I think what we can learn from FFVI is that for a game to be great, it doesn't need to excel at everything. True, it has to be at least good at everything (sound, gameplay, presentation, story, controls), but all it needs to be remembered for the ages is that one thing, that one aspect it does better than almost anything else, that one thing that blows your mind and that you haven't seen anywhere else.

The specific aspect that FFVI excels at above all is: Presentation. It might seem strange to say this, considering we now live in the age of 4k 3D motion-captured animations and yet I say that the presentation of this SNES game is the best thing about it to this day. I mentioned this in my review of FFIV, but what Sakaguchi and his team have figured out with FFIV is that you can use the little sprites on the screen like actors on a stage. Make the screen "the room" - the stage of a play - and make the sprites the characters of the play. Then use the "stage" and its space to direct dramatic scenes in order to convey emotion and storybeats. This game is the last of the "theatre" era until FFIX comes along, and this game absolutely perfects the art. This is not just because the sprite work for this game is absolutely gorgeous, probably the absolute best on the system (everyone should play this game with a good CRT filter if you really want to be blown away by how good this game looks), but above all because it is extremely expressive. It will always remain a mystery to me how they managed to instill so much emotion, so much character and so much individuality into these tiny little sprites. As mentioned, each character has multiple sprites that show them either showing emotion like surprise, sadness or smugness or perform small little animations like waggling their finger or winking at the screen. Combine these ultra-expressive sprites with fantastic direction, and you have a game that finally achieves what FFIV always wanted to be - a game that makes you feel like you are sitting in the audience of a theatre play.

Here is an example of how it works. Characters move away from each other to show distance, move closer when they want to be caring, they dance and jump around to show excitement, they look at the screen / the audience during emotional scenes (as is very common in drama) or look away from the audience when they are uncertain. Despite the game having no access to actual facial expressions or detailed body movements to show off to the player, many of the scenes in FFVI are incredibly engaging, entertaining and emotionally affecting simply through their fantastic direction.

That is not all however, what the game does is use this fantastic technique and show it off in a variety of amazing and memorable set-pieces. Phenomenal visually, they are varied, interesting and often quite funny. The fight for Narshe against Kefka, the Phantom Train and of course the legendary Opera scene stand out. The game keeps putting the characters in fun and interesting set pieces and uses them to play out stage plays to the best possible result. Many of them surpass anything people have seen up to that point in video games. It truly deserves the highest possible praise even by 2022 standards. This is why the game is so engaging and fun - it is not the story itself, but the set pieces on the way that are so great. This is also why the game declines in the World of Ruin while it improves massively gameplay wise - the core appeal is mostly gone, as you largely visit older vistas and the new set pieces that appear in the World of Ruin, outside the ending, aren't nearly as engaging.

At the end of the day, FFVI found a very unique way to make its storytelling interesting and engaging. A method that I wish more games would have used since then.

FF as a series seems to often live and die by its presentation, but this is not at all a bad thing. When the presentation is at its peak, and Square is at the peak of their powers, the presentation alone can be so engaging and entertaining that it makes you forget about anything else. FFVI is a triumph.

Clash of the Titans.

So I never played the original Titanfall which was a multiplayer only first person shooter on the Xbox One. When the sequel was announced with a campaign included I was certainly interested and when I finally got a chance to play it, by all accounts Titanfall 2 is an excellent game I would highly recommend people try.

In the campaign you play the role of Jack Cooper a rifleman for the Frontier Militia who are at war with the Core systems, more specifically the IMC who wish to exploit the frontier systems resources and control them. Though a Titan pilot in training Cooper is suddenly given a practical quicker than he expects when during an attack on an IMC controlled planet called Typhon he ends up in control of the Titan BT and must finish the former pilots mission to save both the Militia still on the planet as well as Frontier forces at large.

The story is actually pretty good, the game eases players in very well with a VR training sequence as well as the prologue mission. The main campaign sees a mixture of running around on foot as well as piloting BT fighting both normal soldiers and other Titans. Cooper and BT have a surprisingly good relationship that works well with your character being able to choose dialogue responses at times in which BT will respond differently and it's often pretty amusing as BT doesn't understand slang all to well. Though the campaign is short at around 5-6 hours it has some nice variety in both it's locations and goals, one of my favorite levels I can't say for spoilers but it was a real surprise, I liked the campaign quite a lot.

