Weepboop
BACKER
2021
Do you want to know what it feels like to feel? Everhood is an absolutely fantastic meld of two genres that have been mimicked yet not perfected in their recreations: Undertale's (to an extent, Earthbound's) zany world filled with peculiarly lovable NPC's and sharp humour, and Guitar Hero's side to side music based note playing. That sound weird to you? It should. This game nails it! I picked up the game because I thought the trailer music seemed pretty great, and the visuals looked nice, but lo and behold I was in for an emotional, tear jerking story through a 10-11 hour experience. You play D&D, run through a 2.5 hour hallway (if you want,) and dance with some trippy gnomes. No real explanation can do this game justice, it's something I wish I could experience blind again. Just like in Undertale, the characters you meet will all leave an impact on you, and the bittersweet finale will take you for a sad spin. You'll meet frogs who play guitar, angry ATM's, and listen to some funky music. So far Everhood is easily my GOTY 2021.
Rock on Everhood.
Rock on Everhood.
2020
Nostalgia Disclaimer: I bought this game, knowing it might not be for me, with the other pretense that I did not play the original Seiken Densetsu 3 for the SNES. From what I understand, after watching several videos and reading other forums about these two games, the 2020 Trials of Mana remake is an extremely faithful rendition of the original game. I believed I might as well grab a piece of history and dive into the seemingly unending vault of famous and well received Square games of the 90's and purchased this release.
The problem with playing games from our youth is that it begs a few questions. Firstly, was the game that good when I was younger? And, would it hold up in the current year without substantial changes? The answer (most likely) to the first question with Trials of Mana is; probably. Granted I did not play the game (I may purchase the Switch collection,) so I cannot say for certain, but I think the style of game play, music, and art for the time were pretty good. To answer the second, definitely no. The problem with early JRPG's and their storytelling is the novelty of "chosen one saves the world with the help of their friends to destroy the forces of evil." That's... pretty much this game in a nutshell. Trials of Mana's story, of which I picked the Duran main character arc, was basically non existent and cookie cutter for games of the time. You play resident Good Hero-Man who takes revenge against the Vincent Evil-Guy by retrieving a legendary Sword and picking up the support of the eight Beings of the Land. After previously playing Square games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI, coming to something like this just feels a bit disingenuous. If there was a legitimate story at all, my involvement and care for the game would have increased tenfold.
My next issue is the absolutely horrible voice acting and character writing throughout the entire game. I picked both Kevin (for his physical DPS) and Charlotte (for her support skils) as my backup party members, and I spent every waking minute of the game regretting that decision. Both of their voice acting was the absolute most poor I've played in a video game, sans maybe Goldman from the House of the Dead series. Kevin's voice acting was boiled down to Kevin from hit tv show The Office in which his mantra was "why say more words when few word do trick," and the novelty of that died almost immediately. Charlotte's voice acting was so hilariously bad, I almost ending up liking it towards the end. You would have to look it up to get the full deal. Also, Matelo's infamous "I'm a GhoOooSt" scene on the Ghost Ship had me audibly yelling "NoOOOOOOO" at my screen for a solid few minutes.
Furthermore, the game was way too dang easy, this is not normally an issue for me as I play some tougher JRPG's on easier difficulties or with game-assists, but for a game that is exclusively built on an action-RPG combat system, I play the recommended normal difficulties. I don't believe this game was easy because of my experience in fast action games (Bayonetta, DMC, MGS:R, NieR, etc...) but moreso because it was so mindnumbingly simple to mash buttons and roll to succeed. Every enemy, every boss was defeated in exactly the same manner.
Map Design and music were also some of the worst that I've experienced. The map zones and cities were some of the least inspired I've ever witnessed. Nothing felt unique and dungeons/boss zones were basically just hallways with enemies every few feet in groups of three. The loop of this game was boiled down to "Walk for ten seconds, fight group of three enemies (who sometimes fly,) collect exp, walk another fifteen feet, door or simple puzzle, repeat. Bosses were frustrating because they repeated the same exact mechanics each fight, with little to no variation, and were plentiful for a game that did not feel gratifying at all to complete said fights. The terrain was befitting of a free to play or mobile game, and enemy design was recycled ad nauseam.
TLDR; Nothing about this game felt good, however this comes from someone who did not experience the beloved SNES original.
