Wemmy
2023
masterpiece, hope we see more
2021
it's unironically peak
2022
its okay
2018
this game is like a cheesy action movie and it fucking rules for it
1999
only good atlus game
2019
Persona 5 is an incredibly popular video game. One of the highest rated and most critically acclaimed video games of all time, you initially expect so much more out of it, but it falls short and feels a bit disappointing by the end.
In Persona 5's opening act, you are thrusted into a glorified long tutorial, albeit a good one. The game sets up its first villain incredibly well, he has direct ties to your party, ones that are terribly upsetting that set up your first villain to be an incredibly terrible person that you have to shut down.
Then, that luster fades away.
The rest of Persona 5 Royal's antagonists, except for 3 or so of them are incredibly bland, uninteresting, and evil characters in the most simplistic ways possible. The story continues on a very weird and bumpy path, staying consistently low except for the very tail-end of the game, and the game's selling point, the 3rd semester.
Every character of the main cast, with exception of Morgana who's social link and development is story based (but still not very good), has a decently strong start, each one of their persona awakenings showcase a strong-willed side of them that is willing to do whatever it takes to rid the world of the rotten adults that plague them all. However, after their 5 minutes of fame, a lot of these character's importance and development nosedive off into a cliff. The modern Persona games lock a vast amount of character depth and development into optional side content, named social links.
This formula leads many of your party members feeling like lesser characters despite you spending a vast amount of time with them, simply because the game places a strong importance on doing as many social links as possible, you may forget to do a few party member's social links and they feel a lot worse cause of it. There are glimmers of natural character development in Persona 5, typically not until the very tail end of the game.
Persona 5's cast suffers immensely and because of that the game's story feels incredibly weak and sometimes actively bothersome or annoying. The best part of this game, storywise, is at the very end of the game and is completely missable. An unfortunate lock that has definitely kept a few people out from experiencing Persona 5 Royal at it's definite peak.
Persona 5 Royal is incredibly safe. It pulls its punches, filled with copout, jokey deaths and the only real character death is sullied by the game's true ending where the character is teased to be alive. Persona 5 Royal does not trust it's playerbase to understand it's very base level and in your face subtext and meaning, and always has another character to explain to you what you're seeing and how it should be making you feel.
Persona 5's combat system is enjoyable. The gameplay loop is simple, you strike a weak point, you get an extra turn, you pass the baton and follow up. It creates a fun gameplay loop that grows a little tiring, due to the fact you do so much extra damage from these baton passes and typically one or two passes leads the encounter to being over. This is best seen in the game's (honestly disappointing) final boss.
From here on, there will be spoilers of Persona 5's ending and 3rd semester. Proceed with caution.
The 3rd Semester of Persona 5 Royal is where the game shines best, it picks up its bootstraps and begins to write a story, that while safe, at the very least tries. The man who showed up in your school back in May, Dr. Maruki, has been researching cognitive psience and the effects of it on people and the real world. With your help, he is able to perfect his research and alters reality into a new, perfect utopia where everyone is happy and no one is sad. It has an incredibly promising premise and the story is strong throughout. Goro Akechi, a previously terribly written character, is given new time to shine in Persona 5 Royal and becomes a fair amount better because of it. I love his character in the 3rd semester, it seems to have finally found its footing. A manical, self-centered and strong-willed man, despite his terrible life choices, would rather be dead than live in a world where he lacks his own free will. This is all coupled by the fact that you were there when Goro Akechi died, so you know full well what will happen should you reject the new utopia that Dr. Maruki formed for you and your team.
The final showdown is one of Persona 5's best character moments. Though not everyone gets to shine as bright as Akechi and Dr. Maruki, they show actual character development, which is almost completely lacking from the game's original story. They promise themselves that regardless of what happens to them, they will always face the world head on. They won't escape, run or hide from their issues. The fight is good, but a bit disappointing as it sets up another boss fight that is just an admittedly cool cutscene.
All in all, Persona 5 Royal is a nice game, but nothing amazing. It has a lot of flaws and a lot of nice aspects, but it doesn't excel in many, if anything that it sets out to achieve. One of the most overrated video games of all time.
