_Ryu
2001
What a great launch!
I love Samurai Warriors 2, so naturally more Samurai Warriors 2 is right up my alley. Both Okehazama and Shikoku are fantastic stages, Katsuie, Toshiie and Kojiro are not only very fun to play as, but in Katsuie and Toshiie's case, they offer one of the best stories in the whole series. Gracia has an interesting story mode (though obviously they wouldn't come anywhere near the historical fact that she was a christian), but to be honest her moveset sucks ass, same thing goes to Motochika, while Yoshimoto is... Well... Yoshimoto, he's not allowed to be anything more than a buffoon who's obsessed with Kemari in pre-SW5 games, the only cool thing about his story mode is that you can unlock Okehazama to be played in the Imagawa side.
I mean, this added content is cool as it is, but also a bit underwhelming compared to something like Dynasty Warriors 5 Xtreme Legends, which not only added a multitude of new battles, but there was also that really neat mode where you created your own character and experienced the Three Kingdoms Era story through his perspective as you could follow one of the different factions or switch allegiances if you wanted.
I wish SW2XL was more like that, there are many other interesting historical battles/events that got left out in SW2 and could be added here: The Siege of Kakegawa where Ieyasu defeated Yoshimoto's son and effectively took over what the Imagawa had left, the Takeda, Uesugi and Hojo campaigns in the east that were mostly ignored in the original game also deserve more love, Nobunaga's infamous massacre at Mt. Hiei, and even some other notable Sekigahara campaign battles like the sieges of Gifu, Fushimi and Otsu. But I digress, SW2XL is stil a decent addition to the original game anyway, so I can't complain too much.
I mean, this added content is cool as it is, but also a bit underwhelming compared to something like Dynasty Warriors 5 Xtreme Legends, which not only added a multitude of new battles, but there was also that really neat mode where you created your own character and experienced the Three Kingdoms Era story through his perspective as you could follow one of the different factions or switch allegiances if you wanted.
I wish SW2XL was more like that, there are many other interesting historical battles/events that got left out in SW2 and could be added here: The Siege of Kakegawa where Ieyasu defeated Yoshimoto's son and effectively took over what the Imagawa had left, the Takeda, Uesugi and Hojo campaigns in the east that were mostly ignored in the original game also deserve more love, Nobunaga's infamous massacre at Mt. Hiei, and even some other notable Sekigahara campaign battles like the sieges of Gifu, Fushimi and Otsu. But I digress, SW2XL is stil a decent addition to the original game anyway, so I can't complain too much.
Anakin's death scream in this game is fucking hilarious, no idea why it didn't become a meme. Aside from that, the game itself is pretty repetitive, but the lightsaber combat is so fluid and satisfying that I didn't really mind that too much.
2002
I fucking hate piantas
2019
Bit of a step down from Momodora 4, but it's a decent, albeit very basic metroidvania title. The parry move is pretty satisfying to pull off and there is a bit of variety with the incensories, but there's nothing mind-blowing as far as gameplay goes, the plot has some interesting themes being set during a witch hunt in the church's inquisition, but the narrative is painfully predictable and doesn't go much in-depth on that kind of stuff, though the unique art direction and the soundtrack give it some good atmosphere at least.
I don't think the level design is quite as good as the rest of the stuff here, it has a bit too much automation for my tastes, but this is still a solid fan game.
You know what would have made this the most special edition of DMC4 ever? Cutting mission 19 out of the game entirely and replacing that godawful final boss fight with something else.
Man, the backgrounds in this are so beautiful they had me thinking "I wish I lived in that place" quite frequently as I kept playing, the soundtrack is really good as well, providing an overall comfy atmosphere, I remember being mesmerized at the title screen when I first ran KonoSora, A New World is a wonderful song and the scenery the title screen presented to me felt like it was gently inviting me to experience that world, I vibed a lot with that before deciding to start the game. Presentation-wise, this is unironically perfect, the writing in general is decent and the characters are likeable for the most part, but I feel every route here falls flat on its face whenever it tries to have some drama, it either feels extremely contrived or gets some cop-out resolution that undermines all the impact the drama could have, sometimes both of those.
2001
This is the only good Sonic Advance game tbh
It's pretty cool that they made MvC3 better and all, but man, the new victory theme is way worse, it sounds like an intro to some 2011 youtube video teaching people how to pirate stuff. Don't get me wrong, piracy is based as fuck, but the old victory song was way more satisfying.