The problem with playing games from our youth is that it begs a few questions. Firstly, was the game that good when I was younger? And, would it hold up in the current year without substantial changes? The answer (most likely) to the first question with Trials of Mana is; probably. Granted I did not play the game (I may purchase the Switch collection,) so I cannot say for certain, but I think the style of game play, music, and art for the time were pretty good. To answer the second, definitely no. The problem with early JRPG's and their storytelling is the novelty of "chosen one saves the world with the help of their friends to destroy the forces of evil." That's... pretty much this game in a nutshell. Trials of Mana's story, of which I picked the Duran main character arc, was basically non existent and cookie cutter for games of the time. You play resident Good Hero-Man who takes revenge against the Vincent Evil-Guy by retrieving a legendary Sword and picking up the support of the eight Beings of the Land. After previously playing Square games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI, coming to something like this just feels a bit disingenuous. If there was a legitimate story at all, my involvement and care for the game would have increased tenfold.
My next issue is the absolutely horrible voice acting and character writing throughout the entire game. I picked both Kevin (for his physical DPS) and Charlotte (for her support skils) as my backup party members, and I spent every waking minute of the game regretting that decision. Both of their voice acting was the absolute most poor I've played in a video game, sans maybe Goldman from the House of the Dead series. Kevin's voice acting was boiled down to Kevin from hit tv show The Office in which his mantra was "why say more words when few word do trick," and the novelty of that died almost immediately. Charlotte's voice acting was so hilariously bad, I almost ending up liking it towards the end. You would have to look it up to get the full deal. Also, Matelo's infamous "I'm a GhoOooSt" scene on the Ghost Ship had me audibly yelling "NoOOOOOOO" at my screen for a solid few minutes.
Furthermore, the game was way too dang easy, this is not normally an issue for me as I play some tougher JRPG's on easier difficulties or with game-assists, but for a game that is exclusively built on an action-RPG combat system, I play the recommended normal difficulties. I don't believe this game was easy because of my experience in fast action games (Bayonetta, DMC, MGS:R, NieR, etc...) but moreso because it was so mindnumbingly simple to mash buttons and roll to succeed. Every enemy, every boss was defeated in exactly the same manner.
Map Design and music were also some of the worst that I've experienced. The map zones and cities were some of the least inspired I've ever witnessed. Nothing felt unique and dungeons/boss zones were basically just hallways with enemies every few feet in groups of three. The loop of this game was boiled down to "Walk for ten seconds, fight group of three enemies (who sometimes fly,) collect exp, walk another fifteen feet, door or simple puzzle, repeat. Bosses were frustrating because they repeated the same exact mechanics each fight, with little to no variation, and were plentiful for a game that did not feel gratifying at all to complete said fights. The terrain was befitting of a free to play or mobile game, and enemy design was recycled ad nauseam.
TLDR; Nothing about this game felt good, however this comes from someone who did not experience the beloved SNES original.
2016
Drawing plot elements from Final Fantasy X and the best of the gameplay elements from Chrono Trigger (Tech system, world saves, shared exp, deep characters,) I am Setsuna is a refreshing quick take on the JRPG's of yore. The story is captivating, the cast playing off eachother well, the soundtrack phenomenally minimal. Though the game is fast, easy, and the narrative not expanded too deep, Tokyo RPG Factory's I am Setsuna was a stellar experience I wish I could rexperience.
2019
From the creators of Alan Wake comes... Scifi Alan Wake. The game has the foundations of a lot of really cool things; interesting takes on sci-fi, gorgeous visuals, and neat freedom of movement, but lacks in connecting the dots and making an interesting, engaging experience.
2020
An awesome lively open world, amazing characters, enthtralling (yet short) story. Cyberpunk kept me coming back, and wanting more, even after 70+ hours of gameplay.
Absolutely fantastic game all over the board. A captivating soundtrack, very likeable characters, and tongue-in-cheek very self-aware writing. Even for people who aren't fans of the VN/Mystery genres should give it a chance. It's not crazy long, but will keep you interested and wanting more. AI isn't difficult, but not a walk in the park later on either. A game I spotted browsing the web and bought on a whim turned into one of my more recent favorite gaming experiences.
2011
This game is the bomb. Following people citing critics as a reason to not purchase this I have to write a review. Surely the greatest fps involving both nazi's, dinosaurs, and the Source engine. It's a lot of fun to run around with and M1 Garand mowing down velociraptors and what not, dooo eeeet.
This game is the pits, nothing about this was a gratifying experience. The ham-fisted, awfully indecisive and confusing deckbuilding the game is centered around is horribly explained and was an awful gameplay mechanic. It's a shocker that this was included in a game in the last 20 years, like I'm still a few weeks after playing it flabbergasted in how horribly put together this game was. Not only are you playing through zones that you went through in Kingdom Hearts 1, the game features little to zero voice acting and adds a massive amount of lore that in Kingdom Hearts fashion makes zero sense.
I don't understand why this game was made, was it as a test to see what humanity could take before we fall apart? Was this game created because someone at the company was angry or had to settle a vendetta? Who likes this game?