In Persona 5's opening act, you are thrusted into a glorified long tutorial, albeit a good one. The game sets up its first villain incredibly well, he has direct ties to your party, ones that are terribly upsetting that set up your first villain to be an incredibly terrible person that you have to shut down.
Then, that luster fades away.
The rest of Persona 5 Royal's antagonists, except for 3 or so of them are incredibly bland, uninteresting, and evil characters in the most simplistic ways possible. The story continues on a very weird and bumpy path, staying consistently low except for the very tail-end of the game, and the game's selling point, the 3rd semester.
Every character of the main cast, with exception of Morgana who's social link and development is story based (but still not very good), has a decently strong start, each one of their persona awakenings showcase a strong-willed side of them that is willing to do whatever it takes to rid the world of the rotten adults that plague them all. However, after their 5 minutes of fame, a lot of these character's importance and development nosedive off into a cliff. The modern Persona games lock a vast amount of character depth and development into optional side content, named social links.
This formula leads many of your party members feeling like lesser characters despite you spending a vast amount of time with them, simply because the game places a strong importance on doing as many social links as possible, you may forget to do a few party member's social links and they feel a lot worse cause of it. There are glimmers of natural character development in Persona 5, typically not until the very tail end of the game.
Persona 5's cast suffers immensely and because of that the game's story feels incredibly weak and sometimes actively bothersome or annoying. The best part of this game, storywise, is at the very end of the game and is completely missable. An unfortunate lock that has definitely kept a few people out from experiencing Persona 5 Royal at it's definite peak.
Persona 5 Royal is incredibly safe. It pulls its punches, filled with copout, jokey deaths and the only real character death is sullied by the game's true ending where the character is teased to be alive. Persona 5 Royal does not trust it's playerbase to understand it's very base level and in your face subtext and meaning, and always has another character to explain to you what you're seeing and how it should be making you feel.
Persona 5's combat system is enjoyable. The gameplay loop is simple, you strike a weak point, you get an extra turn, you pass the baton and follow up. It creates a fun gameplay loop that grows a little tiring, due to the fact you do so much extra damage from these baton passes and typically one or two passes leads the encounter to being over. This is best seen in the game's (honestly disappointing) final boss.
From here on, there will be spoilers of Persona 5's ending and 3rd semester. Proceed with caution.
The 3rd Semester of Persona 5 Royal is where the game shines best, it picks up its bootstraps and begins to write a story, that while safe, at the very least tries. The man who showed up in your school back in May, Dr. Maruki, has been researching cognitive psience and the effects of it on people and the real world. With your help, he is able to perfect his research and alters reality into a new, perfect utopia where everyone is happy and no one is sad. It has an incredibly promising premise and the story is strong throughout. Goro Akechi, a previously terribly written character, is given new time to shine in Persona 5 Royal and becomes a fair amount better because of it. I love his character in the 3rd semester, it seems to have finally found its footing. A manical, self-centered and strong-willed man, despite his terrible life choices, would rather be dead than live in a world where he lacks his own free will. This is all coupled by the fact that you were there when Goro Akechi died, so you know full well what will happen should you reject the new utopia that Dr. Maruki formed for you and your team.
The final showdown is one of Persona 5's best character moments. Though not everyone gets to shine as bright as Akechi and Dr. Maruki, they show actual character development, which is almost completely lacking from the game's original story. They promise themselves that regardless of what happens to them, they will always face the world head on. They won't escape, run or hide from their issues. The fight is good, but a bit disappointing as it sets up another boss fight that is just an admittedly cool cutscene.
All in all, Persona 5 Royal is a nice game, but nothing amazing. It has a lot of flaws and a lot of nice aspects, but it doesn't excel in many, if anything that it sets out to achieve. One of the most overrated video games of all time.
2015
This review contains spoilers
Bloodborne is an interesting game and one of the most highly regarded games of all time. I heard nothing but endless praise for this game, for its expertly crafted world design and its wonderful gameplay and bosses. It is often hailed as FromSoftware's best souls game and potentially best game.
Unfortunately, I was left disappointed.
Bloodborne has an incredible opening section. The aesthetic of the world is so beautiful and wonderful it ropes you in immediately. It made me feel desperate to experience the game even further. Cleric Beast and Father Gascoigne are incredible intro bosses, they teach you how to play the game incredibly well, teaching you that passivity is not going to fly in this game. You will lose your footing and you will be killed, but, after the intro section, I was incredibly disappointed.