1999
This game having a character called Gado sure as hell makes it funnier for brazilian monkeys like me, but yeah, the fighting is really solid and the transformation mechanic is fairly unique, I love using supers or doing those charged attacks that blow the opponent out so hard not even the walls can handle, mfs be flying out of the ring straight to the next week and it's the most satisfying shit ever. Story is basically X-Men with furries instead of mutants, except X-Men has some dudes like Beast, but you get the point.
Best Mortal Kombat game, don't @ me
If I were to define the phrase "quantity over quality" with one game, that would be Mortal Kombat Armageddon.
2022
This review contains spoilers
Beyond the cheap-looking graphics and the horrible pacing of the first few hours lies a solid 2D action RPG with an incredibly addicting combat, robust skill/magic system and well-designed dungeons, as well as a soundtrack that has no right going as hard as it does. I have mixed feelings for Astlibra's story, though, there is a lot of intrigue in its premise and the characters are likeable, I actually got attached to Karon, Gau, Kuro, Shiro and even Meloo, but at the same time, I feel the writing is not very consistent, sometimes it's clever and emotionally powerful, sometimes it feels like this was written by a terminally horny teenager, which often clashes with the serious tone of some moments in the story.
I do commend Astlibra for being a time travel story that doesn't devolve into a nonsensical trainwreck like so many do, not only that, but it's also really dark and unforgiving most of the time, it shows the negative consequences of using the scales to tamper with the past. Even if you might end up changing the timeline for the better by the time a story arc ends, it's always a bittersweet conclusion because something always gets lost in the process. That goes for the protagonist's personal story as well, initially the story surrounding his ordeal with Anulis follows the same idea and it brings up a very interesting dilemma of having to choose between the person you love the most and the others who are also important to you, it's great stuff.
Chapter 8 adds to that by having some really great plot twists, leading to yet another powerful bittersweet conclusion... Until the true final chapter kicks in and actually resolves this in the cheesiest shounen-esque way possible, with "power of friendship" and whatnot being what makes the protagonist able to defeat the fucking goddess of fate Astraea and create a new timeline where all the consequences of the previous story arcs are just erased and everything is happily ever after for everyone involved. I audibly groaned when I saw that this was the direction the final chapter was heading, it's the most disappointed I've been in a video game story in quite a while.
And yeah, I know there's more, there's a post-credits scene indicating a "true true end" of sorts, but honestly, I don't think I care enough to continue by now. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy Astlibra, aside from the game itself being very well-made and clearly having a lot of passion and effort put into it, the high points in the story are very high, but I really don't think my opinion will get significantly more positive. Aside from the story shitting the bed by the end, there's also the fact that gameplay-wise I was starting to get a little burned out too as enemies and bosses were getting tankier by the time chapter 8 started.
I do commend Astlibra for being a time travel story that doesn't devolve into a nonsensical trainwreck like so many do, not only that, but it's also really dark and unforgiving most of the time, it shows the negative consequences of using the scales to tamper with the past. Even if you might end up changing the timeline for the better by the time a story arc ends, it's always a bittersweet conclusion because something always gets lost in the process. That goes for the protagonist's personal story as well, initially the story surrounding his ordeal with Anulis follows the same idea and it brings up a very interesting dilemma of having to choose between the person you love the most and the others who are also important to you, it's great stuff.
Chapter 8 adds to that by having some really great plot twists, leading to yet another powerful bittersweet conclusion... Until the true final chapter kicks in and actually resolves this in the cheesiest shounen-esque way possible, with "power of friendship" and whatnot being what makes the protagonist able to defeat the fucking goddess of fate Astraea and create a new timeline where all the consequences of the previous story arcs are just erased and everything is happily ever after for everyone involved. I audibly groaned when I saw that this was the direction the final chapter was heading, it's the most disappointed I've been in a video game story in quite a while.
And yeah, I know there's more, there's a post-credits scene indicating a "true true end" of sorts, but honestly, I don't think I care enough to continue by now. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy Astlibra, aside from the game itself being very well-made and clearly having a lot of passion and effort put into it, the high points in the story are very high, but I really don't think my opinion will get significantly more positive. Aside from the story shitting the bed by the end, there's also the fact that gameplay-wise I was starting to get a little burned out too as enemies and bosses were getting tankier by the time chapter 8 started.
2008
Guys am I the only one who loves this game?