This game is the lowpoint in the Kingdom Hearts franchise catalog, which for a series that contains no good games, is truly telling.
2/10 because the other game I have tagged as a 1/10 doesn't deserve company this poor.
I don't understand why this game was made, was it as a test to see what humanity could take before we fall apart? Was this game created because someone at the company was angry or had to settle a vendetta? Who likes this game?
This game is the lowpoint in the Kingdom Hearts franchise catalog, which for a series that contains no good games, is truly telling.
2/10 because the other game I have tagged as a 1/10 doesn't deserve company this poor.
1995
I don't know how you begin to say about Chrono Trigger what hasn't already been said, it is without a doubt one of the best JRPG's and video games of all time.
Memorable scenes, iconic character design, and a musical score to rival all games released before and after, CT is a masterclass in gaming and in media as a whole. Coming from the minds of Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Xenoblade, and Dragon Ball it was a Square superteam that made this timeless (pun intended) classic come to fruitition.
Play the game, hear Lavos' scream, run around the Milennial Fair, and save the world from the end of time.
Memorable scenes, iconic character design, and a musical score to rival all games released before and after, CT is a masterclass in gaming and in media as a whole. Coming from the minds of Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Xenoblade, and Dragon Ball it was a Square superteam that made this timeless (pun intended) classic come to fruitition.
Play the game, hear Lavos' scream, run around the Milennial Fair, and save the world from the end of time.
How do you reinvent a classic? Well thanks to this being the first of a few games in the FFV7 Remake series, we do not currently know. However, if FF7R is any indication of where this project is going, I have high hopes.
Though Tetsuya Nomura has a catalog riddled with some of the worst games to come out of Square Enix within recent memory, he is a legendary game designer and artist and came through with a masterpiece with help from FF7 veterans. Seeing iconic scenes from the Midgar route like Shinra Tower, Wall Market, and the Bombing Mission come to life in glorious 3D with a fully orchestrated soundtrack made my jaw-drop. Upon hearing the FF7 main theme play in the demo I simply set my controller down and was nearly brought to tears.
This game features great music, most of which are redone and updated versions of songs that existed in the first game, yet new music is also added. Most of this new music is not very good, except for the Nobuo Uematsu composed "Hollow" which plays at the end credits and again, nearly got me to tear up.
Combat is the best Final Fantasy has seen since... ever? FF12, FF13, and FF15 were all experiments as to how Square-Enix could evolve from its beloved ATB turn based combat and none of these three hit the mark perfectly (though 12 did have a fun combat system.) FF7R did succeed though with a perfect blend of standard action combat with skillfully timing magic and heavy based attacks. The Materia system was rewarding, and players feel good experimenting with playing different characters through the story.
I can't even get started on characters, everyone in this game looks so dang GOOD. Series icons like Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, and Sephiroth all return in the most extravagant brain melting fashion. You could spend hours looking at how much they've improved from the few polygon days they saw in 1997. The job the 7Remake team did to make this happen is nothing short of a miracle and a true love letter to fans of Final Fantasy and the 7 story in general.
I'm excited to see where the franchise takes one of the most famous stories in gaming.
Though Tetsuya Nomura has a catalog riddled with some of the worst games to come out of Square Enix within recent memory, he is a legendary game designer and artist and came through with a masterpiece with help from FF7 veterans. Seeing iconic scenes from the Midgar route like Shinra Tower, Wall Market, and the Bombing Mission come to life in glorious 3D with a fully orchestrated soundtrack made my jaw-drop. Upon hearing the FF7 main theme play in the demo I simply set my controller down and was nearly brought to tears.
This game features great music, most of which are redone and updated versions of songs that existed in the first game, yet new music is also added. Most of this new music is not very good, except for the Nobuo Uematsu composed "Hollow" which plays at the end credits and again, nearly got me to tear up.
Combat is the best Final Fantasy has seen since... ever? FF12, FF13, and FF15 were all experiments as to how Square-Enix could evolve from its beloved ATB turn based combat and none of these three hit the mark perfectly (though 12 did have a fun combat system.) FF7R did succeed though with a perfect blend of standard action combat with skillfully timing magic and heavy based attacks. The Materia system was rewarding, and players feel good experimenting with playing different characters through the story.
I can't even get started on characters, everyone in this game looks so dang GOOD. Series icons like Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, and Sephiroth all return in the most extravagant brain melting fashion. You could spend hours looking at how much they've improved from the few polygon days they saw in 1997. The job the 7Remake team did to make this happen is nothing short of a miracle and a true love letter to fans of Final Fantasy and the 7 story in general.
I'm excited to see where the franchise takes one of the most famous stories in gaming.