I will state now that I defeated every single boss Bloodborne had to offer with the exclusion of Moon Presence and Orphan of Kos, this was due to me accidentally defeating Gehrman without consuming one of the game's 4 umbilical cords and receiving his ending.
The areas and the bosses in the middle section of the game are incredibly unfun and frustrating. The bosses I at the very least kind of liked from this section of the game were Blood-starved Beast, Darkbeast Paarl, and Vicar Amelia. Each of these bosses have their own problems however, Blood-starved Beast's 3rd phase punishes the player for playing up close, despite the game teaching them to do that up to that point and continuing to do so afterward. Darkbeast Paarl is a fight that is severely hampered by weird issues that don't permeate any of the other larger bosses in the game, many of the large bosses in this game have multiple places for you to lock on, such as the head and the body, this boss suffers by not allowing you to lock on to anything but her head and by the camera failing to keep up with her constant movement. It is a boss I wish to love but it just barely misses the mark for me. Finally, Vicar Amelia is a nice fight with her only issue being how slow her movement and attacks are and how long the fight can take. I also enjoyed Martyr Longarius and thought Shadows of Yharnam and Ebrietas were okay. I have no opinion on Amygdala as I believe I was far too overleveled for that fight and gave it no real chance.
After the draining middle section with annoying and boring bosses such as Micolash, Rom, the Vacuous Spider, and the One Reborn, all mandatory bosses, the game seems to pick itself up a bit. Fight's like Mergo's Wet Nurse and Gehrman, the First Hunter are fun and engaging if not a tad bit easy, but as soon as the game seems to be getting better, it's already over. (Unless you fight Moon Presence, a boss I also have no opinion on as I was unable to fight it.)
Bloodborne's best is limited to it's DLC, a 20 dollar add-on to the game that if you don't purchase, you are doing yourself a disservice. The areas are fun and engaging (with exception of Fishing Hamlet) and the bosses are incredible. Ludwig and Maria are my favorite bosses in the entire game, and I did enjoy Orphan of Kos' fight, despite me not being able to complete it as I accidentally finished the game before revisiting the boss to defeat it.
Bloodborne was my first souls game, it is a nice appetizer but nothing that stood out to me and made me crave more. I hope as I visit more games in FromSoftware's catalog, I will enjoy and love them more and one day be able to come back to Bloodborne and appreciate it at a higher level than before, but for now, Bloodborne stands as a game that disappointed me but one that I still enjoyed a fair amount.
Unfortunately, I was left disappointed.
Bloodborne has an incredible opening section. The aesthetic of the world is so beautiful and wonderful it ropes you in immediately. It made me feel desperate to experience the game even further. Cleric Beast and Father Gascoigne are incredible intro bosses, they teach you how to play the game incredibly well, teaching you that passivity is not going to fly in this game. You will lose your footing and you will be killed, but, after the intro section, I was incredibly disappointed.
I will state now that I defeated every single boss Bloodborne had to offer with the exclusion of Moon Presence and Orphan of Kos, this was due to me accidentally defeating Gehrman without consuming one of the game's 4 umbilical cords and receiving his ending.
The areas and the bosses in the middle section of the game are incredibly unfun and frustrating. The bosses I at the very least kind of liked from this section of the game were Blood-starved Beast, Darkbeast Paarl, and Vicar Amelia. Each of these bosses have their own problems however, Blood-starved Beast's 3rd phase punishes the player for playing up close, despite the game teaching them to do that up to that point and continuing to do so afterward. Darkbeast Paarl is a fight that is severely hampered by weird issues that don't permeate any of the other larger bosses in the game, many of the large bosses in this game have multiple places for you to lock on, such as the head and the body, this boss suffers by not allowing you to lock on to anything but her head and by the camera failing to keep up with her constant movement. It is a boss I wish to love but it just barely misses the mark for me. Finally, Vicar Amelia is a nice fight with her only issue being how slow her movement and attacks are and how long the fight can take. I also enjoyed Martyr Longarius and thought Shadows of Yharnam and Ebrietas were okay. I have no opinion on Amygdala as I believe I was far too overleveled for that fight and gave it no real chance.
