ade
1993
great game. for clowns to play while they prepare for the circus
i refuse to write a review of oot in 2020
two bonus stars for having my favorite cover art of all time
1994
I first played this when I was a kid, but I don't think I ever progressed further than Onett, because I only have vague memories of fighting snakes, crows, and dogs. After hearing about it for years, I recently decided that I'd finally play EarthBound for real. Playing through this for the first time and using the Player's Guide was the closest thing I've had to an ethereal video game experience in years. This game deserves every ounce of praise it's ever gotten. I get it now.
when I was in high school, one of my ex-friends created a facebook page called "ade can't beat riku in re:chain of memories and it's hilarious." i've beaten riku several times and that guy is now a rapist. joke's on you, guy
"A young boy had a dream. A young girl has passion. A mysterious stranger had a mission. And the world will forever know their story. As long as there are dreamers who have the courage to pursue their dreams, the world will have heroes. And as long as there is a thirst to discover the unknown, there will be new stories to tell... and new adventures to be had."
Unlike many RPGs, Skies of Arcadia is not about obtaining best-in-slot gear or about doing 9999 damage or about mastering your party composition. In many cases, a player that isn't on the game's wavelength will be tearing their hair out at the game's random encounter rate, especially because combat is frequently unsurprising. Most of the time, you'll find yourself buffing Vyse as much as possible so that he can use Pirates' Wrath or Rain of Swords over and over and over and over. But, again, while serviceable and impressively textured, combat isn't the purpose of Skies of Arcadia. It is always trying to pull something much more childlike and optimistic out of the player—wonderment and anticipation of what strange civilization or discovery lies just beyond those far off clouds. This is one of the only turn-based RPGs I've played that understands the anticipatory pull of what's around the corner in the way that something like Wizardry does. Every discovery gives way to Arcadia's immense scope, with generations of lost history brewing just beneath the fold. The game is riddled with distinct problems that don't weigh against the experience of playing it, of unfurling it, or of finding peace in it. Skies of Arcadia feels like home.
Unlike many RPGs, Skies of Arcadia is not about obtaining best-in-slot gear or about doing 9999 damage or about mastering your party composition. In many cases, a player that isn't on the game's wavelength will be tearing their hair out at the game's random encounter rate, especially because combat is frequently unsurprising. Most of the time, you'll find yourself buffing Vyse as much as possible so that he can use Pirates' Wrath or Rain of Swords over and over and over and over. But, again, while serviceable and impressively textured, combat isn't the purpose of Skies of Arcadia. It is always trying to pull something much more childlike and optimistic out of the player—wonderment and anticipation of what strange civilization or discovery lies just beyond those far off clouds. This is one of the only turn-based RPGs I've played that understands the anticipatory pull of what's around the corner in the way that something like Wizardry does. Every discovery gives way to Arcadia's immense scope, with generations of lost history brewing just beneath the fold. The game is riddled with distinct problems that don't weigh against the experience of playing it, of unfurling it, or of finding peace in it. Skies of Arcadia feels like home.
in a time when most video games are cinematic, prestigious, and hard to tell apart from one another, insomniac has dared to ask the question "what if there was a minigun that fired black holes"
i have a very strong emotional attachment to this game because i played over 700 hours of it while dating my now-fiancee/recovering from surgery
2001
auron
2015
used to play this with a guy who later threatened to kill me. fun game
2019
The song of death is sweet and endless... But what is this? Somewhere in the sore, bloated man-meat around you — a sensation!
1990
I think that to truly love something, you have to go into the deepest depths with it. That's exactly what I've done here. Mega Man for DOS feels like a freshman's legally distinct computer science project, because that's not terribly far off from what it it is.
This is kind of interesting in that it was developed entirely by Stephen Rozner, an aspiring young developer who was acquired by Capcom for development of this title. Rozner somehow left Capcom during official development and, through a vaguely interesting legal loophole, was still able to release the game. Because of his departure from Capcom, Rozner completely drew up the assets and code for this, from scratch, on his own. In that way, Mega Man for DOS is among the earliest examples of a fan game.
