_legenddd_
2012
Dishonored is a stealth-action video game that was released in 2012. Developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, the game puts you into the shoes of Corvo Attano, the Royal Protector who is disgraced and dishonored (tsk tsk) by people after the assassination of the Empress and the kidnapping of her daughter, Emily; leading him to a journey of assassinating people of great importance in Dunwall in order to restore the Empress to the throne. I always heard great things about this series from people all around me, with some calling this one of the greatest stealth sims ever made. Does this game live up to the hype? I will explore that in this review.
The first thing I will talk about is the writing, story and worldbuilding. The story is pretty simple and serviceable: you are an assassin that kills some of the most prominent people in Dunwall in order to restore Emily to the throne and continue the imperial lineage. It isn't anything spectacular or jawdropping but it does not need to be anything more than that. The main cast of characters are also serviceable and grand enough. I think the best part of the writing is the worldbuilding - Dunwall is such a rich place when it comes to this aspect and each level describes what Dunwall is like so well. The game also demonstrates worldbuilding so well through gameplay - an instance comes where you are in the sewer and you first come across a horde of rats that eats corpses down to the point where nothing is left and that aims to demonstrate to the player a few things; that 1: The rat plague is dangerous as the hordes can literally eat you alive, 2: The movement of these hordes explains why the plague spreads so fast throughout Dunwall and 3: Why there are so many weepers (or people too infected by the plague to function appropriately - spitting out flies every time they cough and puke and their bodies rotting) around Dunwall as the hordes brought over the plague and infecting them. This is one of many examples of the excellent worldbuilding found in these games.
The second aspect that I will discuss about is the gameplay and level design. The level design in this game is so good with so many options to manuvuer the levels. You could fight all of the enemies and kill them, put them to sleep either through choking and sleep darts while playing stealthly or you could entirely avoid enemies and sneak past them, it is all up to you. The game gives you so much freedom and options in regards to playing through the game that it is crazy. I think the best part of the gameplay is how your actions during it impacts the game's world. The more enemies you kill, the more chaotic the world becomes and the differences between a low chaos and high chaos route become very apparent throughout the two playthroughs. There were certain moments in the game that made me stop and reflect on my actions in the game - the game is very upfront to you about the consequences of your actions. These factors make the gameplay truly unique and different from any other game that I played so far.
Some of the other things that really make this game memorable and iconic include the atmosphere, aesthetic and setting. Dishonored has a dark, gloomy atmosphere most of the time with it having a very worn out look throughout the game. It should be noted that a lot of games that generation did look like that, but I feel that it fits Dishonored very well. The setting of Dishonored is also fantastic and unique - a Steampunk, Industrial Revolution-esque city that is riddled with a plague is such a cool setting, is certainly one that not many games thought of. The music is generally pretty solid too, although it isn't really present that much in the game.
This is a game that I can't find too many faults in to be honest. I do have two main gripes however. The first one is that I wish there were more non-lethal options to knock out enemies - even if you could get into fist fights and knock people unconscious could have been nice alongside other options. My other gripe is the lack of a NG+ - I feel this is a game that would have benefitted massively from NG+ as you collect bone charms and runes throughout the game and it would be nice if you could fully unlock all of the skills and such. I do understand that this is a period of time where NG+ was not prominent in games - this is a feature that only emerged in the 8th generation of games.
All in all, Dishonored is a fantastic game and I easily recommend this to anyone who likes immersive sims or stealth-action games. Hopefully Dishonored 2 is good!
The first thing I will talk about is the writing, story and worldbuilding. The story is pretty simple and serviceable: you are an assassin that kills some of the most prominent people in Dunwall in order to restore Emily to the throne and continue the imperial lineage. It isn't anything spectacular or jawdropping but it does not need to be anything more than that. The main cast of characters are also serviceable and grand enough. I think the best part of the writing is the worldbuilding - Dunwall is such a rich place when it comes to this aspect and each level describes what Dunwall is like so well. The game also demonstrates worldbuilding so well through gameplay - an instance comes where you are in the sewer and you first come across a horde of rats that eats corpses down to the point where nothing is left and that aims to demonstrate to the player a few things; that 1: The rat plague is dangerous as the hordes can literally eat you alive, 2: The movement of these hordes explains why the plague spreads so fast throughout Dunwall and 3: Why there are so many weepers (or people too infected by the plague to function appropriately - spitting out flies every time they cough and puke and their bodies rotting) around Dunwall as the hordes brought over the plague and infecting them. This is one of many examples of the excellent worldbuilding found in these games.
The second aspect that I will discuss about is the gameplay and level design. The level design in this game is so good with so many options to manuvuer the levels. You could fight all of the enemies and kill them, put them to sleep either through choking and sleep darts while playing stealthly or you could entirely avoid enemies and sneak past them, it is all up to you. The game gives you so much freedom and options in regards to playing through the game that it is crazy. I think the best part of the gameplay is how your actions during it impacts the game's world. The more enemies you kill, the more chaotic the world becomes and the differences between a low chaos and high chaos route become very apparent throughout the two playthroughs. There were certain moments in the game that made me stop and reflect on my actions in the game - the game is very upfront to you about the consequences of your actions. These factors make the gameplay truly unique and different from any other game that I played so far.
Some of the other things that really make this game memorable and iconic include the atmosphere, aesthetic and setting. Dishonored has a dark, gloomy atmosphere most of the time with it having a very worn out look throughout the game. It should be noted that a lot of games that generation did look like that, but I feel that it fits Dishonored very well. The setting of Dishonored is also fantastic and unique - a Steampunk, Industrial Revolution-esque city that is riddled with a plague is such a cool setting, is certainly one that not many games thought of. The music is generally pretty solid too, although it isn't really present that much in the game.
This is a game that I can't find too many faults in to be honest. I do have two main gripes however. The first one is that I wish there were more non-lethal options to knock out enemies - even if you could get into fist fights and knock people unconscious could have been nice alongside other options. My other gripe is the lack of a NG+ - I feel this is a game that would have benefitted massively from NG+ as you collect bone charms and runes throughout the game and it would be nice if you could fully unlock all of the skills and such. I do understand that this is a period of time where NG+ was not prominent in games - this is a feature that only emerged in the 8th generation of games.
All in all, Dishonored is a fantastic game and I easily recommend this to anyone who likes immersive sims or stealth-action games. Hopefully Dishonored 2 is good!
Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathrustra is the 2006 follow-up to Xenosaga Episode I and Episode II and is the conclusion to the Xenosaga series, and goddamn does this series end on a good note. This is a game that had everything against it. Despite Bandai Namco having no faith in the team after Xenosaga III, the fans being (probably) let down from how Xenosaga Episode II turned out and Episode III being rushed in many areas, this game not only somehow made all of the pain everyone went through worth it, it went above and beyond and cemented itself as one of the best RPGs of its generation, if not ever according to many people that played this game. Does Xenosaga Episode III really live up to its reputation or is it an overhyped mess? This review is my compliation of my thoughts of Xenosaga 3 (and by extension, the franchise in general).
I will firstly begin with the music of Xenosaga Episode III. The composer of the previous game, Yuji Kajiura returns to compose yet again, an another banger soundtrack. I mentioned in my Xenosaga Episode II review that I found the soundtrack of that game to be good generally speaking and Episode III's soundtrack does not disappoint either. They utilise tracks perfectly this time around and each piece of music feels appropiately placed. The boss tracks are insanely good and some of the best in the PS2 generation in my eyes and the overall soundtrack direction is more somber, emotional and beautiful in a depressing way most of the time. The only nag that I have against this soundtrack is that the main battle theme is ass and not that great - which is a shame because the rest of this soundtrack rocks.
The next part of this review that I will focus on is the combat and general gameplay. Monolith Soft in the last two entries could never really figure out a generally good, fun, cohesive combat system. Xenosaga Episode I had cool ideas in regards to AWGS battles and positioning but I generally found the combat in that game to be slow and honestly unfun for a lot of that game. AWGS as an idea were cool but they were useless pretty much except for two boss fights and the row system is generally useless outside two or three bosses in that game whilst making the combat more convaluted than it should be. Xenosaga Episode II while it did do some changes in regards to giving the game a snappier feel, they fucked up the balancing so bad which made playing the gameplay super unfair to you. If you are not levelled up enough to a section and you have no strats, it's over really. This is alongside a fucked up item/money economy which you can only use on the single item shop in the game, a skill system that is unneccesarily confusing for no reason and battles that include multiple spongy enemies that would deal heavy damage most of the time to your party members during dungeons.
