ViridianMage
2000
Summary
A classic turn based RPG with a memorable cast of characters. Vivi is arguably one of the all time Final Fantasy greats, and there are some moving and poignant movements throughout. The storyline is decent although feels a bit rushed towards the end. Not my favourite Final Fantasy, but still had fun playing it.
Game Play
It uses a classic turn based ATB system. Characters must equip items and gain ATB to master the abilities from the items. However, as not every character can learn every ability, this system isn't quite as flexible as say the materia system from FFVII. There are too many status effects in my opinion, and it can be confusing as to what they all do and which spell or item can be used to heal them.
As usual with a Final Fantasy game, there are extra mini games, side quests, and secret bosses to get stuck into. I don't feel this element is as strong in FF IX as some others - there is nothing that will make me want to jump that rope 1000 times!!
Performance
The game runs fine on the Switch - the first battle in a new area takes a while to load, but no performance issues experienced aside from this. It looks good too, with the updated character models clear and colourful.
A classic turn based RPG with a memorable cast of characters. Vivi is arguably one of the all time Final Fantasy greats, and there are some moving and poignant movements throughout. The storyline is decent although feels a bit rushed towards the end. Not my favourite Final Fantasy, but still had fun playing it.
Game Play
It uses a classic turn based ATB system. Characters must equip items and gain ATB to master the abilities from the items. However, as not every character can learn every ability, this system isn't quite as flexible as say the materia system from FFVII. There are too many status effects in my opinion, and it can be confusing as to what they all do and which spell or item can be used to heal them.
As usual with a Final Fantasy game, there are extra mini games, side quests, and secret bosses to get stuck into. I don't feel this element is as strong in FF IX as some others - there is nothing that will make me want to jump that rope 1000 times!!
Performance
The game runs fine on the Switch - the first battle in a new area takes a while to load, but no performance issues experienced aside from this. It looks good too, with the updated character models clear and colourful.
2019
Summary
A solid new entry in the Pokémon franchise, adding fun new features such as raid battling for the first time. Quality of life features such as easier EV training compared to previous games are also appreciated and make it easier to jump into online battling than ever before.
Gameplay
It's Pokémon - you know what to expect! The battle gimmick "Dynamaxing" is my personal favourite of all the gimmicks introduced in recent years - I like that any Pokémon can use it, unlike something like Mega Evolution where only certain pre-determined ones can.
The main story game itself is on the easy side, a common criticism of recent Pokémon games. However, the atmosphere for gym, elite four, and online battles in the stadium is amazing. The way the crowd joins in singing the battle theme creates a great sense of spectacle.
The new Pokémon are varied and interesting, and I enjoyed hunting them all down to complete the Pokédex. The DLC is also a lot of fun, and adds more challenge to the base game.
Performance
The graphics are commonly criticised in this game, however I don't mind them so much. The town areas are well designed and atmospheric. The main characters are well animated, particularly in battle. The music is strong and memorable.
The performance when in the wild area leaves a bit to be desired, especially when connected to the internet. There is a lot of pop in, and a bit of lag if you're playing online. Outside the wild area, the game runs smoothly.
A solid new entry in the Pokémon franchise, adding fun new features such as raid battling for the first time. Quality of life features such as easier EV training compared to previous games are also appreciated and make it easier to jump into online battling than ever before.
Gameplay
It's Pokémon - you know what to expect! The battle gimmick "Dynamaxing" is my personal favourite of all the gimmicks introduced in recent years - I like that any Pokémon can use it, unlike something like Mega Evolution where only certain pre-determined ones can.
The main story game itself is on the easy side, a common criticism of recent Pokémon games. However, the atmosphere for gym, elite four, and online battles in the stadium is amazing. The way the crowd joins in singing the battle theme creates a great sense of spectacle.
The new Pokémon are varied and interesting, and I enjoyed hunting them all down to complete the Pokédex. The DLC is also a lot of fun, and adds more challenge to the base game.
Performance
The graphics are commonly criticised in this game, however I don't mind them so much. The town areas are well designed and atmospheric. The main characters are well animated, particularly in battle. The music is strong and memorable.