After the draining middle section with annoying and boring bosses such as Micolash, Rom, the Vacuous Spider, and the One Reborn, all mandatory bosses, the game seems to pick itself up a bit. Fight's like Mergo's Wet Nurse and Gehrman, the First Hunter are fun and engaging if not a tad bit easy, but as soon as the game seems to be getting better, it's already over. (Unless you fight Moon Presence, a boss I also have no opinion on as I was unable to fight it.)
Bloodborne's best is limited to it's DLC, a 20 dollar add-on to the game that if you don't purchase, you are doing yourself a disservice. The areas are fun and engaging (with exception of Fishing Hamlet) and the bosses are incredible. Ludwig and Maria are my favorite bosses in the entire game, and I did enjoy Orphan of Kos' fight, despite me not being able to complete it as I accidentally finished the game before revisiting the boss to defeat it.
Bloodborne was my first souls game, it is a nice appetizer but nothing that stood out to me and made me crave more. I hope as I visit more games in FromSoftware's catalog, I will enjoy and love them more and one day be able to come back to Bloodborne and appreciate it at a higher level than before, but for now, Bloodborne stands as a game that disappointed me but one that I still enjoyed a fair amount.
2007
Better than Forever and Damacy, We Love Katamari is still the peak, but this one is super good too.
2020
it's the best ps5 exclusive
2009
Katamari is such a weird and creative franchise, one of the most fun and unique puzzle games I have ever played, if not one of the most fun and unique games I've ever played. Katamari Forever serves incredibly well as what is currently the final game of the franchise.
Despite being just a compilation of Katamari's best levels, it remains fun, fresh and unique. Perhaps this is because I didn't play Beautiful Katamari, but I have played Damacy and We Love Katamari. Many of those levels return in this game and instead of feeling dry, uncreative, and lazy rehashes of already existing levels, I found it fun and enjoyable to revisit those levels. This game has an identity of its own even if it recycles those levels. It has an incredible art style, incredible soundtrack and probably some of the most fun mechanics and physics in the series.
Even though I adore the game and don't really mind the fact it recycles levels from the other games in the franchise, I wish this game had more original levels. There is a lot of potential to be had here to create many new and unique challenges, especially with the addition of jumping into the game. I am not sure why they didn't just make this game a whole new title instead of a compilation, but either way its a good time.
Katamari Forever is absolutely worth your time as a fan of the Katamari series, so just kick back, boot it up, and have some fun that most other games can't seem to offer.
Despite being just a compilation of Katamari's best levels, it remains fun, fresh and unique. Perhaps this is because I didn't play Beautiful Katamari, but I have played Damacy and We Love Katamari. Many of those levels return in this game and instead of feeling dry, uncreative, and lazy rehashes of already existing levels, I found it fun and enjoyable to revisit those levels. This game has an identity of its own even if it recycles those levels. It has an incredible art style, incredible soundtrack and probably some of the most fun mechanics and physics in the series.
Even though I adore the game and don't really mind the fact it recycles levels from the other games in the franchise, I wish this game had more original levels. There is a lot of potential to be had here to create many new and unique challenges, especially with the addition of jumping into the game. I am not sure why they didn't just make this game a whole new title instead of a compilation, but either way its a good time.
Katamari Forever is absolutely worth your time as a fan of the Katamari series, so just kick back, boot it up, and have some fun that most other games can't seem to offer.
its more katamari. its more fun.
2023
probably the best survival horror game we'll ever get
2019
it was all worth it when i got the "a hero emerges achievement"
leon is the funniest protag ever
leon is the funniest protag ever
1998
This review contains spoilers
Metal Gear Solid is art. It showcases what the art form of gaming is capable of, an amazing leap forward for its time and a hallmark of art as a medium ever since. A video game that encapsulates everything beautiful about art into one conglomeration, beautiful music, a powerful story, admittedly average gameplay that surprisingly still feels good to this day, all coupled with voice acting unprecedented for its time, especially for a title from a Japanese studio being localized for the United States.