Xenosaga Episode III's approach towards game and combat design not only drastically improves and overhauls upon its predecessors but it is forwardthinking in so many ways for its time. I think the only other combat system that feels this good from this era of RPGs that I've played was FFX. Episode III feels snappy and insanely responsive right from the get go to move around and navigate - it does not feel like a chore to play and skim through like Episode I is. Episode III's combat is completely overhauled from the past 2 games - removing position based battles in favour for a traditional combat system while retaining all of the gimmicks that make Episode I and II's battle systems interesting conceptionally, like Boost and Mech battles which were repurposed into ES battles, which are super fun but I'll get to them a bit later. Alongside returning mechanics, Episode III introduces Special Attacks if you have enough boost on your character, which lets you perform a very strong attack against enemies. This mechanic is super useful when you want to get a Finish Strike, which gives you a lot of XP and money if you manage to land one of these right before the end of a fight and incentivises you to save boosts throughout some of the tougher fights in the game, as Finish Striking them would give you an insane amount of XP and money. An another cool change that this game does is a completely overhauled skill tree system which lets you form your characters however way you want. Any of the main cast of Episode III can be the most powerful character in the game depending on how you cater their skill set and playstyles, making up a very fun and rewarding system overall.
An another key part of Xenosaga Episode III's combat is the ES battles which are unironically better than normal battles in my opinion. I think there is a great satisfaction in having overpowered ES mechs rip through battles. The ES boss fights in this game are some of the best in the Xeno series on top of that in my opinion. ES fights also have a similar mechanic as Boost in the form of Anima, which depending on what level of Anima are, it lets you perform a very strong attack against enemies alongside giving you more attacks per turn. These are awesome.
I think an another element that I will mention regarding the gameplay is the quality of life improvements that they made that improve the overall game experience. This 20 year old game has QOL improvements that only modern RPGs today have. For example, all of your party members gain XP even if one of them die midbattle or not - which means everyone is at an equal playing field most of the time and there is no one by the end of the game that is seriously underleveled. Their philosophy with QOL would also be seen in how they handle menus aswell. They make it so easy to navigate through each of the character's equipment and gear in a way that modern RPGs do today, as if it was a game made in the modern era of video games with how it caters towards UX. Despite them having to rush the game, they really thought of everything in making this game the most convenient RPG that they could and they deserve massive props for that.
The final aspect of this game which I will discuss is the story, writing and characters of Episode III. If there is one element of this franchise that remains consistant from start to finish, it's the story and while this is a spoiler-free review and I would highly recommend experiencing this game for yourself, I will say that this game rounds off everything in an epic and somber way. There are reveals and twists here that completely recontextualize everything that you thought you knew about the world of this series in a very well done manner - I don't feel like they are mere asspulls to fill in plotholes either. Every character in this game gets some kind of limelight (except MOMO interestingly enough, her arc resolution was in the 2nd game more than here) and their arcs resolved - the key character, however, is Shion and she is the one that gets the most development throughout this game by far. The pace of the plot is a bit rapid and I do wish there was more time spent on some arcs in this game but considering they were squeezing the stories of 3 games into one and had to go over these arcs rapidly, the fact they managed to maintain a cohesive and consistant narrative throughout is insane. I'd strongly recommend this game for its writing along with everything else, it is so good. Another thing I will also mention is the database, which contains all of the information that you will ever need on the lore of this game and other games. This tool is so good and I wish more RPGs with an emphasis on worldbuilding had this feature, along with Active Time Lore in FFXVI - it makes digesting the world so much easier and less convaluted for people who don't want to rely on sitting through hours of obscure lore that they may or may not have the time for.
I think the only real criticism that I have against this game if you can even call it that, considering how the development team was so constrained throughout this franchise's existence, is how you have to play and read up on so much things in order for you to fully appreciate what is going on in these games. The fact you have to play through two games with varying degrees of quality alongside having to sit through two vital side games that are practically lost media at this point despite being extremely important to setting up the third game is, in my opinion, a huge deterrant to those who want to experience one of the best RPGs of the 6th generation. I would not really blame people if they told me that they gave up before they even reached Episode III. Episode III is a fantastic game, but it is probably the hardest sell that I could make to someone as it requires newer players to soldier on through the series itself in order to reach this game, which I think is a shame. I think Xenosaga remakes/XCDE style remasters can easily fix this issue and more; compile every piece of lore into one package, make the first 2 games way better on a gameplay basis and give Pied Piper and A Missing Year the fully fledged games that they deserve.
In conclusion, Xenosaga Episode III is a triumph in so many ways. One of the greats of the era and certainly one of the greatest RPGs ever made.
I will firstly begin with the music of Xenosaga Episode III. The composer of the previous game, Yuji Kajiura returns to compose yet again, an another banger soundtrack. I mentioned in my Xenosaga Episode II review that I found the soundtrack of that game to be good generally speaking and Episode III's soundtrack does not disappoint either. They utilise tracks perfectly this time around and each piece of music feels appropiately placed. The boss tracks are insanely good and some of the best in the PS2 generation in my eyes and the overall soundtrack direction is more somber, emotional and beautiful in a depressing way most of the time. The only nag that I have against this soundtrack is that the main battle theme is ass and not that great - which is a shame because the rest of this soundtrack rocks.
The next part of this review that I will focus on is the combat and general gameplay. Monolith Soft in the last two entries could never really figure out a generally good, fun, cohesive combat system. Xenosaga Episode I had cool ideas in regards to AWGS battles and positioning but I generally found the combat in that game to be slow and honestly unfun for a lot of that game. AWGS as an idea were cool but they were useless pretty much except for two boss fights and the row system is generally useless outside two or three bosses in that game whilst making the combat more convaluted than it should be. Xenosaga Episode II while it did do some changes in regards to giving the game a snappier feel, they fucked up the balancing so bad which made playing the gameplay super unfair to you. If you are not levelled up enough to a section and you have no strats, it's over really. This is alongside a fucked up item/money economy which you can only use on the single item shop in the game, a skill system that is unneccesarily confusing for no reason and battles that include multiple spongy enemies that would deal heavy damage most of the time to your party members during dungeons.
Xenosaga Episode III's approach towards game and combat design not only drastically improves and overhauls upon its predecessors but it is forwardthinking in so many ways for its time. I think the only other combat system that feels this good from this era of RPGs that I've played was FFX. Episode III feels snappy and insanely responsive right from the get go to move around and navigate - it does not feel like a chore to play and skim through like Episode I is. Episode III's combat is completely overhauled from the past 2 games - removing position based battles in favour for a traditional combat system while retaining all of the gimmicks that make Episode I and II's battle systems interesting conceptionally, like Boost and Mech battles which were repurposed into ES battles, which are super fun but I'll get to them a bit later. Alongside returning mechanics, Episode III introduces Special Attacks if you have enough boost on your character, which lets you perform a very strong attack against enemies. This mechanic is super useful when you want to get a Finish Strike, which gives you a lot of XP and money if you manage to land one of these right before the end of a fight and incentivises you to save boosts throughout some of the tougher fights in the game, as Finish Striking them would give you an insane amount of XP and money. An another cool change that this game does is a completely overhauled skill tree system which lets you form your characters however way you want. Any of the main cast of Episode III can be the most powerful character in the game depending on how you cater their skill set and playstyles, making up a very fun and rewarding system overall.
An another key part of Xenosaga Episode III's combat is the ES battles which are unironically better than normal battles in my opinion. I think there is a great satisfaction in having overpowered ES mechs rip through battles. The ES boss fights in this game are some of the best in the Xeno series on top of that in my opinion. ES fights also have a similar mechanic as Boost in the form of Anima, which depending on what level of Anima are, it lets you perform a very strong attack against enemies alongside giving you more attacks per turn. These are awesome.
I think an another element that I will mention regarding the gameplay is the quality of life improvements that they made that improve the overall game experience. This 20 year old game has QOL improvements that only modern RPGs today have. For example, all of your party members gain XP even if one of them die midbattle or not - which means everyone is at an equal playing field most of the time and there is no one by the end of the game that is seriously underleveled. Their philosophy with QOL would also be seen in how they handle menus aswell. They make it so easy to navigate through each of the character's equipment and gear in a way that modern RPGs do today, as if it was a game made in the modern era of video games with how it caters towards UX. Despite them having to rush the game, they really thought of everything in making this game the most convenient RPG that they could and they deserve massive props for that.