The performance when in the wild area leaves a bit to be desired, especially when connected to the internet. There is a lot of pop in, and a bit of lag if you're playing online. Outside the wild area, the game runs smoothly.
2022
Summary
An excellent sRPG that is influenced by past greats such as Final Fantasy tactics. It has a strong storyline, with alternate endings, and a memorable cast of characters. Highly recommended to fans of the genre.
Gameplay
Battles take place on grid based maps. Positioning of units and terrain also affect outcomes of moves. For instance, if two of your units sandwich an enemy unit, your second unit commits a follow up attack, increasing damage. The enemies can also pull the same trick! Additionally, some tiles can be set on fire, frozen or conduct electricity. This makes spell casting a lot of fun.
There is no perma-death in this game.
Performance
It looks and sounds fantastic. Surely one of the best looking 2D-HD games to date. There were no performance issues at all when I played through on the switch.
An excellent sRPG that is influenced by past greats such as Final Fantasy tactics. It has a strong storyline, with alternate endings, and a memorable cast of characters. Highly recommended to fans of the genre.
Gameplay
Battles take place on grid based maps. Positioning of units and terrain also affect outcomes of moves. For instance, if two of your units sandwich an enemy unit, your second unit commits a follow up attack, increasing damage. The enemies can also pull the same trick! Additionally, some tiles can be set on fire, frozen or conduct electricity. This makes spell casting a lot of fun.
There is no perma-death in this game.
Performance
It looks and sounds fantastic. Surely one of the best looking 2D-HD games to date. There were no performance issues at all when I played through on the switch.
2022
A quirky RPG that makes good use of the 2D-HD style graphics. Much shorter than typical JRPGs, and the chapter style makes it easy to jump into and complete sections in short bursts - so this is an ideal RPG for people without 100s of hours to spare!
Great variety of settings - from outer space to medieval times to pre-history. Nothing outstays its welcome, although some RPG fans may be disappointed that there isn't more chance for exploration, party building, equipment crafting etc. These features happen briefly in some chapters but not all.
Great variety of settings - from outer space to medieval times to pre-history. Nothing outstays its welcome, although some RPG fans may be disappointed that there isn't more chance for exploration, party building, equipment crafting etc. These features happen briefly in some chapters but not all.
This review contains spoilers
Gameplay
I'd never played one of the "Warriors" franchise before, but couldn't resist this one seeing as Three Houses is one of my favourite ever games. If like me you don't know what to expect, be prepared to mash a lot of buttons!
Having said that, permadeath and capturing forts/command points adds an extra layer of strategy. As do abilities and different equipment with different strengths and weaknesses. Different battles have different objectives. There are a number of different maps and enemy unit types, although the novelty of these wear out quite quickly, especially if you play all the routes.
Plot
This game is set in an alternate universe to Three Houses, where Byleth never joins the monastery, and instead another mercenary (Shez). Shez is perhaps deliberately opposite to Byleth, in the sense that he/she is loud, confident and cocky. I personally didn't warm to Shez and didn't find them a particularly interesting character.
Shez, like Byleth, houses an alternate conscious - Arval. Arval is closely tied to "Those Who Slither in the Dark". This could have made for a more interesting plot, exploring the opposing side's motivations. However, this never really transpires, aside from a brief mission where you get a glimpse into the battle between Seiros, Chichol and Arval. I wish this had been explored more - maybe this game would have been better served being a prequel to Three Houses.
Some characters have had slight personality changes in the game - for example, Sylvain is more serious, Claude more arrogant/ambitious. Whether you prefer these is really a matter of personal taste.
Performance
The game looks a lot better than Three Houses - particularly notable on the character models. The music is great too. Considering the demanding nature of the game, I was surprised how well it ran on the Switch. Things seemed to be fairly smooth most of the time. The hub area performs a lot better than the monastery in Three Houses (although I think it is arguably more pointless as there aren't hidden items to find, so it could have just been a load of shops in a menu).
I'd never played one of the "Warriors" franchise before, but couldn't resist this one seeing as Three Houses is one of my favourite ever games. If like me you don't know what to expect, be prepared to mash a lot of buttons!