2001
This review contains spoilers
Listen to my story... this may be our last chance.
Final Fantasy X is the peak of Square Enix's flagship franchise, why? It tells the perfect story that hits every beat and will leave you both sad and in awe.
The 45 hour journey begins with a braggadocious young adult playing spherical water polo and quickly transforms into something so special that I was glued to my monitor right away. Tidus, the star player of the Zanarkand Abes is taken away from his home and placed in the world of Spira with seemingly no purpose. Eventually he will meet a young girl by the name of Yuna and neither of their lives will be the same.
Musically, FFX is again a masterclass from Nobuo Uematsu. "To Zanarkand" is an all time favorite by most out of all Final Fantasy tracks, and "Yuna's Theme," "Besaid," "Spira Unplugged," "A Fleeting Dream," and "Fight with Seymour" are all timeless. FFX saw Uematsu go more ethereal and spiritual than he ever had before. Finally he had voice acting to go along with his songs, he could create background music that would still serve a purpose yet not become more memorable than the occurrences of the game at hand, it was a perfect job of making the game experience feel enhanced through the power of sound.
The setting of FFX is easily my favorite in the series; in FFVI you saw a typical fantasy world that was interspersed with machines, FFVII went into the future with Midgar yet remained fantasy, FFVIII went to space, and FFIX remained a medieval fantasy as a love letter to Final Fantasy of yore. FFX had the most striking departure from this and created a world reminiscent of the pacific island nations. The locales and cultures you visit are impressive and unique to gaming, you meet people who spend their whole life on the ocean and have a spiritual culture. Places like Besaid, Kilika and Luca are all varied and easy to remember, especially when you witness the destruction and sorrow that visits them.
The characters of FFX (outside of the story) are easily the best case the game has for its greatness. The great thing about a game based on a great journey/pilgrimage like FFX is that you have a great way to measure character growth. How was character Y at their journey beginning, and how are they now? No character in FFX be it hero or villain is the same at these two spots in the game. The most stark difference is in the heroic three of Tidus, Yuna, and Wakka. Tidus starts the journey out like I previously mentioned as a cocky athlete, son of one of the greatest in the sport to ever have existed, he’s jovial and has little to no filter and sees no wrong in his actions. Throughout the journey he begins to humanize and slow down in his extroverted nature. As he sees all the tragedy befalling Spira, Tidus realizes that being all happy go lucky can often be a detriment to the hopes and dreams of those around him. His caring for Yuna moves quickly from funny friend to concerned lover. People oft remember him for the infamous “HAHAHAHA” scene outside Luca, but should bring to mind the Macalania Wood endeavor crying scene first. How do you go from one of the best in your respective field to starting out anew in a foreign world, fighting against the most devastating force in the history of time immemorial? There is no correct answer, however Tidus does a pretty damn good job showcasing the way to do so. Another great character is Wakka, a fun loving Polynesian Blitzball player who loves to do no more than worship Yevon and play sports. At the start of FFX he is one of the first characters you meet (after Sir Auron,) and he comes off as your best bud who sees no wrong but as time goes on, his shell begins to come off. You soon learn about the tragedy that befell his brother at the hands of foreign weaponry, which explains Wakka’s simply put racism toward the other major ethnic group (the Al Bhed) in the game. He struggles with seeing Al Bhed as equals because of something he’d seen with his own eyes and cannot for the life of him admit that the religious organization he belongs to is responsible for some seriously seedy happenings. Throughout the game we see Wakka go from your funny uncle archetype to your mature best friend, everyone wants a friend like Wakka at the end of this journey. Yuna is the last of these three and oh man, if you want to nominate a “greatest video game heroine” she is without a shadow of a doubt number one. The daughter of the last summoner to defeat Sin (the games primary antagonist and world ending massive demon,) the pressure of greatness was put upon her at birth. From dusk till dawn she has trained and trained to become a summoner because of her bloodline, the expectations put on her are massive from the first time you meet her. Yet despite this insane work ethic and seemingly insurmountable pressure, Yuna is still just a normal girl at the end of the day. After conquering her first trial she attempts to bring luggage with her before Wakka reprimands her and says something along the lines of “this isn’t a vacation Yuna” thus forcing her to leave much of her good and trinkets behind. She often cracks silly jokes, laughs, and even oversleeps on her pilgrimage to become the high summoner to a point where you think she’s just “princess from video game who will eventually win because she has to” but you eventually get to her breaking point. There comes a time in FFX where she bares all to Tidus and admits how scared she is, breaking into tears because she knows the end of the journey of the summoner who defeats Sin ends with death. You get a mostly realistic viewpoint of how a girl plucked from her home to save the world would act in a scenario like this: panicked and afraid, yet cognizant of the great responsibility before her.