The game plays extremely well, it's really fast paced and incredibly smooth. Cooper has a harness that allows him to double jump as well as run along walls and it's implemented brilliantly with changing direction in mid air and firing while wall running and sliding. The controls just feel so right and this is especially noticeable in the multiplayer which is one of the smoothest feeling fast paced first person shooters I've ever played. The multiplayer has extensive modes from "Attrition" which features a mixture of players and AI controlled bots fighting against each other and players can call in their own Titans to pilot. It's a crazy mode where multiple Titans can be fighting it out with other players firing grenades and lasers to try and take them down. The game also features more traditional pilot vs pilot deathmatch modes, one on one Titan battles among others so there are a lot of options. Like most multiplayer shooters it has it's own progression system where you level up unlocking new guns, skins and tags. Weapons themselves each have their own level system as you use them which unlock their own skins. Nothing feels anything more powerful than anything else, I ran round with some of the start weapons and never really changed and found it easy to compete with people 30 levels higher than me, it seems well balanced. There are also a variety of classes to choose from that have abilities such as a grappling hook to get up to areas quickly, a shield to fire through, a radar etc.

Presentation wise Titanfall 2 is excellent. The graphics are really nice not just technically but also artistically, some of the levels are really nicely coloured with skyboxes, jungles and lights. (Nice to play a shooter whose primary colour isn't solely brown) The Titan's all look great and it run almost flawlessly at 60fps which you can really feel while playing. I also really loved the voice acting and music.

All in all I had a great time with Titanfall 2, it looks great, plays incredibly smoothly and the campaign was surprisingly good. I do wish the campaign had been longer or there was some kind of co-op mode but that's just wishful thinking and can't take away that Titanfall 2 is a great game.

+ Campaign is surprisingly good.
+ Multiplayer is fast paced with lots of options.
+ Great visuals and presentation.
+ Smooth controls and frame rate.

- I wish the campaign was longer.

I'm aware this review isn't a popular opinion, but Nier: Automata is an ok game at best somewhat held together by superb animations and a wonderful soundtrack.

I'm aware it's got quite a cult following but I just could not get invested in it though it starts off pretty good. You play the role of 2B a combat android sent on a mission to earth. The opening section is pretty action packed and though linear sets a great atmosphere and a big boss and I got what I was expecting from a Platinum games title. Past the opening though the cracks start to appear.

Nier: Automata is an empty experience trying to give the appearance of something greater. It has a semi open world but it's bland, barren and empty to explore. It has a lot of side quests but they are mostly forgettable busy work. It has a lot of combat and upgrade options but the battles soon become stale due to the level design etc. Just nothing quite clicks.

I kept pushing through as I had heard the story was the highlight. The way the plot weaves though feels very disjointed, I never felt the flow of the story was very well done. To get the full ending is a chore playing through several paths and the final payoff was just meaningless nonsense. The game tries hard to dip into philosophy and existentialism which are themes I appreciate, but I feel it never truly grabbed my attention perhaps because I was so uninterested in the characters even if the world premise was interesting.

It all just results in missed potential as far as I'm concerned. That said there were some positives. As mentioned in the header, the animations are super smooth. The way 2B moves and switches from move to move is like she's gliding on silk, it's beautiful. The OST is also an absolute knock out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTOuspYpbNc

I also really like the art design of a lot of the characters even if the environments are dull and washed out. They really stand out and have already become pretty iconic. Just a shame the designs do not go with the context of who the characters are even remotely.

That all said, I don't regret playing it, it just wasn't the experience I was looking for.

+ Animations are fantastic.
+ Soundtrack is exquisite.
+ Character art design....

- .....completely out of place and inappropriate.
- Empty world and environments.
- Poor plot and story. Getting the full ending is a chore and not worth the payoff.
- 9S is insufferable.
- Side quests are boring.

(For a much better critique, for I am no wordsmith, I agree with try youtuber Pixel a Day (there are story spoilers): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWpjyTw8-Pc )