The final aspect of this game which I will discuss is the story, writing and characters of Episode III. If there is one element of this franchise that remains consistant from start to finish, it's the story and while this is a spoiler-free review and I would highly recommend experiencing this game for yourself, I will say that this game rounds off everything in an epic and somber way. There are reveals and twists here that completely recontextualize everything that you thought you knew about the world of this series in a very well done manner - I don't feel like they are mere asspulls to fill in plotholes either. Every character in this game gets some kind of limelight (except MOMO interestingly enough, her arc resolution was in the 2nd game more than here) and their arcs resolved - the key character, however, is Shion and she is the one that gets the most development throughout this game by far. The pace of the plot is a bit rapid and I do wish there was more time spent on some arcs in this game but considering they were squeezing the stories of 3 games into one and had to go over these arcs rapidly, the fact they managed to maintain a cohesive and consistant narrative throughout is insane. I'd strongly recommend this game for its writing along with everything else, it is so good. Another thing I will also mention is the database, which contains all of the information that you will ever need on the lore of this game and other games. This tool is so good and I wish more RPGs with an emphasis on worldbuilding had this feature, along with Active Time Lore in FFXVI - it makes digesting the world so much easier and less convaluted for people who don't want to rely on sitting through hours of obscure lore that they may or may not have the time for.
I think the only real criticism that I have against this game if you can even call it that, considering how the development team was so constrained throughout this franchise's existence, is how you have to play and read up on so much things in order for you to fully appreciate what is going on in these games. The fact you have to play through two games with varying degrees of quality alongside having to sit through two vital side games that are practically lost media at this point despite being extremely important to setting up the third game is, in my opinion, a huge deterrant to those who want to experience one of the best RPGs of the 6th generation. I would not really blame people if they told me that they gave up before they even reached Episode III. Episode III is a fantastic game, but it is probably the hardest sell that I could make to someone as it requires newer players to soldier on through the series itself in order to reach this game, which I think is a shame. I think Xenosaga remakes/XCDE style remasters can easily fix this issue and more; compile every piece of lore into one package, make the first 2 games way better on a gameplay basis and give Pied Piper and A Missing Year the fully fledged games that they deserve.
In conclusion, Xenosaga Episode III is a triumph in so many ways. One of the greats of the era and certainly one of the greatest RPGs ever made.
2004
Under similar circumstances as Xenosaga II to III: A Missing Year, the rating that I give here does not really mean anything. This game is basically impossible to access today in any means and the only way I was able to access this in any form whatsoever is through translation by ValakTurtle of a playthrough by 桂樹 (shoutouts to these guys.... seriously they deserves kudos as without them, no person on this Earth would see this story).
Xenosaga Pied Piper is a Japan exclusive game for flipphones I think??? I can't really recall which phones or whatever had this game because this is such an obscure piece of media, in fact it is lost media in all but this playthrough with no way of emulating this game. It follows the story of Jan Sauer and his subordinates as they try to search for a prolific killer, Voyager who has been killing people utilising the UMN.
I am not going to spoil the writing here at all as that is the only real thing the game has going for it but it is so good. Like A Missing Year, this should have been made into an another game since it had no budget. If you want to watch Pied Piper yourself, here is the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLo2yfd3EU8_5wY7vso-kGBRpZhXZSiZCL
Definitely worth a watch, especially in the leadup to Xenosaga Episode 3.
Xenosaga Pied Piper is a Japan exclusive game for flipphones I think??? I can't really recall which phones or whatever had this game because this is such an obscure piece of media, in fact it is lost media in all but this playthrough with no way of emulating this game. It follows the story of Jan Sauer and his subordinates as they try to search for a prolific killer, Voyager who has been killing people utilising the UMN.
I am not going to spoil the writing here at all as that is the only real thing the game has going for it but it is so good. Like A Missing Year, this should have been made into an another game since it had no budget. If you want to watch Pied Piper yourself, here is the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLo2yfd3EU8_5wY7vso-kGBRpZhXZSiZCL
Definitely worth a watch, especially in the leadup to Xenosaga Episode 3.
I don't even know if the rating I put in here is fitting for this kind or review or even matters so I am not really giving this one an official rating or whatever in the traditional sense.
Xenosaga II to III: A Missing Year is a Japanese-exclusive visual novel/game/idk how to describe this thing that takes place between the events of Episode 2 and Episode 3. It involves Shion and Jin pursuing a 100-Series Realian who has more to her that meets the eye and the story dives into some very relevant lore points and delves into the characters we all know and love so much.
I don't think the game itself is even active anymore online even in its original incarnation so the most accessible way of seeing this game is through a fan translation of the game on YouTube which I will link below and is the way I managed to access this game:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhkdGQOixb1cbR4UDX1iFT1M_ErV5dWxA
It is unfortunate because if the game had a way bigger budget than it was given, this could have been converted to a game like Tetsuya Takahashi and the devs wanted to (same with Pied Piper and other media). I still think this is worth experiencing for the writing alone and especially for the ending, it's only an hour at most so this won't take up much of anyone's time but that's all there is to it really...
Xenosaga II to III: A Missing Year is a Japanese-exclusive visual novel/game/idk how to describe this thing that takes place between the events of Episode 2 and Episode 3. It involves Shion and Jin pursuing a 100-Series Realian who has more to her that meets the eye and the story dives into some very relevant lore points and delves into the characters we all know and love so much.
I don't think the game itself is even active anymore online even in its original incarnation so the most accessible way of seeing this game is through a fan translation of the game on YouTube which I will link below and is the way I managed to access this game:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhkdGQOixb1cbR4UDX1iFT1M_ErV5dWxA
It is unfortunate because if the game had a way bigger budget than it was given, this could have been converted to a game like Tetsuya Takahashi and the devs wanted to (same with Pied Piper and other media). I still think this is worth experiencing for the writing alone and especially for the ending, it's only an hour at most so this won't take up much of anyone's time but that's all there is to it really...
2024
Persona 3 is a game that I have history with when it comes to my online exposure to it. I remember people in a Discord server that I am still part of but don't really talk in anymore shilling this game nonstop and I figured that I should give it a try through PCSX2 emulation. This was coming off the Persona 5 hype after I played it so I was excited to get into a brand new experience. I played the FES version and liked what I played, although I did have many problems with this game. The gameplay was an absolute slog in the PS2 versions, there were many weird design choices like no party member control (You could control party members for every other PS2 Megaten btw!), the tiredness mechanic which is STUPID, the fact you had to romance all of the characters to max out their social links and others alongside some issues with writing like Strega being undeveloped and other things. For all of this game's faults and sloggy aspects, this game presents some really great things. The aesthetics, themes, writing and characters are ones that really stick out with me in the JRPG genre. As well as that, the music is fantastic and iconic. For those reasons, this is a game that I developed a love hate relationship for over the years - I respected its ideas and such but I never was able to fully understand them and how much of a slog the game was really impacted my perception of this game overtime.
Fast forward to E3 2023 and Reload was revealed. I always told myself that I would replay this game again but only through a remake so I was mildly excited to try this one and to see if this could fix the issues I had with the game and redeem this game for me. Does this remake achieve this? Is it really the best version to play? I'll examine that in this review.
I will start with the negatives first:
- Firstly, this game is way too overpriced for what you are getting here which is closer to a 1:1 remake. I didn't mind or regret paying 70 euros for this game, I found it worthy of my time and money. However, I don't think this game should be 70 euros as this is very much just a remake of a PS2 game that is closer to be a 1:1 remake than a from the ground up one like the Resident Evil remakes; I think if the game were to be 50 euros, people would be way less critical of the pricepoint. I am not saying that the remake being how it is is a bad thing by the way, I just don't think it justifies the pricepoint being too high, especially since the Answer is coming - meaning that the game will be over €100+ which is wild and unreasonable I think. I would definitely recommend getting this game when it's €50 or lower.
- The aesthetics are a little bit worse than the PS2 versions. The PS2 versions and P3P's utilisation of aesthetics and visuals are so cool and iconic and I feel that the modernisation of these aesthetics in Reload takes away kind of what made the original's aesthetics so special. However, I am of the belief that even if you put the exact same development team as the PS2 versions on this remake, the game would still look different to those versions as technology and art/UI design has advanced so much during these past 15-20 years to the point where it is genuinely impossible to remake this game from the ground up without making these sacrifices. The PS2 versions of P3 are truly games of their time so I don't see the aesthetics of Reload as a massive issue; however, I still prefer the OG look over Reload's, mainly out of nostalgia admittedly. I would recommend turning down the brightness by 2 when you start P3R as the game looks significantly better and more worn down like the original.