I’ve touched on it greatly already but the story of FFX (to me) leaves every other Final Fantasy story in the dust. Not only does it involve an impressive journey beginning in Zanarkand and ending in magnificent glory, but the story beats and multi-leveled themes along the way give it an extreme amount of depth. Conversations about racism, religion, depression, and anxiety all are involved and to a great extent. Characters often shift from good to bad, from reasonable to unreasonable, and the situations Tidus and crew are placed in are rarely ones that go in their favor. There are twists galore regarding the fate of each member of the crew guarding Yuna, as well as the villains they face off against. Though on paper or looking at a guide you can imagine how the game just goes from zone to zone, dungeon to dungeon, temple to temple, it’s often the places in between that give the story the most weight. The nights that the crew spends camping out or resting at a travel agency where Tidus or Yuna will sit outside and give a monologue about their journey and the pain and sadness that comes along with it.
FFX is my favorite SINGLE player game ever, and is a fantastic multi-faceted story about a young man and woman on a journey to save the world from an enemy more sinister and impactful than I’ve seen before.
Final Fantasy X is the peak of Square Enix's flagship franchise, why? It tells the perfect story that hits every beat and will leave you both sad and in awe.
The 45 hour journey begins with a braggadocious young adult playing spherical water polo and quickly transforms into something so special that I was glued to my monitor right away. Tidus, the star player of the Zanarkand Abes is taken away from his home and placed in the world of Spira with seemingly no purpose. Eventually he will meet a young girl by the name of Yuna and neither of their lives will be the same.
Musically, FFX is again a masterclass from Nobuo Uematsu. "To Zanarkand" is an all time favorite by most out of all Final Fantasy tracks, and "Yuna's Theme," "Besaid," "Spira Unplugged," "A Fleeting Dream," and "Fight with Seymour" are all timeless. FFX saw Uematsu go more ethereal and spiritual than he ever had before. Finally he had voice acting to go along with his songs, he could create background music that would still serve a purpose yet not become more memorable than the occurrences of the game at hand, it was a perfect job of making the game experience feel enhanced through the power of sound.
The setting of FFX is easily my favorite in the series; in FFVI you saw a typical fantasy world that was interspersed with machines, FFVII went into the future with Midgar yet remained fantasy, FFVIII went to space, and FFIX remained a medieval fantasy as a love letter to Final Fantasy of yore. FFX had the most striking departure from this and created a world reminiscent of the pacific island nations. The locales and cultures you visit are impressive and unique to gaming, you meet people who spend their whole life on the ocean and have a spiritual culture. Places like Besaid, Kilika and Luca are all varied and easy to remember, especially when you witness the destruction and sorrow that visits them.
The characters of FFX (outside of the story) are easily the best case the game has for its greatness. The great thing about a game based on a great journey/pilgrimage like FFX is that you have a great way to measure character growth. How was character Y at their journey beginning, and how are they now? No character in FFX be it hero or villain is the same at these two spots in the game. The most stark difference is in the heroic three of Tidus, Yuna, and Wakka. Tidus starts the journey out like I previously mentioned as a cocky athlete, son of one of the greatest in the sport to ever have existed, he’s jovial and has little to no filter and sees no wrong in his actions. Throughout the journey he begins to humanize and slow down in his extroverted nature. As he sees all the tragedy befalling Spira, Tidus realizes that being all happy go lucky can often be a detriment to the hopes and dreams of those around him. His caring for Yuna moves quickly from funny friend to concerned lover. People oft remember him for the infamous “HAHAHAHA” scene outside Luca, but should bring to mind the Macalania Wood endeavor crying scene first. How do you go from one of the best in your respective field to starting out anew in a foreign world, fighting against the most devastating force in the history of time immemorial? There is no correct answer, however Tidus does a pretty damn good job showcasing the way to do so. Another great character is Wakka, a fun loving Polynesian Blitzball player who loves to do no more than worship Yevon and play sports. At the start of FFX he is one of the first characters you meet (after Sir Auron,) and he comes off as your best bud who sees no wrong but as time goes on, his shell begins to come off. You soon learn about the tragedy that befell his brother at the hands of foreign weaponry, which explains Wakka’s simply put racism toward the other major ethnic group (the Al Bhed) in the game. He struggles with seeing Al Bhed as equals because of something he’d seen with his own eyes and cannot for the life of him admit that the religious organization he belongs to is responsible for some seriously seedy happenings. Throughout the game we see Wakka go from your funny uncle archetype to your mature best friend, everyone wants a friend like Wakka at the end of this journey. Yuna is the last of these three and oh man, if you want to nominate a “greatest video game heroine” she is without a shadow of a doubt number one. The daughter of the last summoner to defeat Sin (the games primary antagonist and world ending massive demon,) the pressure of greatness was put upon her at birth. From dusk till dawn she has trained and trained to become a summoner because of her bloodline, the expectations put on her are massive from the first time you meet her. Yet despite this insane work ethic and seemingly insurmountable pressure, Yuna is still just a normal girl at the end of the day. After conquering her first trial she attempts to bring luggage with her before Wakka reprimands her and says something along the lines of “this isn’t a vacation Yuna” thus forcing her to leave much of her good and trinkets behind. She often cracks silly jokes, laughs, and even oversleeps on her pilgrimage to become the high summoner to a point where you think she’s just “princess from video game who will eventually win because she has to” but you eventually get to her breaking point. There comes a time in FFX where she bares all to Tidus and admits how scared she is, breaking into tears because she knows the end of the journey of the summoner who defeats Sin ends with death. You get a mostly realistic viewpoint of how a girl plucked from her home to save the world would act in a scenario like this: panicked and afraid, yet cognizant of the great responsibility before her.
