A few years ago I tried out this game knowing many said it was a great starting point to understand the appeal of DMC.

I put down the game feeling more frustrated than anything.

After playing DMC5 and understanding how everything worked, I was convinced I needed to give DMC3 another go to truly understand its appeal.

I beat the game in that second playthrough.

It still frustrated me more than anything.

I can understand it may just be me sucking at games like these, but this was not a game for me honestly. Just glad to have beaten it.

This game can be described pretty easily…

It’s far from the DISMAL past entries (least from what I hear) creating a new beginning for the series, and arguably the best starting point for beginners. It’s how I did so, anyway.

And my god, this game looks CRAZY good! I played it on PC and it not only holds a consistent frame rate and resolution, but it just has so much going on and so much creativity in each layer of its visuals! The RE Engine never looked better!

The soundtrack is absolutely BADASS, having you feel exactly how the characters do, partying with Nero, chanting with V, Rocking out with Dante…or just gaining pure absolute motivation with Vergil!

While not as punishing as DMC3, the game still has difficulties that can feel APOCALYPTIC and it’s so fun to do so! The game is paced just right that replaying it was something I wanted to do multiple times! …which I did.

And then of course…the gameplay is just stellar. I couldn’t get into many other games like this cause they often feel so unforgiving or loose that I just don’t want to keep going, but even as a newcomer I felt that satisfaction of ripping through enemies in a SAVAGE way! Once I got used to how the game worked, I could play as any of the characters and keep enemies guessing with my SICK SKILLS! And my god, the moment I get good enough to get that fabled SSS rank…it’s unreal.

DMC5 was such an amazing experience and made me deadset on at least playing the other games in this series, making me a blooming fan of this series. If you want some SMOKIN SEXY STYLE…then go ahead and play DMC5.

Peak.

Shu Takumi always creates amazing stories and this is far from an exception. It’s so freaking good that if you’re looking at this wondering if you should play it…

Yes. Just do it. It’s amazing.

So…I’ll be honest.

I started this game thinking I wasted 70 dollars.

After the first bit of the game, I felt perplexed. I enjoyed a bit of the start, and some directions it took…but the overall “gameplay” sections weren’t my cup of tea and a certain character was really annoying me. I felt like I had to force myself to get through just to make something out of this purchase. I did buy it, so might as well make the most of it, you know?

Well…then I went through the second case. (known as chapter 1 for context. Will be referring to them that way after this)
Chapter 1 showed me this game had way more to it than just junk food. It was a dish made with effort by a team who obviously had passion. Sure, it wasn’t the best dish, but I could see what they were going for. I simply felt it was flawed and would probably just leave me feeling satisfied, if a bit miffed by certain stuff.

But by Chapter 2, I had gone through a case that took me for a ride and actually made me emotional. And believe me when I say…that’s a rarity.
Chapter 3 was slower, but still great in its own way and would lead to what I originally found to be my favourite case.
Chapter 4 was amazing. It literally went so above my expectations that the game played me like a fiddle. I fell into its trap and was right there with the characters in the big twist. One I also felt myself emotional with.

Then…Chapter 5.

This is likely one of the greatest final chapters of any visual novel only rivaled by The Great Ace Attorney 2 in my eyes. (For context, I experienced that game through lets plays online, so I technically haven’t played it. I know, I hate myself for it too.) It shocked me to my core and had me in disbelief so many times. I still feel so much for that ending, cause it felt so deserved.

It’s weird to say after all my doubts early on…but I honestly don’t even care about the issues anymore. They exist and may be real breakers for others, but this game made me appreciate all those steps.
It even made me love a character I originally disliked.
Ultimately…I can’t say whether this will remain my opinion over time, but I think this game made me realize something…
I just don’t find joy in trying to pick a top 5 favourite game. Top 10, 20, whatever…it just doesn’t feel fun having to put any of them down.
Cause really, I could easily put so many games I play in that Top 5 depending on my mood. Depending on how I look at it. I’m not a very good critic, but I don’t really want to be.
I just love games and experiencing the great things they have to offer.

So…I no longer wish to list any games on my top 5. I’ll still have my one favourite game of all time, but I just want to talk about my experiences and not focus on ranks or ratings.

(Cause, ultimately, I give most games near perfect ratings anyway.)

A great game that’s unfortunately held back by a lacking story and some steps back in mechanics.

By main issues can be summed up with the story having a pretty bad narrator, the narrative itself relying too much on callbacks, and it just not having the depth and weight that all the PS2 games had. The presentation of it is good, but that’s the most I can give it.

The characters are very hit or miss. Some were fun (especially AWACS Long Caster my beloved) but others were pretty uninteresting. It’s not quite as bad as what 6 was, and even Assault Horizon, but it’s still a ways from the peak of the series.

But, other than that, the gameplay stands out as some of the best in the series! It’s super smooth and true to the best of the series, having all the mechanics you expect, but with the addition of the Aircraft Tree as a shop replacement. It’s hard to say if I prefer it, but it works well enough and I got a pretty great plane by the end of my first playthrough.

Other than that, the visuals are breathtaking and are obviously the one biggest focus which I do think paid off. It looks amazing, and made flying around feel even cooler at many points!

Overall, it’s still a great game, but not at the point of the classics in terms of its quality.

…but given how much the DLC missions improved on everything, story, characters, writing, pacing, and even gameplay…I feel confident we’ll be getting something stellar in the near future.

A much more character focused game compared to 4, and even Zero in some ways! It’s probably the weakest in terms of overall gameplay, but still a fun time. Plus, I loved the story and characters enough to not mind and was on board the whole way!