- There are times where I wish they put in more activities, especially at the end of the game since by that point, you are probably maxxed out your social stats and you are either grinding out Tartarus or completing social links; I wish you could play minigames Yakuza-style or whatever, this is what these games need so bad for the future, especially for Persona 6. This point is adjacent to this next point which is:
- I wish this game had a bigger budget and/or a bigger development team that it deserved. You can just tell that this game lacked the budget and they had to cut corners on a bunch of things. Some of these include some cutscenes being 3D cinematics instead of animated like in the original (for example, the MC's Persona awakening), the devs reusing P5 NPC faces, even the SL episodes for the main male cast can be considered as such. It is a shame but I don't think it's the end of the world or anything. I still think what they managed to do here is amazing, but it could have been so much more aswell.
Now onto the positives:
- This is a really faithful remake to the original experience while improving on it in almost every single way. The story, writing and themes (which are the strongest aspects of this game) are virtually unchanged, the presentation is significantly upgraded as Tatsumi Port Island is overhauled and feels more alive then ever and Tartarus is largely overhauled for the better in my eyes.
- The gameplay loop is largely overhauled for the better in my view. The combat is more streamlined than Persona 5 but the QOL changes that the game makes such as the baton pass returning without any of the buffs that it gives, party control and more makes the combat so much more enjoyable as a result. Tartarus exploration does not feel as much of a slog as it did in the PS2 versions and while it is not perfect and I wish there were more unique events in Tartarus overall, it is way more enjoyable as you can discover Monad doors, chests and pots you can smash for valuables, items and weapons. The daytime gameplay has also been overhauled as you have more stuff to do during daytime besides enhancing your stats and Social Links with the addition of more activities that you can do either by yourself or with other cast members like gardening, cooking with your mates, watching TV and more which not only develops these characters further without it feeling like filler. The Social Link episodes they add for the male cast members are so good; they develop the characters and their motivations without locking down their development behind Social Links and the filler that they bring. I feel like I like these better than normal Social Links and I hope they develop the idea further for Persona 6.
- The music is one of the aspects I was afraid of how they would handle in this remake as the Persona 3 soundtrack is my favourite in the series. While I still prefer the original soundtrack, I will admit that the newly reworked tracks are surprisingly pretty good for what they were able to accomplish; the original compositions for this game are really good and I really like the Iwatodai Dorm theme in this one. I'm happy they brought Lotus Juice back because he is one of the guys that made the Persona 3 OST into what it is today.
- The best part of this game by far is the writing, themes, characters and story which have been preserved for this remake without any major changes. The main theme of this game is death and a lot of aspects of this game from subtle dialogue and hints from characters in this game that allude to it to the events that happen in this game that lead to that inevitability to the characters and how they develop throughout the game. The characters are really likable and well-written and the extra stuff you do with them outside SLs make them easy to relate to and you genuinely care about them. Unlike the casts in Persona 4 and 5, their development is directly tied to how the story unfolds, making their character development meaningful and impactful instead of their development being tied down to a Social Link, disconnected to everything else. The story is pretty good too, with many twists and turns that you wouldn't expect. The other Social Links in this game range from okay to really good too.
In conclusion, Reload redeemed Persona 3 from me. It's been 4 years since I played FES and while I respected its themes and writing, it is only now after I went through so much in my life in terms of experiences and personal growth that the game's messages truly resonate with me now. I know all of this sounds corny but it is truly a special game to me now and I would recommend anyone play Persona 3 in any form but I genuinely would recommend this version in particular as it really is the best and most accessible way to play this game.
Fast forward to E3 2023 and Reload was revealed. I always told myself that I would replay this game again but only through a remake so I was mildly excited to try this one and to see if this could fix the issues I had with the game and redeem this game for me. Does this remake achieve this? Is it really the best version to play? I'll examine that in this review.
I will start with the negatives first:
- Firstly, this game is way too overpriced for what you are getting here which is closer to a 1:1 remake. I didn't mind or regret paying 70 euros for this game, I found it worthy of my time and money. However, I don't think this game should be 70 euros as this is very much just a remake of a PS2 game that is closer to be a 1:1 remake than a from the ground up one like the Resident Evil remakes; I think if the game were to be 50 euros, people would be way less critical of the pricepoint. I am not saying that the remake being how it is is a bad thing by the way, I just don't think it justifies the pricepoint being too high, especially since the Answer is coming - meaning that the game will be over €100+ which is wild and unreasonable I think. I would definitely recommend getting this game when it's €50 or lower.
- The aesthetics are a little bit worse than the PS2 versions. The PS2 versions and P3P's utilisation of aesthetics and visuals are so cool and iconic and I feel that the modernisation of these aesthetics in Reload takes away kind of what made the original's aesthetics so special. However, I am of the belief that even if you put the exact same development team as the PS2 versions on this remake, the game would still look different to those versions as technology and art/UI design has advanced so much during these past 15-20 years to the point where it is genuinely impossible to remake this game from the ground up without making these sacrifices. The PS2 versions of P3 are truly games of their time so I don't see the aesthetics of Reload as a massive issue; however, I still prefer the OG look over Reload's, mainly out of nostalgia admittedly. I would recommend turning down the brightness by 2 when you start P3R as the game looks significantly better and more worn down like the original.
- There are times where I wish they put in more activities, especially at the end of the game since by that point, you are probably maxxed out your social stats and you are either grinding out Tartarus or completing social links; I wish you could play minigames Yakuza-style or whatever, this is what these games need so bad for the future, especially for Persona 6. This point is adjacent to this next point which is:
- I wish this game had a bigger budget and/or a bigger development team that it deserved. You can just tell that this game lacked the budget and they had to cut corners on a bunch of things. Some of these include some cutscenes being 3D cinematics instead of animated like in the original (for example, the MC's Persona awakening), the devs reusing P5 NPC faces, even the SL episodes for the main male cast can be considered as such. It is a shame but I don't think it's the end of the world or anything. I still think what they managed to do here is amazing, but it could have been so much more aswell.
Now onto the positives:
- This is a really faithful remake to the original experience while improving on it in almost every single way. The story, writing and themes (which are the strongest aspects of this game) are virtually unchanged, the presentation is significantly upgraded as Tatsumi Port Island is overhauled and feels more alive then ever and Tartarus is largely overhauled for the better in my eyes.
- The gameplay loop is largely overhauled for the better in my view. The combat is more streamlined than Persona 5 but the QOL changes that the game makes such as the baton pass returning without any of the buffs that it gives, party control and more makes the combat so much more enjoyable as a result. Tartarus exploration does not feel as much of a slog as it did in the PS2 versions and while it is not perfect and I wish there were more unique events in Tartarus overall, it is way more enjoyable as you can discover Monad doors, chests and pots you can smash for valuables, items and weapons. The daytime gameplay has also been overhauled as you have more stuff to do during daytime besides enhancing your stats and Social Links with the addition of more activities that you can do either by yourself or with other cast members like gardening, cooking with your mates, watching TV and more which not only develops these characters further without it feeling like filler. The Social Link episodes they add for the male cast members are so good; they develop the characters and their motivations without locking down their development behind Social Links and the filler that they bring. I feel like I like these better than normal Social Links and I hope they develop the idea further for Persona 6.
- The music is one of the aspects I was afraid of how they would handle in this remake as the Persona 3 soundtrack is my favourite in the series. While I still prefer the original soundtrack, I will admit that the newly reworked tracks are surprisingly pretty good for what they were able to accomplish; the original compositions for this game are really good and I really like the Iwatodai Dorm theme in this one. I'm happy they brought Lotus Juice back because he is one of the guys that made the Persona 3 OST into what it is today.
- The best part of this game by far is the writing, themes, characters and story which have been preserved for this remake without any major changes. The main theme of this game is death and a lot of aspects of this game from subtle dialogue and hints from characters in this game that allude to it to the events that happen in this game that lead to that inevitability to the characters and how they develop throughout the game. The characters are really likable and well-written and the extra stuff you do with them outside SLs make them easy to relate to and you genuinely care about them. Unlike the casts in Persona 4 and 5, their development is directly tied to how the story unfolds, making their character development meaningful and impactful instead of their development being tied down to a Social Link, disconnected to everything else. The story is pretty good too, with many twists and turns that you wouldn't expect. The other Social Links in this game range from okay to really good too.
In conclusion, Reload redeemed Persona 3 from me. It's been 4 years since I played FES and while I respected its themes and writing, it is only now after I went through so much in my life in terms of experiences and personal growth that the game's messages truly resonate with me now. I know all of this sounds corny but it is truly a special game to me now and I would recommend anyone play Persona 3 in any form but I genuinely would recommend this version in particular as it really is the best and most accessible way to play this game.