I’ve touched on it greatly already but the story of FFX (to me) leaves every other Final Fantasy story in the dust. Not only does it involve an impressive journey beginning in Zanarkand and ending in magnificent glory, but the story beats and multi-leveled themes along the way give it an extreme amount of depth. Conversations about racism, religion, depression, and anxiety all are involved and to a great extent. Characters often shift from good to bad, from reasonable to unreasonable, and the situations Tidus and crew are placed in are rarely ones that go in their favor. There are twists galore regarding the fate of each member of the crew guarding Yuna, as well as the villains they face off against. Though on paper or looking at a guide you can imagine how the game just goes from zone to zone, dungeon to dungeon, temple to temple, it’s often the places in between that give the story the most weight. The nights that the crew spends camping out or resting at a travel agency where Tidus or Yuna will sit outside and give a monologue about their journey and the pain and sadness that comes along with it.
FFX is my favorite SINGLE player game ever, and is a fantastic multi-faceted story about a young man and woman on a journey to save the world from an enemy more sinister and impactful than I’ve seen before.
Kentucky Route Zero is like a journey through all the Midwestern parts of my mind. I'm originally hail from Michigan, and though I haven't been back in some time this game felt all too familiar. I've spent tons of time driving through that part of the country, through Southern Ohio and through Kentucky, and all the strange characters and people you meet in Kentucky Route Zero strangely felt like... home. The sad old man at the gas station, the homely people along the riverboat's path, and the quirky people at the late night TV station, they all just feel... like people you've met. While I can't even begin to describe a lot of the themes of KRZ because quite frankly, I don't understand all of them, the solitude and loneliness enveloped in this game was strangely cathartic to experience. I don't know if you could give it a genre outside of "point-and-click surrealism," which is fine because that's simply what it is.
You embark on a journey to deliver for the antique shop your character works for and quickly find yourself off all semblance of a beaten path. While the story is great, the visuals even greater, one thing that stood out to me was the soundtrack which features some great ambient works but also a few harrowing bluegrass and synth based vocal songs that will remain engrained in my brain for quite some time.
You embark on a journey to deliver for the antique shop your character works for and quickly find yourself off all semblance of a beaten path. While the story is great, the visuals even greater, one thing that stood out to me was the soundtrack which features some great ambient works but also a few harrowing bluegrass and synth based vocal songs that will remain engrained in my brain for quite some time.
2012
Mass Effect 3 is a perfect way to wrap up Bioware’s storied space epic. Earth is gone, Palaven is gone, the entire universe is at the mercy of an ancient threat reawakon, how does one man (or woman) end this enemy once and for all? The answer is with the help of every damn species from the Milky Way onward (except for those dang Batarians!) While many had justifiable qualms with the ending of the game the first go around, it has since been adjusted to do more justice than I could have ever imagined. I won’t get into spoilers because ME is a series I wish everyone could experience (and it feels like everyone has) but I don’t think this game deserves the hate it gets for the way it wrapped the legendary story up.
The only thing I don’t like about ME3 Is the UI but outside of that? The game is damn near perfect. You spend the last time you’ll ever have with the Normandy crew, and thanks to missions like the Citadel DLC you get to witness soldiers being humans, partying and living their lives as it if were (and for some is) their last day alive. Visiting and checking in on your crew has been a mainstay of the ME series and in game number three it feels even more bittersweet and important than ever before. Checking in with Ashley, Tali, Garrus, and Liara makes it feel like visiting an old friend before they move away for good. These characters, and credit to the original Bioware crew, have an insane amount of depth and intricacies to make them feel unique in a species of trillions. You go from a run of the mill space commander in ME1 to the person responsible for the fate of every living being, synthetic and organic. I think a novel could be written about why Mass Effect is so special, and in particular this game, but I will let the game itself do it justice. There’s a reason that Jennifer Hale (English VA for Femshep) hosts an N7 day call with most of the cast every year on November 7th, it’s because the game has a special sense of unity and belonging for so many. The voice acting is leagues above most of the gaming landscape and particularly was for time, bringing to life some of the most colorful and impactful characters in the history of the medium.