Having said that, permadeath and capturing forts/command points adds an extra layer of strategy. As do abilities and different equipment with different strengths and weaknesses. Different battles have different objectives. There are a number of different maps and enemy unit types, although the novelty of these wear out quite quickly, especially if you play all the routes.
Plot
This game is set in an alternate universe to Three Houses, where Byleth never joins the monastery, and instead another mercenary (Shez). Shez is perhaps deliberately opposite to Byleth, in the sense that he/she is loud, confident and cocky. I personally didn't warm to Shez and didn't find them a particularly interesting character.
Shez, like Byleth, houses an alternate conscious - Arval. Arval is closely tied to "Those Who Slither in the Dark". This could have made for a more interesting plot, exploring the opposing side's motivations. However, this never really transpires, aside from a brief mission where you get a glimpse into the battle between Seiros, Chichol and Arval. I wish this had been explored more - maybe this game would have been better served being a prequel to Three Houses.
Some characters have had slight personality changes in the game - for example, Sylvain is more serious, Claude more arrogant/ambitious. Whether you prefer these is really a matter of personal taste.
Performance
The game looks a lot better than Three Houses - particularly notable on the character models. The music is great too. Considering the demanding nature of the game, I was surprised how well it ran on the Switch. Things seemed to be fairly smooth most of the time. The hub area performs a lot better than the monastery in Three Houses (although I think it is arguably more pointless as there aren't hidden items to find, so it could have just been a load of shops in a menu).
1999
This was the game of my childhood - I can still hear the menu music! Originally played on PC, I've since bought this on N64, PS1, GBC as well.
Building your own cars and racing them around inventive tracks with a range of zany characters, good graphics for the time and catchy music - what more could you want from a kart game? The handling of the cars is good, and there is a drift mechanic similar to Mario Kart. Unlike Mario Kart however, the powerups are not fixed depending on the position you find yourself in during the race. You can see which type of powerup is on the track, and then collect white bricks to upgrade them.
In my opinion, the game still holds up reasonable well today and would be a lot of fun for children to play. I have very fond memories of playing this with my dad and brother. I still fire it up on the N64 occasionally for a blast.
Building your own cars and racing them around inventive tracks with a range of zany characters, good graphics for the time and catchy music - what more could you want from a kart game? The handling of the cars is good, and there is a drift mechanic similar to Mario Kart. Unlike Mario Kart however, the powerups are not fixed depending on the position you find yourself in during the race. You can see which type of powerup is on the track, and then collect white bricks to upgrade them.
In my opinion, the game still holds up reasonable well today and would be a lot of fun for children to play. I have very fond memories of playing this with my dad and brother. I still fire it up on the N64 occasionally for a blast.
In my opinion, the finest Pokémon game of all time for one reason - the battle frontier. This adds a heap of challenge in the post game. This is a feature sorely lacking from modern Pokémon games.
Although missing some modern quality of life features such as the physical/special split, this remains one of the all time greats in the franchise, and well worth a play through. There are some rom hacks to add newer Pokémon and in features such as the physical special split that are also worth a look.
Although missing some modern quality of life features such as the physical/special split, this remains one of the all time greats in the franchise, and well worth a play through. There are some rom hacks to add newer Pokémon and in features such as the physical special split that are also worth a look.
2022
My favourite Final Fantasy game.
Wonderful characters, including a memorably unhinged villain, great storyline and the most fantastic soundtrack which is elevated to new heights in this pixel remaster. Simply a must play to any JRPG fan.
The only thing that lets this down is the god awful font that Square Enix decided to use. Fortunately, this is very easy to change on PC!
Wonderful characters, including a memorably unhinged villain, great storyline and the most fantastic soundtrack which is elevated to new heights in this pixel remaster. Simply a must play to any JRPG fan.
The only thing that lets this down is the god awful font that Square Enix decided to use. Fortunately, this is very easy to change on PC!
2022
Short game, but a fun experience. The cybercity is atmospheric and intriguing. The game looks great, and runs well. If you like cats, getting to play as one elevates this from an average to a good game. If you're not really interested in the whole cat thing, other games have better action sequences, and better puzzles.