For the longest while, I always put off this game after the first initial questline in Velen because I could not figure out how to progress after the initial stages. However, I gave this game an another shot early last month and I finally beat it today. The Witcher 3 is regarded as one of the greatest games of the last decade with a lot of critical acclaim attributed to it to this day. However, does the game really live up to that hype or is it overhyped slop??
I'll start with the negatives first. The mission structure is lame as hell in general as it usually involves running to location x, maybe collecting something or killing a monster and running back to where you started. Now this wouldn't be a problem if the gameplay was anything above average. I don't think the gameplay is that bad. I personally played RPGs with unfun or bullshit combat (looking at you Xenosaga 2) but the Witcher 3's combat is not fun or anything to be impressed by either. Controls are weird, there isn't much variety in combat besides swordfighting, spellcasting (I wish there were more than 5) and other minor gimmicks. The exploration kind of sucks as well as a result of gameplay being so lackluster.
That being said, the positives certainly outweigh the negatives. The world in the Witcher 3 is beautiful and extremely detailed, which is honestly really impressive for a 2015 game. It feels like every part of this world was given a certain amount of polish from the streets of Novigrad to the mountainous landscapes of Skellige. The music also gives authenticity to this world and immerses you in. There are some really great tracks in this OST. I think the strongest part of this game has to be the writing. The characters in this game are really likable and well-written, the questlines' writing pull you right in and the story is also excellent. If I had to recommend one reason to get this game, it's 100% the writing.
In conclusion, while I don't think the Witcher 3 is a masterpiece or anything, it is a very good game that I'd recommend anyone to give a shot, especially when the game is on sale which it often is. I heard the DLCs are even better but I'll check those out another time.
I'll start with the negatives first. The mission structure is lame as hell in general as it usually involves running to location x, maybe collecting something or killing a monster and running back to where you started. Now this wouldn't be a problem if the gameplay was anything above average. I don't think the gameplay is that bad. I personally played RPGs with unfun or bullshit combat (looking at you Xenosaga 2) but the Witcher 3's combat is not fun or anything to be impressed by either. Controls are weird, there isn't much variety in combat besides swordfighting, spellcasting (I wish there were more than 5) and other minor gimmicks. The exploration kind of sucks as well as a result of gameplay being so lackluster.
That being said, the positives certainly outweigh the negatives. The world in the Witcher 3 is beautiful and extremely detailed, which is honestly really impressive for a 2015 game. It feels like every part of this world was given a certain amount of polish from the streets of Novigrad to the mountainous landscapes of Skellige. The music also gives authenticity to this world and immerses you in. There are some really great tracks in this OST. I think the strongest part of this game has to be the writing. The characters in this game are really likable and well-written, the questlines' writing pull you right in and the story is also excellent. If I had to recommend one reason to get this game, it's 100% the writing.
In conclusion, while I don't think the Witcher 3 is a masterpiece or anything, it is a very good game that I'd recommend anyone to give a shot, especially when the game is on sale which it often is. I heard the DLCs are even better but I'll check those out another time.
When I first saw the first trailer of this game, I spent my first day laughing my ass off at how corny and batshit insane this game was with this main character guy being so hellbent on killing Chaos while being edgy and one dimensional about it that I could not take this game seriously. The following demos were also so broken that it fuelled into the hilariousness of everything.
However, what I thought would be a disaster of a video game that would be maintained by its goofy edgy scenario turned out to be actually a solid game that I ended up enjoying a lot. The gameplay is the main highlight of this game with a lot of inspiration taken from Nioh and how those games handled their gameplay (I heard these games were great aswell by other people) but with a Final Fantasy flair to it. With the very big job system that lets you choose many different classes which all have different playstyles and abilities, the customisation of this game is insanely rich and super fun to mess around with, they are also well balanced from what I found too. The Borderlands-esque inventory management sucks though and it's annoying. The soundtrack is also solid as hell.
The story is so fuckin wacky and the characters are so one dimensional but so funny at the same time with some of the wackiest moments I saw in a video game that it's worth playing just to see the silliness unfold. It progressively gets funnier and funnier overtime too which keeps you playing just to see how stupid everything gets. This isn't Final Fantasy 7 Remake kind of stupid in a way where it gets you mad either, it's a hysterically stupid kind of story that you get in to too, but it's not a masterpiece. There are also a lot of Dissidia references in this one for the fans of that series too.
The performance in this game is generally good too after all the patches but there was one point where the game tanks in framerate. I also usually don't care about graphics but the graphics look very dated at times and the lack of anti-aliasing for a lot of stuff is very noticeable, but it's nothing game-breaking or anything.
In general, SOP: FF Origin is a really solid and a very fun spinoff that I'd recommend getting in a sale. It's not a masterpiece and it's super corny as hell but due to it being corny in a funny way and super fun, it is absolutely worth a playthrough.
However, what I thought would be a disaster of a video game that would be maintained by its goofy edgy scenario turned out to be actually a solid game that I ended up enjoying a lot. The gameplay is the main highlight of this game with a lot of inspiration taken from Nioh and how those games handled their gameplay (I heard these games were great aswell by other people) but with a Final Fantasy flair to it. With the very big job system that lets you choose many different classes which all have different playstyles and abilities, the customisation of this game is insanely rich and super fun to mess around with, they are also well balanced from what I found too. The Borderlands-esque inventory management sucks though and it's annoying. The soundtrack is also solid as hell.
The story is so fuckin wacky and the characters are so one dimensional but so funny at the same time with some of the wackiest moments I saw in a video game that it's worth playing just to see the silliness unfold. It progressively gets funnier and funnier overtime too which keeps you playing just to see how stupid everything gets. This isn't Final Fantasy 7 Remake kind of stupid in a way where it gets you mad either, it's a hysterically stupid kind of story that you get in to too, but it's not a masterpiece. There are also a lot of Dissidia references in this one for the fans of that series too.
The performance in this game is generally good too after all the patches but there was one point where the game tanks in framerate. I also usually don't care about graphics but the graphics look very dated at times and the lack of anti-aliasing for a lot of stuff is very noticeable, but it's nothing game-breaking or anything.
In general, SOP: FF Origin is a really solid and a very fun spinoff that I'd recommend getting in a sale. It's not a masterpiece and it's super corny as hell but due to it being corny in a funny way and super fun, it is absolutely worth a playthrough.
1996
Will keep this review very brief. Overall, this is a classic game with great levels, really solid movement and controls and it's just a replayable masterpiece. Iconic music aswell. The only issues I have with it is the jank and the slippery controls on occasion but none of these are big enough for me to shit on the game. Would recommend to anyone.
2023
Starfield is a game that was highly anticipated from the day it was announced as it is the first new IP Bethesda Game Studios made since the Elder Scrolls in the 90s (Fallout was bought from Interplay). After the disaster that was Fallout 76 and the Microsoft acquisition of Bethesda, Starfield was poised to be one of the first big next generation titles and basically Bethesda's shot at redemption over their prior disasters. Does the game live up to that status?
I'll get through the good parts first. I think the gunplay of this game is pretty good and an evolution from Fallout 4 and 76 as it feels like the weapons have weight to them when they shoot, there is a large variety of weapons and I really feel this game out of all of the games would have benefitted from a VATS system. The shipbuilding is a thing I didn't dabble with so much neither did I with outposts but from what I've seen, the creations that people made up are just incredible. I think they nailed the freedom of choice they gave to create what they wanted to create. This game's physics engine is also crazy impressive and the powers in this game showcase this physics engine perfectly in my opinion. I do also really like the questlines in this game, they're cool in my opinion. There are also a few cool characters here and there but honestly... not a lot.
As for the bad stuff this game does, I feel like this game just doesn't utilise almost everything mentioned above almost at all in this game. Due to the procedural generation, most locations in these 1000 planets are copy and paste which just disincentives you to explore as why would you want to explore 1000 planets with copy and paste? The game's story takes a lot of time to get going and get interesting (I do really like the last third of the game and it does get interesting and meta though). The game also has inconveniences like for example, no vehicles, travelling also sucks and fucks up the pacing, the fact that it feels genuinely ancient in comparison to other AAA titles and other things that make this game just feel so.... dated.