I’m Commander Shepard and this is my favorite game in the Mass Effect universe.
The only thing I don’t like about ME3 Is the UI but outside of that? The game is damn near perfect. You spend the last time you’ll ever have with the Normandy crew, and thanks to missions like the Citadel DLC you get to witness soldiers being humans, partying and living their lives as it if were (and for some is) their last day alive. Visiting and checking in on your crew has been a mainstay of the ME series and in game number three it feels even more bittersweet and important than ever before. Checking in with Ashley, Tali, Garrus, and Liara makes it feel like visiting an old friend before they move away for good. These characters, and credit to the original Bioware crew, have an insane amount of depth and intricacies to make them feel unique in a species of trillions. You go from a run of the mill space commander in ME1 to the person responsible for the fate of every living being, synthetic and organic. I think a novel could be written about why Mass Effect is so special, and in particular this game, but I will let the game itself do it justice. There’s a reason that Jennifer Hale (English VA for Femshep) hosts an N7 day call with most of the cast every year on November 7th, it’s because the game has a special sense of unity and belonging for so many. The voice acting is leagues above most of the gaming landscape and particularly was for time, bringing to life some of the most colorful and impactful characters in the history of the medium.
I’m Commander Shepard and this is my favorite game in the Mass Effect universe.
2017
Is this the price I’m paying for my past mistakes?
I’m a big Platinum games fan, I’ve played most of the games in their catalog (with Bayonetta and MGS:R being my favorites outside of Nier) but it wasn’t the combat of this game that made me fall in love with it, it was the story from none other than the eclectic Yoko Taro. A complete playthrough of Automata requires beating the game three times through and reaching five endings, for any other game that might seem monotonous and boring, but with this one I felt like I constantly needed more. The characters you meet in the first playthrough can seem a bit one dimensional or certainly archetypal (A2 for instance is basically a tsundere,) but on subsequent playthroughs for endings B-E are entirely different. Nobody in Nier: Automata is easily explained, no piece of philosophy or plotpoint can be arrived at within a short minute long explanation. Everything in this post apocalyptic world is a mystery to be unraveled through the players interaction. What are the humans we are fighting for doing? Why did Earth eventually fall into ruin? Can robots and androids feel emotion?
Jaw dropping settings galore exist within Automata, from the breathtaking desert ruins to the haunting Amusement Park to the Ruined City that Devola & Popola call home base. There is never a moment that I felt was boring or lacked emotion within this game. The story and environment packaged with the greatest soundtrack to ever grace a video game by the amazing Keiichi Okabe made Nier: Automata at top five game for me.
I’m a big Platinum games fan, I’ve played most of the games in their catalog (with Bayonetta and MGS:R being my favorites outside of Nier) but it wasn’t the combat of this game that made me fall in love with it, it was the story from none other than the eclectic Yoko Taro. A complete playthrough of Automata requires beating the game three times through and reaching five endings, for any other game that might seem monotonous and boring, but with this one I felt like I constantly needed more. The characters you meet in the first playthrough can seem a bit one dimensional or certainly archetypal (A2 for instance is basically a tsundere,) but on subsequent playthroughs for endings B-E are entirely different. Nobody in Nier: Automata is easily explained, no piece of philosophy or plotpoint can be arrived at within a short minute long explanation. Everything in this post apocalyptic world is a mystery to be unraveled through the players interaction. What are the humans we are fighting for doing? Why did Earth eventually fall into ruin? Can robots and androids feel emotion?
Jaw dropping settings galore exist within Automata, from the breathtaking desert ruins to the haunting Amusement Park to the Ruined City that Devola & Popola call home base. There is never a moment that I felt was boring or lacked emotion within this game. The story and environment packaged with the greatest soundtrack to ever grace a video game by the amazing Keiichi Okabe made Nier: Automata at top five game for me.
2019
Ya like Jazz?