The novelty of playing as a cat and having a dedicated meow button did not wear off for me, but would have liked a bit more freedom to explore at times. I also very much enjoyed making the PlayStation controller purr!
Some sections were quite tense, and it can be a bit distressing seeing your cat character being attacked by the Zurks, so bear this in mind if you are a cat lover. There's nothing graphic or anything like that, but I didn't enjoy seeing the cat being covered in alien like creatures or limping when it got hurt.
Overall, I enjoyed the game and will probably go back to try and get the platinum trophy at some point. Would love a sequel with a bit more free roaming exploration.
The novelty of playing as a cat and having a dedicated meow button did not wear off for me, but would have liked a bit more freedom to explore at times. I also very much enjoyed making the PlayStation controller purr!
Some sections were quite tense, and it can be a bit distressing seeing your cat character being attacked by the Zurks, so bear this in mind if you are a cat lover. There's nothing graphic or anything like that, but I didn't enjoy seeing the cat being covered in alien like creatures or limping when it got hurt.
Overall, I enjoyed the game and will probably go back to try and get the platinum trophy at some point. Would love a sequel with a bit more free roaming exploration.
Stylish, engrossing and a blast to play. Would not hesitate to recommend this one. I knew nothing about Control when I picked it up on sale, but it became one of my favourite ever games. The visual style of this game is really unique and striking, so much so that I had to hunt down the art book on eBay. The "Ash Tray Maze" part of the game is one of the best sequences I've ever played through in any video game, ever.
I found it initially frustrating, and struggled with navigating the Oldest House. There was something however that kept pulling me back in, and very soon I was hooked!
Once you get the hang of the controls and unlock abilities such as telekinesis and flight, the game becomes so much fun. Pretty much any object in the environment can be picked up and launched at enemies. There are tonnes of secrets to find, and the DLC is well worth it to add extra story lines beyond the main story.
I've completed this 100%, finding all the collectibles and getting the Platinum. I rarely do this, so this is a mark of how much I enjoyed the game. I also purchased the game again on PC!
I found it initially frustrating, and struggled with navigating the Oldest House. There was something however that kept pulling me back in, and very soon I was hooked!
Once you get the hang of the controls and unlock abilities such as telekinesis and flight, the game becomes so much fun. Pretty much any object in the environment can be picked up and launched at enemies. There are tonnes of secrets to find, and the DLC is well worth it to add extra story lines beyond the main story.
I've completed this 100%, finding all the collectibles and getting the Platinum. I rarely do this, so this is a mark of how much I enjoyed the game. I also purchased the game again on PC!
2022
I've been playing FIFA since World Cup 98. I'm growing increasingly fed up with these games, however decided to buy this one for the Women's teams - as a female football player myself, I've always wanted to play with my favourite Women's teams on FIFA. It's a shame the gameplay is just not enjoyable. Women's teams are limited to tournament mode and kick off, a career mode would have been nice - especially with the revamped player career.
Although, perhaps this is a blessing in disguise as career mode is poor yet again. Career mode is a neglected, bug ridden mess. I've experienced crashes and glitches with text. Teams make stupid transfers (or no transfers at all). The new cutscenes and transfer evaluation add nothing to the game at all, and grow tiresome very quickly. This needs an overhaul. The career mode on FIFA 07 on the PS2 genuinely had more features and was more fun to play. But I guess no microtransactions so EA don't care...!
Although, perhaps this is a blessing in disguise as career mode is poor yet again. Career mode is a neglected, bug ridden mess. I've experienced crashes and glitches with text. Teams make stupid transfers (or no transfers at all). The new cutscenes and transfer evaluation add nothing to the game at all, and grow tiresome very quickly. This needs an overhaul. The career mode on FIFA 07 on the PS2 genuinely had more features and was more fun to play. But I guess no microtransactions so EA don't care...!
A lot of fun - looks great, fantastic soundtrack. Just a feel good game that will make you smile. There are settings to make the game more accessible too, for instance turning off limited lives to reduce frustration if you get stuck on a particular level.
It's a shame there is no level editor like on the Little Big Planet games to add extra mileage to the game.