In conclusion, I don't think Starfield is the game people wanted it to be. It's not the messiah game Phil Spencer and Xbox wanted it to be to rejuvenate the Xbox brand. It's solid but it's a master of none. It doesn't mean that Bethesda can't salvage this though through mod support and DLC and I hope that in a year or two time, the game does become something special as the whole premise of this game is super cool and has a lot of potential, but I really should not be here hoping a game becomes great and something special after a year or two, I thought we've learned that lesson with Cyberpunk 2077
I'll get through the good parts first. I think the gunplay of this game is pretty good and an evolution from Fallout 4 and 76 as it feels like the weapons have weight to them when they shoot, there is a large variety of weapons and I really feel this game out of all of the games would have benefitted from a VATS system. The shipbuilding is a thing I didn't dabble with so much neither did I with outposts but from what I've seen, the creations that people made up are just incredible. I think they nailed the freedom of choice they gave to create what they wanted to create. This game's physics engine is also crazy impressive and the powers in this game showcase this physics engine perfectly in my opinion. I do also really like the questlines in this game, they're cool in my opinion. There are also a few cool characters here and there but honestly... not a lot.
As for the bad stuff this game does, I feel like this game just doesn't utilise almost everything mentioned above almost at all in this game. Due to the procedural generation, most locations in these 1000 planets are copy and paste which just disincentives you to explore as why would you want to explore 1000 planets with copy and paste? The game's story takes a lot of time to get going and get interesting (I do really like the last third of the game and it does get interesting and meta though). The game also has inconveniences like for example, no vehicles, travelling also sucks and fucks up the pacing, the fact that it feels genuinely ancient in comparison to other AAA titles and other things that make this game just feel so.... dated.
In conclusion, I don't think Starfield is the game people wanted it to be. It's not the messiah game Phil Spencer and Xbox wanted it to be to rejuvenate the Xbox brand. It's solid but it's a master of none. It doesn't mean that Bethesda can't salvage this though through mod support and DLC and I hope that in a year or two time, the game does become something special as the whole premise of this game is super cool and has a lot of potential, but I really should not be here hoping a game becomes great and something special after a year or two, I thought we've learned that lesson with Cyberpunk 2077
Armored Core is a series I always heard good things about from people who played and knew FromSoftware for anything other then their Souls games so when Geoff Keighley (who fucking hated this franchise back in the day LOL) announced this at the Game Awards last year, I was pretty interested in this game from the get-go. Fast forwards to August 2023 and the game launches... Was it all worth it at the end of the day?
In Armored Core VI, you take control of an Armored Core unit as you mow down and annihilate through enemies. A first time player's biggest mistake coming into this game will probably be that this plays like a Soulsborne title and I can confirm that it does NOT play like one and you WILL get bodied by the second big boss if you have that mindset. To rectify this, you will have to modify your AC in a very deep and satisfying customisation system. The game actively encourages you to customise and experiment with builds with the parts having the same sell price as your buy price, so there is no setback in this customisation system. It's honestly one of my favourite customisation systems in a game ever, it's so cool.
The gameplay itself is also super fluid, super engaging and very intense, especially in the big boss fights. The fights in this game are absolutely nuts and very fun. If you are looking for a modern day, good mecha game where you destroy enemies, this is it. The art direction of this game is outstanding as usual from FromSoftware and this game's soundtrack is incredibly good aswell.
As for the problems of this game, ehhhhh. I guess the story is kind of whatever. It's not a bad story and I do find everything in it interesting, it's just not the main focus of it. I feel like this is a case of where there aren't many problems with the game, yet the strengths of this game are not profound enough where you can give this game a 5/5 or whatever. If I were an Armored Core fan, I'd feel differently for sure. Maybe I will think of other lowkey things this game does better.
In conclusion, I think this game was a great, super fun experience from start to finish. FromSoft just can't miss at this point and I am looking forward to that Elden Ring DLC and whatever they do next, especially from the Armored Core series with how successful this game has been. Will also probably give the older games a shot too at some point.
P.S - It was indeed a 5D chess move for FromSoft to keep making Souls games and then once they had the money and resources, go back to their old flagship and giving it the justice it deserves. It's nuts really
In Armored Core VI, you take control of an Armored Core unit as you mow down and annihilate through enemies. A first time player's biggest mistake coming into this game will probably be that this plays like a Soulsborne title and I can confirm that it does NOT play like one and you WILL get bodied by the second big boss if you have that mindset. To rectify this, you will have to modify your AC in a very deep and satisfying customisation system. The game actively encourages you to customise and experiment with builds with the parts having the same sell price as your buy price, so there is no setback in this customisation system. It's honestly one of my favourite customisation systems in a game ever, it's so cool.
The gameplay itself is also super fluid, super engaging and very intense, especially in the big boss fights. The fights in this game are absolutely nuts and very fun. If you are looking for a modern day, good mecha game where you destroy enemies, this is it. The art direction of this game is outstanding as usual from FromSoftware and this game's soundtrack is incredibly good aswell.
As for the problems of this game, ehhhhh. I guess the story is kind of whatever. It's not a bad story and I do find everything in it interesting, it's just not the main focus of it. I feel like this is a case of where there aren't many problems with the game, yet the strengths of this game are not profound enough where you can give this game a 5/5 or whatever. If I were an Armored Core fan, I'd feel differently for sure. Maybe I will think of other lowkey things this game does better.
In conclusion, I think this game was a great, super fun experience from start to finish. FromSoft just can't miss at this point and I am looking forward to that Elden Ring DLC and whatever they do next, especially from the Armored Core series with how successful this game has been. Will also probably give the older games a shot too at some point.
P.S - It was indeed a 5D chess move for FromSoft to keep making Souls games and then once they had the money and resources, go back to their old flagship and giving it the justice it deserves. It's nuts really
Xenosaga Episode 2: Jenseits von Gut und Bose is the 2004 followup to 2003's Xenosaga 1 and is in a few ways better then its predecessor and in many ways worse.
Let's talk about the pros of this game first because even this dumpster fire has some good things going for it. First of all, the soundtrack is honestly way better then Xenosaga 1's soundtrack in my opinion. I also appreciate how faster this game is overall in comparison to Xenosaga 1 (but this could be an emulation thing also as I heard 1 is way slower on emulator). I also think the story itself is great when it comes to Jr, MOMO and Albedo as the game explores their backstories more and the plot elements that this game covers like more background on the Miltian conflict for example are greatly appreciated. Also the intro is super cool and well choreographed, showing you the Conflict as it was happening. That is all the things I can say about this game though.
Where to begin with the negatives... Firstly, the artstyle. I think they were going for a more realistic artstyle BUT they did it in a way where they kept some of Xenosaga 1's models and created new models for characters like KOS-MOS, Shion, chaos and others which just look UGLY as fuck. It's actually offensive in some cases. Secondly is the combat of the game. The combat of this game is basically the same as from the last game, however instead of equipable items and skills that you gain from levelling up and combat, you have a class system which lets you get the spells and skills you want. This I think is worse then the traditional RPG systems because there isn't really much customisability as a result of this system. They also replaced the voice cast to a new one (except for Jr and a few others) for no reason and like, why??? You also don't have an item economy in this game (which is NUTS, what were they thinking) as there are no shops, no money and you can only get items through battles and even then you will have barely any revives/healing items anyways because the balancing of this game is utter dogshit.
The balancing of this game deserves its own section as it is designed against you in a variety of ways. In this game, you have way more boosts and the ability to stock up extra moves (which you HAVE to do to get through battles) but to compensate for that, the enemies are more spongy and way more heavyhitting which again comes back towards my item economy point. You also fight enemies and bosses that have 3, 4 or 5 enemies at once and can summon more which makes things way more frustrating as this balancing only favours one or two enemy fights. They also made half the cast basically useless because of one character who is ridiculously overpowered for no reason, MOMO. Basically, she can do insane damage if you stack up her turns and if you keep landing crits on an enemy as she does 5x the damage if an enemy is launched or downed. If a RPG forces you to rely on one character to get through its broken systems because of how overpowered they are, the game sucks I'm afraid.
I really wanted to like this game as there are good ideas on the table for this one and the few things the game did right are better then what 1 did. However, the absolutely broken combat of this one made me quit a game because of its bullshit for the first time ever. The worst Xeno game bar none.
Let's talk about the pros of this game first because even this dumpster fire has some good things going for it. First of all, the soundtrack is honestly way better then Xenosaga 1's soundtrack in my opinion. I also appreciate how faster this game is overall in comparison to Xenosaga 1 (but this could be an emulation thing also as I heard 1 is way slower on emulator). I also think the story itself is great when it comes to Jr, MOMO and Albedo as the game explores their backstories more and the plot elements that this game covers like more background on the Miltian conflict for example are greatly appreciated. Also the intro is super cool and well choreographed, showing you the Conflict as it was happening. That is all the things I can say about this game though.