Persona is a series that is currently in its 25th Year, and like most people who call themselves fans, I surely was not present for most of that. My first inkling of the series came from a buddy who was really into Persona 4, and especially its one dimensional, boring, and surface level character Chie. It was through his constant mentioning of the game and playing the OST to Persona 4 and 5 every damn time we got in the car that I finally became a little invested in Persona. I didn’t play 5 for years because, I was a college student who couldn’t afford buying multiple consoles so I settled on getting a switch and in the end I’m glad I made that decision because of later games I will review/have rated. When I began working I bought a PS4 solely for the purpose of playing FF7R as I am a bigtime Final Fantasy fan, but then I remembered the added benefit of owning a PlayStation meant I could finally play the game that had graced my ears in name for years on end. I finally purchased Persona 5 Royal and was absolutely blown away by literally everything the game had to offer.
Initially I thought Persona was just famous for its Shoji Meguro composed OST’s (Which are absolutely fantastic and P5R is easily in my top 5 OST’s) but there is so so so much more in the game than that. Style, one word for Persona 5 is style. Persona 4 (which I’ve since played) has an aesthetic and is a phenomenal game in its own right, but it is definitely a product of the PS2 era and lacks the flashiness it could use. Persona 5 however? That game is the epitome of suave, the menus, characters, dungeons all have a degree of swagger that put every JRPG and really every game to shame. The use of the colour red as an accent to just about every design choice was impeccable. The concept of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts plays into this world with ease, acting as Robin Hood type swooping into the hearts of society’s most corrupt individuals and changing them to become better people is so damn cool.
Every dungeon feels like the artists and designers LOVED making the game. Kamoshida’s castle begins the game on a high note, but the place that really blew my mind away was the palace that Yosuke finds himself the subject of. I will avoid spoilers here but I just wanted to mention how much I loved spending time in the dungeons of Persona 5 and wish any other game could hold a candle to the way Atlus and the Persona team handled them.
Characters are hit or miss in Persona 5 with the main cast being fairly in depth, especially so for being teenagers, but a little one dimensional at times. Makoto for example is basically just the anime “student class president” archetype which really grinds my gears after watching one too many Slice of life’s. Though I felt characters like Haru, Yosuke, Futaba, and Sae all grew substantially through the 120+ hours of game time, enough for them to feel like friends I would have had back then.
Persona 5 Royal is a masterclass in presentation with an exciting story, fantastic dungeons, and a memorable cast that has cemented it as one of the greatest games ever made.
Persona is a series that is currently in its 25th Year, and like most people who call themselves fans, I surely was not present for most of that. My first inkling of the series came from a buddy who was really into Persona 4, and especially its one dimensional, boring, and surface level character Chie. It was through his constant mentioning of the game and playing the OST to Persona 4 and 5 every damn time we got in the car that I finally became a little invested in Persona. I didn’t play 5 for years because, I was a college student who couldn’t afford buying multiple consoles so I settled on getting a switch and in the end I’m glad I made that decision because of later games I will review/have rated. When I began working I bought a PS4 solely for the purpose of playing FF7R as I am a bigtime Final Fantasy fan, but then I remembered the added benefit of owning a PlayStation meant I could finally play the game that had graced my ears in name for years on end. I finally purchased Persona 5 Royal and was absolutely blown away by literally everything the game had to offer.
Initially I thought Persona was just famous for its Shoji Meguro composed OST’s (Which are absolutely fantastic and P5R is easily in my top 5 OST’s) but there is so so so much more in the game than that. Style, one word for Persona 5 is style. Persona 4 (which I’ve since played) has an aesthetic and is a phenomenal game in its own right, but it is definitely a product of the PS2 era and lacks the flashiness it could use. Persona 5 however? That game is the epitome of suave, the menus, characters, dungeons all have a degree of swagger that put every JRPG and really every game to shame. The use of the colour red as an accent to just about every design choice was impeccable. The concept of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts plays into this world with ease, acting as Robin Hood type swooping into the hearts of society’s most corrupt individuals and changing them to become better people is so damn cool.
Every dungeon feels like the artists and designers LOVED making the game. Kamoshida’s castle begins the game on a high note, but the place that really blew my mind away was the palace that Yosuke finds himself the subject of. I will avoid spoilers here but I just wanted to mention how much I loved spending time in the dungeons of Persona 5 and wish any other game could hold a candle to the way Atlus and the Persona team handled them.
Characters are hit or miss in Persona 5 with the main cast being fairly in depth, especially so for being teenagers, but a little one dimensional at times. Makoto for example is basically just the anime “student class president” archetype which really grinds my gears after watching one too many Slice of life’s. Though I felt characters like Haru, Yosuke, Futaba, and Sae all grew substantially through the 120+ hours of game time, enough for them to feel like friends I would have had back then.
Persona 5 Royal is a masterclass in presentation with an exciting story, fantastic dungeons, and a memorable cast that has cemented it as one of the greatest games ever made.