From the minute I stepped into Metal Gear Solid, it is very clear that it is something special. The framing of the narrative is well crafted, something that strikes fear in man. A nuclear war will breakout should you fail, all that stands between humanity and death is you. A man who is staid and cold, Snake, the legendary mercenary, a man who cares little about those around him. Putting a man like this in a situation like this feels like an oxymoron, one who cares little about his fellow man is the one who is left to save the world.
The game stays tense, everything about it is stressful, one mistake and everything we know is gone. As Snake proceeds in his mission we are shown more human sides of him, Snake is not a sore winner or one that stands over the fallen and beats his chest. Snake shows compassion to those he defeats and kills, holding them in their final moments or staying by their side as they pass. This is most notable after his fights with Sniper Wolf and Raven, that near the tail end of the game. Snake’s humanity is also shown through Meryl and Otacon, people who get wrapped up in the mess that comes with the mission. At first, Snake is uncaring for their presence, willing to let them die in order to not get dragged down. As the game progresses he is shown to care for Meryl, facing torture from Revolver Ocelot in order to protect her from being harmed.
When we rescue Hal Emmerich, Otacon, we are introduced to Grey Fox, as his name entails, a character who is grey, one with mysterious and unknown motives. (without knowledge of Metal Gear) Grey Fox first appears to cut off Revolver Ocelot’s hand, then reappears as a boss. He then appears throughout the game as an ally that will randomly show up and help Snake. His final appearance is in the final boss of the game, Metal Gear Rex. He shows up and sacrifices his life to assist Snake, we learn that he is Snake’s former ally, and as he dies he gives his final words. Regardless of who he worked for, he was never a tool. Grey Fox fought for what he believed in.
That moment helps us further Snake’s character, a mercenary being manipulated and used by the government, information for his mission being held from him in order to keep him around. This all culminates in the end of the game, after the defeat of Liquid Snake, Solid Snake, now known as David, leaves Mother Base with Meryl (or Otacon). Deciding to leave and decide that for himself how to live his life. His life now has meaning past fighting and being a mercenary.
No matter how bad or scary life can be, life is beautiful and we should cherish it. Our existence is defined by our own choices and growth through life. Not through genetics, a key point of the game, the Genome soldiers, born and created to be the perfect soldiers to fight and kill, Liquid Snake, Snake’s brother, also a clone of Big Boss who believes all he can do is fight, as thats what his genetics and existence was made to do. The outlier being Snake, a man who lets go of his genetics and becomes independent, understanding the beauty and importance of free will and life, not letting others dictate what he should do and letting them control their life.
Metal Gear Solid is an amazing game, one that teaches us no matter the misery or destitution that may come with life, we must carve our own futures and our own paths forward. We should not hold ourselves back by what we believe we were supposed to do, but lift ourselves up by what we want to do. We must continue to live, we must continue to fight, we must continue forward to carve the paths for ourselves now, ourselves in the future, and the generations that will come after us.
From the minute I stepped into Metal Gear Solid, it is very clear that it is something special. The framing of the narrative is well crafted, something that strikes fear in man. A nuclear war will breakout should you fail, all that stands between humanity and death is you. A man who is staid and cold, Snake, the legendary mercenary, a man who cares little about those around him. Putting a man like this in a situation like this feels like an oxymoron, one who cares little about his fellow man is the one who is left to save the world.
The game stays tense, everything about it is stressful, one mistake and everything we know is gone. As Snake proceeds in his mission we are shown more human sides of him, Snake is not a sore winner or one that stands over the fallen and beats his chest. Snake shows compassion to those he defeats and kills, holding them in their final moments or staying by their side as they pass. This is most notable after his fights with Sniper Wolf and Raven, that near the tail end of the game. Snake’s humanity is also shown through Meryl and Otacon, people who get wrapped up in the mess that comes with the mission. At first, Snake is uncaring for their presence, willing to let them die in order to not get dragged down. As the game progresses he is shown to care for Meryl, facing torture from Revolver Ocelot in order to protect her from being harmed.
When we rescue Hal Emmerich, Otacon, we are introduced to Grey Fox, as his name entails, a character who is grey, one with mysterious and unknown motives. (without knowledge of Metal Gear) Grey Fox first appears to cut off Revolver Ocelot’s hand, then reappears as a boss. He then appears throughout the game as an ally that will randomly show up and help Snake. His final appearance is in the final boss of the game, Metal Gear Rex. He shows up and sacrifices his life to assist Snake, we learn that he is Snake’s former ally, and as he dies he gives his final words. Regardless of who he worked for, he was never a tool. Grey Fox fought for what he believed in.
