convincing lip flaps.
https://youtu.be/2swZCYSRFt8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeUbRd3eIeY (I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be Pressure of Tension rather than Pleasure of Tension, but great track lol)
The sheer amount of facial expressions for each character resulted in each cutscene feeling surprisingly lively. I'm genuinely impressed what could be fit in only 400 MB of data. The CGs are chock full of smooth animations and the Sega CD port makes great use of the colours available on the system to enhance the portraits and backgrounds over the more limited pallet of the MSX2 version while still keeping the soul alive.
Gameplay wise, it's pretty typical adventure game/visual novel fare. Endless reading and constantly checking the same options until new ones appear. A big shoutout to the hidden Neo Kobe Pizza and flirting scenes. I cannot say much about the gunplay except it was too far on the easy side of things. Perhaps it would be more fun if I had a lightgun to use, but it's only a few minutes of a 7-10 hour game so I will not comment much on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCxiP4blwmo
Regarding the puzzles, they're all pretty logical. I had plenty of fun solving pic related.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920170309938716712/unknown.png
Overall the main reason to play Snatcher is for the story, most notably the little tender moments (try calling the freeman's son) and balance of humour with dark themes. While the story can seem silly at times, it's not afraid to pull its punches in regards to how awful nuclear weapons are, a trend for Kojima stories. Yet all the humourous moments show there is more to life than conflict and bloodshed. It even contains Kojima's signature 4th wall breaking jokes.
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https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920134537793634434/unknown.png
I will say act 1-2 are so strong (Random really steals the show <3) act 3 kinda feels like it had trouble following a tough act (a certain revelation is so stupidly handled, you know the one if you played it) but the final cutscene is still strong enough I didn't feel it dragged the game down. After all, act 3 wasn't even in the original version.
One final point of interest is the censorship. People overblow the hell out of it. I dare say some of the gore is even more disturbing and graphic in the English version. I also think the Outer Heaven cameos being changed from Kamen Riders and Xenmorphs to Konami characters is much cooler, sue me.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920133791601803264/unknown.png
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827002109807034388/920133262532296804/unknown.png
oh god oh please no not the saber faces
Fate - 8.5
Unlimited bladeworks - 9
Heavens feel - 10
I absolutely adore fate and it's powerful themes and messages. The story of a young boy finding a way to come into terms with his severe trauma in order to make meaning out of his life and find happiness resonates with me very deeply. However, it has many many issues and flaws that are hard to overlook. Pacing issues being the most prominent. In other words, it's a 10/10 story no doubt, but it's a 9/10 vn at the very best.
If you love stay night do play hollow ataraxia.
Unlimited bladeworks - 9
Heavens feel - 10
I absolutely adore fate and it's powerful themes and messages. The story of a young boy finding a way to come into terms with his severe trauma in order to make meaning out of his life and find happiness resonates with me very deeply. However, it has many many issues and flaws that are hard to overlook. Pacing issues being the most prominent. In other words, it's a 10/10 story no doubt, but it's a 9/10 vn at the very best.
If you love stay night do play hollow ataraxia.
God of War II
2007
This game was so much more enjoyable from the first. Im not quite sure on all of what they changed but it just felt so much better to play. You're not getting staggered constantly, the enemies arent insane bullet sponges and it just felt a lot more balanced and rewarding than the original. The puzzles were also a lot better, so much less frustrating and a lot more enjoyable. I do wish there was less of an emphasis on them though, I feel like the game has way too many and that makes it kinda drag a bit more than needed in the middle. There were still moments the game pissed me off and initial impressions were not great, but the gameplay really stepped it up in the end and I appreciated that immensely. The story does suffer a bit though, It's notably weaker than than the first. Another review mentions this but it definitely suffers from middle child syndrome. The ending especially is pretty akin to Halo 2, a great set up for 3 but a bit of a disappointing finish for the game itself, that being said its not quite as abrupt and I didnt mind it too much
Overall, despite some slow moments and a noticeably weaker story, God of War II is an immense improvement over the first and a genuine joy to play. Hyped to see how this trilogy ends.
On a side note the medusa-like enemies are fucking stupid and I fucking hate them
Trophy Completion - 100% (Platinum 193)
Time Played - 18 hours on the dot
Nancymeter - 81/100
Game Completion #54 of 2022
May Completion #4
Overall, despite some slow moments and a noticeably weaker story, God of War II is an immense improvement over the first and a genuine joy to play. Hyped to see how this trilogy ends.
On a side note the medusa-like enemies are fucking stupid and I fucking hate them
Trophy Completion - 100% (Platinum 193)
Time Played - 18 hours on the dot
Nancymeter - 81/100
Game Completion #54 of 2022
May Completion #4