It's a shame there is no level editor like on the Little Big Planet games to add extra mileage to the game.
2021
An enjoyable action RPG with a sci fi setting that's definitely worth a punt on.
The battle system is fun once you unlock the ability to combine different powers - this enables you to be creative and think of different combinations to finish enemies off. Duplicating yourself and throwing flaming cars at the enemies is as fun as it sounds!
The cast is likeable (albeit tropey), and there is character development throughout. Some may not enjoy having to play the game through twice to get the story from both perspectives, although the second time you can choose to keep your level which makes it much faster to play through.
The story is enjoyable, but the side quests are dull, the environments small and not really worth exploring. There is a limited number of monster types so combat may feel repetitive, however the enjoyable nature of combat counteracts this somewhat. Battles don't last too long either as enemy health isn't "spongey" and there are abilities to help you finish off weak monsters quickly.
The battle system is fun once you unlock the ability to combine different powers - this enables you to be creative and think of different combinations to finish enemies off. Duplicating yourself and throwing flaming cars at the enemies is as fun as it sounds!
The cast is likeable (albeit tropey), and there is character development throughout. Some may not enjoy having to play the game through twice to get the story from both perspectives, although the second time you can choose to keep your level which makes it much faster to play through.
The story is enjoyable, but the side quests are dull, the environments small and not really worth exploring. There is a limited number of monster types so combat may feel repetitive, however the enjoyable nature of combat counteracts this somewhat. Battles don't last too long either as enemy health isn't "spongey" and there are abilities to help you finish off weak monsters quickly.
2021
A decent RPG that can't maintain the momentum towards the end of the game. The storyline is intriguing to begin with, before it gradually becomes more and more convoluted. A shame really, because the first part contains enjoyable twists and turns.
Battles become repetitive and unenjoyable as you progress due to the limited number of enemy types which act as damage sponges. It becomes more of a war of attrition as you grind away at huge HP bars, listening to the same voice lines over and over. I was actively avoiding battles by the end game as I really couldn't be bothered with them.
The game looks great on the bright side, the main cast is quite likeable, and Hootle is awesome. There's a decent range of equipment, abilities and cosmetic items to play around with.
There are also some minor grammar errors in the subtitles occasionally, and rare times where the subtitles don't quite match what the characters are saying. Nothing that will affect understanding of the gist of the conversation, but not something you'd expect in a high budget game like this.
Battles become repetitive and unenjoyable as you progress due to the limited number of enemy types which act as damage sponges. It becomes more of a war of attrition as you grind away at huge HP bars, listening to the same voice lines over and over. I was actively avoiding battles by the end game as I really couldn't be bothered with them.
The game looks great on the bright side, the main cast is quite likeable, and Hootle is awesome. There's a decent range of equipment, abilities and cosmetic items to play around with.
There are also some minor grammar errors in the subtitles occasionally, and rare times where the subtitles don't quite match what the characters are saying. Nothing that will affect understanding of the gist of the conversation, but not something you'd expect in a high budget game like this.
A highly polished turn based RPG. The story is a classic hero's adventure with few surprises, however there are also some surprisingly touching & emotional moments. It's bright, colourful and one of the best examples of a traditional JRPG with modern quality of life features.
There are some fun throwbacks to previous games in the series than fans will enjoy, but there's no need to play previous games to understand this one.
The characters are likeable and are well voiced. I know it's traditional for Dragon Quest, but the mute hero character does seem a bit out of place with the rest of the cast. I also think it's a shame that you can't customise the appearance of the main character, given that they don't speak and have a changeable name. I also found the "bunny girl" and pervy old man tropes grating throughout the game.
On the whole, this is a must play for JRPG fans.
There are some fun throwbacks to previous games in the series than fans will enjoy, but there's no need to play previous games to understand this one.
The characters are likeable and are well voiced. I know it's traditional for Dragon Quest, but the mute hero character does seem a bit out of place with the rest of the cast. I also think it's a shame that you can't customise the appearance of the main character, given that they don't speak and have a changeable name. I also found the "bunny girl" and pervy old man tropes grating throughout the game.
On the whole, this is a must play for JRPG fans.