Where to begin with the negatives... Firstly, the artstyle. I think they were going for a more realistic artstyle BUT they did it in a way where they kept some of Xenosaga 1's models and created new models for characters like KOS-MOS, Shion, chaos and others which just look UGLY as fuck. It's actually offensive in some cases. Secondly is the combat of the game. The combat of this game is basically the same as from the last game, however instead of equipable items and skills that you gain from levelling up and combat, you have a class system which lets you get the spells and skills you want. This I think is worse then the traditional RPG systems because there isn't really much customisability as a result of this system. They also replaced the voice cast to a new one (except for Jr and a few others) for no reason and like, why??? You also don't have an item economy in this game (which is NUTS, what were they thinking) as there are no shops, no money and you can only get items through battles and even then you will have barely any revives/healing items anyways because the balancing of this game is utter dogshit.
The balancing of this game deserves its own section as it is designed against you in a variety of ways. In this game, you have way more boosts and the ability to stock up extra moves (which you HAVE to do to get through battles) but to compensate for that, the enemies are more spongy and way more heavyhitting which again comes back towards my item economy point. You also fight enemies and bosses that have 3, 4 or 5 enemies at once and can summon more which makes things way more frustrating as this balancing only favours one or two enemy fights. They also made half the cast basically useless because of one character who is ridiculously overpowered for no reason, MOMO. Basically, she can do insane damage if you stack up her turns and if you keep landing crits on an enemy as she does 5x the damage if an enemy is launched or downed. If a RPG forces you to rely on one character to get through its broken systems because of how overpowered they are, the game sucks I'm afraid.
I really wanted to like this game as there are good ideas on the table for this one and the few things the game did right are better then what 1 did. However, the absolutely broken combat of this one made me quit a game because of its bullshit for the first time ever. The worst Xeno game bar none.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is for me as well as many other people a very nostalgic game that we played during our childhoods. There was something special about exploring a truly open world with so much to do and to discover and that really made this game untouchable and timeless for many people even despite its issues. The game managed to stay alive through the mod community which has done some wonderful things and even I used some mods for my replay of this game. I decided to give this game a replay this year just to see how this game held up and to play a Bethesda game in anticipation for Starfield in 3 or so weeks time and I still think it's a good and fun game to hop back in to after all these years but this game aged way way worse then I imagined.
Let me get the positive things out of the way first. The gameplay is clunky (I'll discuss this later on) but honestly super fun to just dick around and do stupid shit and the game itself is still super replayable to this day with mods. The setting of this game is still iconic and recognisable as hell and this is fuelled by the incredible and legendary soundtrack by Jeremy Soule. He composed one of the most iconic soundtracks for a video game ever and he should be commended for his efforts. I think a lot of the more layered side content (so stuff like the Companions questline and all that) is also pretty good and enjoyable. The lore of this game is great as always in Bethesda games too. I am not even accounting for the DLCs btw (I will cover them seperately). There are probably other cool things this game does but these are my main positives I can take from this game.
As for the negatives, this game really aged badly over the years. There is a lot of reused/recycled or automated content here from the NPCs having the same 10 voice actors besides the main ones to companions/children feeling so lifeless towards them reusing a lot of assets in most dungeons/caves. I know this is a Bethesda game so a lot of them recycle assets or content but this is honestly more noticeable here as there aren't that many standout dungeons or anything. The combat is fun but also incredibly clunky and some enemies are just sponges which while they force you to use the combat to its fullest, its more so out of desperation then experimentation most of the time (which this game gives you the tools for). As a RPG, this game is very lackluster with the skills trees being very basic and such. This did cause the game to be easily accessible which lured in people like me but also keep in mind that they have been dumbing these games down since Morrowind so it did become a problem with this game. There are probably more things I can say about this game's problems but I think I outlined my major ones.
You may think that I am way more cynical about this game and that I think this game is bad now but I do not think that at all. Skyrim is still a special game to me and I really like hopping back in, playing with a lot of mods and going nuts. These games are the pinnacle of sandbox games and it's a game I will be revisiting over the years to come. Even with its numerous faults, this is still a classic that people will keep enjoying for years to come (until they finally fuckin release TES6 that is).
Let me get the positive things out of the way first. The gameplay is clunky (I'll discuss this later on) but honestly super fun to just dick around and do stupid shit and the game itself is still super replayable to this day with mods. The setting of this game is still iconic and recognisable as hell and this is fuelled by the incredible and legendary soundtrack by Jeremy Soule. He composed one of the most iconic soundtracks for a video game ever and he should be commended for his efforts. I think a lot of the more layered side content (so stuff like the Companions questline and all that) is also pretty good and enjoyable. The lore of this game is great as always in Bethesda games too. I am not even accounting for the DLCs btw (I will cover them seperately). There are probably other cool things this game does but these are my main positives I can take from this game.
As for the negatives, this game really aged badly over the years. There is a lot of reused/recycled or automated content here from the NPCs having the same 10 voice actors besides the main ones to companions/children feeling so lifeless towards them reusing a lot of assets in most dungeons/caves. I know this is a Bethesda game so a lot of them recycle assets or content but this is honestly more noticeable here as there aren't that many standout dungeons or anything. The combat is fun but also incredibly clunky and some enemies are just sponges which while they force you to use the combat to its fullest, its more so out of desperation then experimentation most of the time (which this game gives you the tools for). As a RPG, this game is very lackluster with the skills trees being very basic and such. This did cause the game to be easily accessible which lured in people like me but also keep in mind that they have been dumbing these games down since Morrowind so it did become a problem with this game. There are probably more things I can say about this game's problems but I think I outlined my major ones.
You may think that I am way more cynical about this game and that I think this game is bad now but I do not think that at all. Skyrim is still a special game to me and I really like hopping back in, playing with a lot of mods and going nuts. These games are the pinnacle of sandbox games and it's a game I will be revisiting over the years to come. Even with its numerous faults, this is still a classic that people will keep enjoying for years to come (until they finally fuckin release TES6 that is).
(Writing this review pre-Xenosaga 2 and 3 so I am just going to write a brief review for now and then give this game a proper review after Xenosaga 3, opinions may (and probably will) change on a lot of things I will discuss here)
I personally think that Xenosaga Episode 1 is a solid introduction to this franchise. It aims to setup a lot of plot, character and story elements and I think it does its job amicably at this. The game absolutely keeps you invested and interested in its lore and story and makes you really like the characters featured in this game.
The combat systems of this game are also good and an interesting evolution on the Deathblow/fighting game input mechanics featured in Xenogears. This time around, you have Boost which enables a party member or an enemy to bypass everyone for the next turn which is a good mechanic actually. You can also enhance your moves, Ether attacks and Tech Attacks through their respective trees meaning you can be flexible in what you want your party members to do.
I think though besides all of that, there isn't really anything really all that noteworthy about this game. The music in this game is probably the weakest Yasunori Mitsuda soundtrack of all time. There are only two battle themes in this game guys and one of them is the final boss theme (and both are not good by Mitsuda standards). The game is also insanely slow and sloggy. Besides that, nothing really happens here. It's all setup and no payoff which is fine since this game was designed with 6 games in mind. I just wish this game was something more though.
I personally think that Xenosaga Episode 1 is a solid introduction to this franchise. It aims to setup a lot of plot, character and story elements and I think it does its job amicably at this. The game absolutely keeps you invested and interested in its lore and story and makes you really like the characters featured in this game.
The combat systems of this game are also good and an interesting evolution on the Deathblow/fighting game input mechanics featured in Xenogears. This time around, you have Boost which enables a party member or an enemy to bypass everyone for the next turn which is a good mechanic actually. You can also enhance your moves, Ether attacks and Tech Attacks through their respective trees meaning you can be flexible in what you want your party members to do.
I think though besides all of that, there isn't really anything really all that noteworthy about this game. The music in this game is probably the weakest Yasunori Mitsuda soundtrack of all time. There are only two battle themes in this game guys and one of them is the final boss theme (and both are not good by Mitsuda standards). The game is also insanely slow and sloggy. Besides that, nothing really happens here. It's all setup and no payoff which is fine since this game was designed with 6 games in mind. I just wish this game was something more though.
2023
After 45 hours of playing this game, I think I am ready to fully talk about this game. I won't spoil the game here so no worries.
I'll begin with the bad before I go with the good parts. Thankfully, the bad stuff this game does are not inherit fundamental issues with the game that ruin what makes this game's strengths insanely good but they are noticeable enough where an eyebrow can be raised at them.