That moment helps us further Snake’s character, a mercenary being manipulated and used by the government, information for his mission being held from him in order to keep him around. This all culminates in the end of the game, after the defeat of Liquid Snake, Solid Snake, now known as David, leaves Mother Base with Meryl (or Otacon). Deciding to leave and decide that for himself how to live his life. His life now has meaning past fighting and being a mercenary.
No matter how bad or scary life can be, life is beautiful and we should cherish it. Our existence is defined by our own choices and growth through life. Not through genetics, a key point of the game, the Genome soldiers, born and created to be the perfect soldiers to fight and kill, Liquid Snake, Snake’s brother, also a clone of Big Boss who believes all he can do is fight, as thats what his genetics and existence was made to do. The outlier being Snake, a man who lets go of his genetics and becomes independent, understanding the beauty and importance of free will and life, not letting others dictate what he should do and letting them control their life.
Metal Gear Solid is an amazing game, one that teaches us no matter the misery or destitution that may come with life, we must carve our own futures and our own paths forward. We should not hold ourselves back by what we believe we were supposed to do, but lift ourselves up by what we want to do. We must continue to live, we must continue to fight, we must continue forward to carve the paths for ourselves now, ourselves in the future, and the generations that will come after us.
What is the point of Katamari Damacy? Maybe it tells a story of the Prince and the outlandishly large expectations placed on him by his father, maybe it tells a story about how no matter your importance in the cosmos you can do something massive.
Maybe the story is about the unity that we all must have in order to continue to survive in this world we live in, the katamari being a metaphor for the hands we must hold together. As our creations and us stick to the ball and are formed into a star, we are one more step to being unified. The game even hints at this itself, saying in the end credits that we must not hurt each other, all it takes is a little understanding and kindness to solve our problems.
Maybe Katamari Damacy is a celebration of life, a celebration of the many things we've come to learn and create for and about ourselves. It might serve a lesson to us all, to cherish what we have, before the large katamari and the tiny prince in tow come to take us all. The objects begin to blossom new colors as they are rolled up, signifying that maybe they are better off this way?
Maybe it's a game about wanting to run over small children, especially those who ride RC Swan cars, I can say that it has most definitely left me with a hatred of small children that ride fast RC Swan cars.
Or maybe, Katamari Damacy has no meaning, maybe it has no purpose, maybe all it serves to do is to provide dumb fun, silliness in a world where there's too much going on. Relaxation in a scary time where we fear one another, a chance to just calm down and roll up somethings for a short time and just have some fun. Katamari Damacy is short and sweet, maybe has an underlying message or two, but most of all it is just a game that is trying to have fun. A refreshing title in a world where games aren't really like that anymore, in some cases for the better and others for the worst.
Maybe the story is about the unity that we all must have in order to continue to survive in this world we live in, the katamari being a metaphor for the hands we must hold together. As our creations and us stick to the ball and are formed into a star, we are one more step to being unified. The game even hints at this itself, saying in the end credits that we must not hurt each other, all it takes is a little understanding and kindness to solve our problems.
Maybe Katamari Damacy is a celebration of life, a celebration of the many things we've come to learn and create for and about ourselves. It might serve a lesson to us all, to cherish what we have, before the large katamari and the tiny prince in tow come to take us all. The objects begin to blossom new colors as they are rolled up, signifying that maybe they are better off this way?
Maybe it's a game about wanting to run over small children, especially those who ride RC Swan cars, I can say that it has most definitely left me with a hatred of small children that ride fast RC Swan cars.
Or maybe, Katamari Damacy has no meaning, maybe it has no purpose, maybe all it serves to do is to provide dumb fun, silliness in a world where there's too much going on. Relaxation in a scary time where we fear one another, a chance to just calm down and roll up somethings for a short time and just have some fun. Katamari Damacy is short and sweet, maybe has an underlying message or two, but most of all it is just a game that is trying to have fun. A refreshing title in a world where games aren't really like that anymore, in some cases for the better and others for the worst.