If I had any big complaints, it’s probably with the UI. Trying to choose a plane is insanely hard for no reason cause of one needing to be on screen at once and the screen being taken up by so much extra fluff that should’ve had at least room for a list of each plane. And no, the R1 menu does not count.

But I still overall loved this game for its team based focus and I grew closer to my wingmen here compared to every other game, so it’s a certified banger in my books!

As my first dive into the Ace Combat series, this was a pretty fun time. Wasn’t anything mindblowing, but wasn’t expecting it to be.

The games structure was very straight to the point, in a very classic way that I appreciated. You had a summary of your mission, then you choose your aircraft and head off. I’m not sure how other games compare, but the very simple way the story is handled here made this a great starting point to simply get into the gameplay and as such it was more enjoyable for me as a newcomer.

I was also impressed by how well the game feels despite being on the 3DS. Most environments are very simple in their geometry, but the detail in fog and cloud effects as well as the natural way you move helped a lot for the overall experience.

Not to mention the music. I was taken aback by how interesting the music choices were in this game. I kinda expected basic cinematic pieces you see in most games now, but there were tracks with vocals and industrial rock sounding songs that were often sprinkled around to give certain events more weight or tension. It really added to the experience, especially with how it dynamically comes in depending on what’s happening during the missions.

All of this makes me curious what exactly Ace Combat 2 was like originally, cause I found out this game was a remake of that one after I started playing. Having not played it, I can’t say whether most liked this one or felt it was a worse game than the original. Maybe I’ll have to give it a shot someday…

When I was little, I always loved to imagine the game of my dreams. It often varied in how I imagined it, but it usually had the player explore a large map with tons of secrets everywhere and seemingly endless caves and hidden areas.

And it’s usually be in a world of sky islands cause I am obsessed with that stuff.

So, saying that this game gave me a similar experience to that one I always dreamed of…is honestly an insult. It’s not just amazing by my merits, it’s just amazing in general!

Breath of the Wild was a game I was obsessed with like most others were, and while I loved that game a lot and still do…I was definitely feeling less inclined to go back to it over time and felt the game had limits to its enjoyment. Especially with certain decisions seeming either uninteresting or just…not good.

Tears of the Kingdom is basically Breath of the Wild but realized into the true definition of outstanding open world design. The building and physics based mechanics are so fun and have seemingly endless possibilities, the fights feel more interesting and frantic, giving you more options to strengthen weapons and use tools and items to gain an edge, and most importantly…the exploration.

Zelda is known for being all about exploration, but this game basically made the word exploration a lacking definition. The world has so much to offer, so many caves to explore, sky islands to reach, bosses to fight…

Oh yeah, bosses in this game are also Goated. They all make Botw’s look like nothing in comparison.

And while I won’t talk about it directly on here, I’ll just say that the other big part of this game was addicting to explore and felt illegal in a game this huge already.

Honestly, in any other open world game I’d feel overwhelmed and unsure what I want to do with this many options…but the game design on display here made every small action feel welcoming and any difficult task possible with enough effort and creativity. I never wanted to stop cause I knew there was something else I wanted to do in the game. Heck, as I type this I’m already thinking of what else I have left to do even after beating it.

Honestly, my only issues with the game were minor but definitely stood out a bit. That being the repetition of certain story events that don’t really need to be repeated, and the game being a bit too fond of giving you tutorial shrines.

Even so…the experience held up basically my entire playthrough and with about 75 hours of playtime…that’s an insane feat. I love this game to my core and it’s most definitely my new favourite Zelda game.

…as well as earning a spot on my fabled top 5.

This game most definitely has issues, that’s just a fact with it. While some of it was out of their control, other parts were most definitely a case of ambitions not exactly working the way they wanted it to.

To put it plainly, the themes of the game are very heavy handed. While this wasn’t something that bothered me too much, it did make me realize how much intrigue there could’ve been if the game wasn’t focused on the tired question of “Is persecution of a specific group or race of people a bad thing?”

Other than that, what did annoy me was probably out of Eidos’ control. That being the marketing tactics Square Enix employed here come purely cause Human Revolution sold well. Forcing tons of apps and pre order BS, a multiplayer mode, and even micro transactions that were added so late into the game that they couldn’t even incentivize players to use them rather than playing normally (and thank god for that)

Let’s all be glad this company that chooses EnEfTees over this series no longer owns it.

Really, my only other big complaint is how rushed the ending feels. It’s all build up to a final chapter that you’d expect to play through, but you’re suddenly pulled away from the controller and told “Nope, you gotta wait for the third prequel game!”

But, other than that, I have to admit…this game is probably better in every way than Human Revolution! And I already really liked that game!

For one, the exploration was so much more rewarding! While you had options in HR, it often just consisted of hacking or finding very obvious vents to get to where you needed to go.

MD actually gives you way more options, and I had to legit think and experiment about how to go about certain objectives. Especially cause they don’t point directly towards where you need to go like HR did for its side quests.

They also improved the cover system a bit, allowing for more precise aiming out of cover and more ways to move from cover to cover and catch your enemies off guard.

While you’re doing this, you’ll probably also be taking in the sights cause my god this game looks so good! It holds up insanely well, and I just love the artstyle they went with here. Prague is just a beautiful backdrop and works well to contrast with the darker elements at play within that beauty.

And the side quests are actually excellent, and I went out of my way to do every single one I could find. That’s only something I’d do for games I just enjoy playing, like Future Redeemed just recently!

Overall though…despite the issues it has, this game was a blast for me and I am definitely returning to it to try different stuff. Still recommended by me for anyone interested in these games, along with all the others in the series (except Invisible War cause I haven’t played it yet)