Wahfuu
2015
There's some pretty strong writing parts of this, but a lot of the characters feel pretty throw away, the dialogue can sometimes be incredibly unnatural, and the ending is unsatisfying. In the end, not all that memorable.
2021
Fun game with a bit of an uneven balance spread and some rooms of... nothing, but the last stage in particular was very good. Last save goes on for a little too long.
The anti messiah game. It's hard to tell how much to bizarrely eerie and dark tone was really intended. Going from ocarina of time to this is so jarring. Cartoon characters are screaming about how they don't want to die, nightmarish transformation sequences as you adopt the lives and faces of others who perished. It's so weird. The atmosphere is basically unlike anything I've ever seen.
Not that the game is perfect, far from it. It's easy to get stressed out by the timer, especially while doing dungeons, and the ways to mitigate it are... somewhat cryptic. It can feel unrewarding to do a full plotline, reset, and then see all your work undone. The uh... everything about controlling goron rolling. But man, this game is something else in terms of what it offers. Nothing else like it.
Not that the game is perfect, far from it. It's easy to get stressed out by the timer, especially while doing dungeons, and the ways to mitigate it are... somewhat cryptic. It can feel unrewarding to do a full plotline, reset, and then see all your work undone. The uh... everything about controlling goron rolling. But man, this game is something else in terms of what it offers. Nothing else like it.
2014
I think the last section of puzzles involves a really annoying and frustrating element to them, but I think this game is very self aware and knows what it's trying to say. The story is pretty normal... "puzzle game stuff" if that makes any sense but it knows and does it anyway.
A great case if not doing a ton original, but doing everything well. Superb atmosphere, fun combat that never gets too hard but has some bite to it, satisfying progression. Maybe my only complaint is a couple of the late game bleed into eachother a little too hard in aesthetics, and I would have liked the final boss to be harder.
Has aged pretty well all things considered. The overworld design of this game still remains the best, but the dungeon design is immensely boring and repetitive, and there is just no life to the setting at all, just a bunch of connected roads to dungeons. But still, it's a good 2d dungeon crawler even now.
The quintessential SMT experience. Not exactly the most balanced game out there or even in the running, but is chalk full of atmosphere and personality that's hard to find elsewhere. Abrasive in a way most RPG's aren't, and definitely requires a specific mindset to enjoy these days, but if you're going to play an SMT game this is the one.
2013
Gen 6 is pretty widely shit on, and with good reason. It was cool seeing Pokemon in full 3d, but X/Y just... straight up has elite 4 members without full teams. It's easy to the point of feeling like an autobattler at times, and was a huge step back in ambition compared to gen 5. By far the most skippable generation.
The cleanest of the ateliers I've played both in terms of the writing and the mechanics. Crafting is simpler in this game some of the others I realize now, but it's really enjoyable and intuitive, with a pretty good combat system! The only downside is the soundtrack. Hope Ryza 2 builds off this.
2014
It's fun, but... I think the story is better told the story actually is. The ending is nice though, and the gameplay is fun.
It's a more gimmicky 4U. Hunter styles are kind of cool initially but many are duds, and prowler mode did nothing for me. This release didn't have G-rank, either. The new monsters it added were sweet, though.
2000
I tried to replay this game recently, and it was pretty much one of the biggest shocks of my life. The game is ridiculously tedious with shit tons of underdeveloped mechanics. The dungeon crawling is actually okay, but I remembered the town building being a lot... better than it was.
TAP
TAP
WHIP SMACK
TAP
WHIP SMACK
Fantastic stuff.
The game is definitely getting better with every patch, and is already much better than kingmaker was initially. There are still some rough patches, though, and I don't think anything can fix the crusade mode, which is a good idea that lacks both consequence to the story and interesting gameplay outside of being a money dump.
The plot seems like your typical fantasy affair, and it is at it's core, but Mid Act 3 and on the game starts to bare its true scale, and it becomes engrossing to follow. The setting is a little overwritten still considering it's tabletop parentage, but mostly all what you need to know is kept within the confines of the worldwound and you, so it doesn't feel overindulgent.
The gameplay, if you're a fan of slower paced stuff, is rewarding to get the hang of, especially if you're someone who loves to pour over rpg mechanics and make builds for something. There is a rather large problem in that it can take a ton of time, every single encounter, to prepare every single buff you're going to want to do. It's a sad bit of busywork that plagues the game, again, because of its tabletop origins. I hope theres a solution to it, maybe in a patch in the future or (if there is going to be one) their next installment.
Either way, good stuff, one of my favorite CRPG's as of now.
The game is definitely getting better with every patch, and is already much better than kingmaker was initially. There are still some rough patches, though, and I don't think anything can fix the crusade mode, which is a good idea that lacks both consequence to the story and interesting gameplay outside of being a money dump.
The plot seems like your typical fantasy affair, and it is at it's core, but Mid Act 3 and on the game starts to bare its true scale, and it becomes engrossing to follow. The setting is a little overwritten still considering it's tabletop parentage, but mostly all what you need to know is kept within the confines of the worldwound and you, so it doesn't feel overindulgent.
The gameplay, if you're a fan of slower paced stuff, is rewarding to get the hang of, especially if you're someone who loves to pour over rpg mechanics and make builds for something. There is a rather large problem in that it can take a ton of time, every single encounter, to prepare every single buff you're going to want to do. It's a sad bit of busywork that plagues the game, again, because of its tabletop origins. I hope theres a solution to it, maybe in a patch in the future or (if there is going to be one) their next installment.
Either way, good stuff, one of my favorite CRPG's as of now.
2019
Platinums best game in a walk. I feel like there isn't enough of an incentive to switch your 'weapon' without aiming for score, though, and the detective parts are INSANELY boring, but this definitely has the best baseline functionality and combat system platinums put out, imo. It also has some real enemy types and a killer final boss.