First things first, the performance. During a lot of my playthrough, the performance especially on performance mode was very choppy at best. It wasn't a huge deal breaker but for a game that they allegedly spent 1 year extra optimising, it does seem very peculiar indeed. However, a new patch dropped on the day of this review so the performance might be fixed now. Take this part with a grain of salt as this was written pre-patch.
Second of all, there is a noticeable lack of RPG elements in this title (except increasing numbers every level up/upgrade) which is lame coming from the franchise that is seen as one of the major big boys of the RPG genre. However, I don't think it's as big of a deal as people make it out to be because the combat system is so good that I feel it makes this issue very negligible to me. However, I do understand if people are scared off this game for this reason.
And then there are also small issues with the narrative of some characters not getting enough spotlight in the story/narrative and one or two aspects of the story that I want to see explained more, but I hope maybe DLC can rectify all of this if it happens. These narrative qualms are not deal breaking enough to ruin what is a fantastic story to me.
Also the level design/dungeon design is very non memorable and basic for a Final Fantasy game. There isn't much incentive for exploration either. However again, the combat is so fun that I don't really get bothered by the level design/lackluster exploration much.
There are other nitpicks I have but those three are my main issues with the game. Now to get onto the good stuff which I have a lot to say on.
Firstly, the music. Masayoshi Soken delivers an outstanding soundtrack with FFXVI (for the record, I never played FFXIV) which varies from beautiful melodies as you journey through Valisthea to incredible battle themes in the major boss fights of this game. Definitely a soundtrack I will be remembering for a while.
The combat in this game is amazing and it gets better overtime with more Eikon abilities and more ways to absolutely obliterate enemies and stagger them. For the record, I love DMC and especially loved V so this really falls in line with my tastes. Again, I wish there were more RPG elements in this system and that there were more basic moves but I feel like after 20 years of Square experimenting with combat systems, they have something in their hands that can be improved, perfected and used to create one of the greatest combat systems a game can offer.
The worldbuilding and the lore in FFXVI is also incredible and made extremely easy to access and follow through the active time lore mechanic. I think other games did this before but FFXVI perfected this mechanic and I hope that every big RPG does this from now on, it's a must have now. Through this mechanic and the intriguing political fantasy that this game presents that involves nations fighting for their own interests through wars, this game immersed me in this world unlike any game these past few years.
Finally the story and characters are great (for the most part). Clive is an incredible protagonist who undergoes many trials and tribulations that develop him and his perception of the world and make him an extremely compelling yet humanly flawed character to follow. This, the highly intriguing political fantasy and the great worldbuilding makes this story great from beginning to the end to me. But what is a great story without great characters? Besides Clive, you have so many likable characters in this game from Jill to Cid to Gav and many more I can't really talk about without spoiling the game. It's very rare that I would care for the supporting casts of this game but FFXVI did make me care which is a strong bonus.
Finally since this review is getting a bit too long for my liking. The Eikon fights are some of the best boss fights I've ever fought in a video game. Two of them made my jaw drop because they are actually so batshit insane it's crazy. Makes Asura's Wrath look like Leap Frog in comparison.
There are probably more things I can praise this game but this review is getting too long so I'll finish it off here. Final Fantasy games were once considered generational, iconic experiences that were lauded all over by people that played them. For the past few years, I think Square has struggled to replicate what made the old games so special. The beautiful set pieces, the great music, emotional and captivating storytelling and iconic battles/events. I don't think the older games were perfect but they were special. I think Yoshi-P and CBU3 have managed to recapture for the most part that old identity the series once had while bringing it to new areas. FFXVI will probably be one of the most divisive games in the series I imagine due to how it deviates from the formula, but I think it sits well in the podium of the great FF games personally.
I'll begin with the bad before I go with the good parts. Thankfully, the bad stuff this game does are not inherit fundamental issues with the game that ruin what makes this game's strengths insanely good but they are noticeable enough where an eyebrow can be raised at them.
First things first, the performance. During a lot of my playthrough, the performance especially on performance mode was very choppy at best. It wasn't a huge deal breaker but for a game that they allegedly spent 1 year extra optimising, it does seem very peculiar indeed. However, a new patch dropped on the day of this review so the performance might be fixed now. Take this part with a grain of salt as this was written pre-patch.
Second of all, there is a noticeable lack of RPG elements in this title (except increasing numbers every level up/upgrade) which is lame coming from the franchise that is seen as one of the major big boys of the RPG genre. However, I don't think it's as big of a deal as people make it out to be because the combat system is so good that I feel it makes this issue very negligible to me. However, I do understand if people are scared off this game for this reason.
And then there are also small issues with the narrative of some characters not getting enough spotlight in the story/narrative and one or two aspects of the story that I want to see explained more, but I hope maybe DLC can rectify all of this if it happens. These narrative qualms are not deal breaking enough to ruin what is a fantastic story to me.
Also the level design/dungeon design is very non memorable and basic for a Final Fantasy game. There isn't much incentive for exploration either. However again, the combat is so fun that I don't really get bothered by the level design/lackluster exploration much.
There are other nitpicks I have but those three are my main issues with the game. Now to get onto the good stuff which I have a lot to say on.
Firstly, the music. Masayoshi Soken delivers an outstanding soundtrack with FFXVI (for the record, I never played FFXIV) which varies from beautiful melodies as you journey through Valisthea to incredible battle themes in the major boss fights of this game. Definitely a soundtrack I will be remembering for a while.
The combat in this game is amazing and it gets better overtime with more Eikon abilities and more ways to absolutely obliterate enemies and stagger them. For the record, I love DMC and especially loved V so this really falls in line with my tastes. Again, I wish there were more RPG elements in this system and that there were more basic moves but I feel like after 20 years of Square experimenting with combat systems, they have something in their hands that can be improved, perfected and used to create one of the greatest combat systems a game can offer.
The worldbuilding and the lore in FFXVI is also incredible and made extremely easy to access and follow through the active time lore mechanic. I think other games did this before but FFXVI perfected this mechanic and I hope that every big RPG does this from now on, it's a must have now. Through this mechanic and the intriguing political fantasy that this game presents that involves nations fighting for their own interests through wars, this game immersed me in this world unlike any game these past few years.
Finally the story and characters are great (for the most part). Clive is an incredible protagonist who undergoes many trials and tribulations that develop him and his perception of the world and make him an extremely compelling yet humanly flawed character to follow. This, the highly intriguing political fantasy and the great worldbuilding makes this story great from beginning to the end to me. But what is a great story without great characters? Besides Clive, you have so many likable characters in this game from Jill to Cid to Gav and many more I can't really talk about without spoiling the game. It's very rare that I would care for the supporting casts of this game but FFXVI did make me care which is a strong bonus.
Finally since this review is getting a bit too long for my liking. The Eikon fights are some of the best boss fights I've ever fought in a video game. Two of them made my jaw drop because they are actually so batshit insane it's crazy. Makes Asura's Wrath look like Leap Frog in comparison.
There are probably more things I can praise this game but this review is getting too long so I'll finish it off here. Final Fantasy games were once considered generational, iconic experiences that were lauded all over by people that played them. For the past few years, I think Square has struggled to replicate what made the old games so special. The beautiful set pieces, the great music, emotional and captivating storytelling and iconic battles/events. I don't think the older games were perfect but they were special. I think Yoshi-P and CBU3 have managed to recapture for the most part that old identity the series once had while bringing it to new areas. FFXVI will probably be one of the most divisive games in the series I imagine due to how it deviates from the formula, but I think it sits well in the podium of the great FF games personally.
Won't bother giving this one a long review or anything.
I like how faithful this game is to the Peter Jackson films, the Sauron campaign is pretty kino overall and it is cool to slay thousands of orcs.
That is where the praise about this game ends though, the gameplay feels so clunky and stiff to control, the graphics are actually dogshit for a mid gen PS3 game (remember that games like MGS4 came out at this point), the mechanics are not deep in the slightest. It's just a poor man's version of a LOTR Battlefront 2.
If they made a second Conquest game, it would have been awesome though. A shame really.
I like how faithful this game is to the Peter Jackson films, the Sauron campaign is pretty kino overall and it is cool to slay thousands of orcs.
That is where the praise about this game ends though, the gameplay feels so clunky and stiff to control, the graphics are actually dogshit for a mid gen PS3 game (remember that games like MGS4 came out at this point), the mechanics are not deep in the slightest. It's just a poor man's version of a LOTR Battlefront 2.
If they made a second Conquest game, it would have been awesome though. A shame really.