Pretty interesting story, right? Unfortunately, that story is much more interesting than this game. It's about as amateurish as games get, with enemies that are either too short or too fast to properly land hits on, practically nonexistent level design, and 3 Robot Masters that have, luckily, been confined to the annals of history—"Voltman, Sonicman, and Dynaman." This doesn't even have music; in fact, it may not even have sound, although that could've just been the DOSBox emulator acting up. I can't finish this, as I'm neither compelled to nor am I convinced that it's possible to. I'm actually convinced that this game is fundamentally broken by design.
Shout out to Stephen Rozner, the only man whose idea of sticking it to your ex-employer is to make something completely meritless.
This is kind of interesting in that it was developed entirely by Stephen Rozner, an aspiring young developer who was acquired by Capcom for development of this title. Rozner somehow left Capcom during official development and, through a vaguely interesting legal loophole, was still able to release the game. Because of his departure from Capcom, Rozner completely drew up the assets and code for this, from scratch, on his own. In that way, Mega Man for DOS is among the earliest examples of a fan game.
Pretty interesting story, right? Unfortunately, that story is much more interesting than this game. It's about as amateurish as games get, with enemies that are either too short or too fast to properly land hits on, practically nonexistent level design, and 3 Robot Masters that have, luckily, been confined to the annals of history—"Voltman, Sonicman, and Dynaman." This doesn't even have music; in fact, it may not even have sound, although that could've just been the DOSBox emulator acting up. I can't finish this, as I'm neither compelled to nor am I convinced that it's possible to. I'm actually convinced that this game is fundamentally broken by design.
Shout out to Stephen Rozner, the only man whose idea of sticking it to your ex-employer is to make something completely meritless.
1994
damn this game whips ass. but all i’m saying is that metroid fusion doesn’t have maridia
Yakuza: Like a Dragon isn't a perfect game, but I loved absolutely every second of it regardless. For example, the RPG combat isn't perfectly tuned and there are a few late-game boss fights that are mostly damage sponges that don't require actual strategy beyond attacking and healing. The job system is a bit messy, and there are a few moments of laughably wonky animation.
None of these things took away from how much fun I had playing this game and how attached I felt to the characters, the story, and the world. I genuinely didn't want this game to end, and it has opened my eyes to how special Yakuza is. Video games NEVER make me cry, but the one where you can summon several crawfish in battle did. The way this series effortlessly switches from insane and goofy to somber and dark is like nothing else in games to me. Before this, my experience with the series was limited to about 10 hours of Yakuza 0, a game that I quickly wrote off as having bad combat and a bland world to explore.
After finishing Like a Dragon, the appeal of Yakuza is clearer than ever to me, and I can't wait to play the rest of the series. If this game is this good, I can't imagine how good the Kiryu games are.
Update 3/12/2021 the true final millennium tower is absolutely one of the hardest things i've ever done in a jrpg
None of these things took away from how much fun I had playing this game and how attached I felt to the characters, the story, and the world. I genuinely didn't want this game to end, and it has opened my eyes to how special Yakuza is. Video games NEVER make me cry, but the one where you can summon several crawfish in battle did. The way this series effortlessly switches from insane and goofy to somber and dark is like nothing else in games to me. Before this, my experience with the series was limited to about 10 hours of Yakuza 0, a game that I quickly wrote off as having bad combat and a bland world to explore.
After finishing Like a Dragon, the appeal of Yakuza is clearer than ever to me, and I can't wait to play the rest of the series. If this game is this good, I can't imagine how good the Kiryu games are.
Update 3/12/2021 the true final millennium tower is absolutely one of the hardest things i've ever done in a jrpg
2006
This review contains spoilers
It's difficult to summarize my feelings on this one. I played Earthbound for the first time last year, and it quickly shot itself into my top 5 favorite games of all time. I feel that Earthbound contains a few of the most memorable sequences in games—Moonside, Saturn Valley, Magicant, and the final battle against Giygas, to name a few. Playing Earthbound with the Player's Guide was as close to an otherworldly experience as I've ever had with a video game. As a result, I was always going to go into Mother 3 with unbelievable expectations.
In a lot of ways, Mother 3 meets those expectations. First off, it's extraordinarily well-written, with Itoi's trademark sense of humor (tinged with a measure of dread) shining throughout. It has a very engaging battle system which, when paired with the "rhythm battle" mechanic, makes for some of the most fun I've had playing a JRPG. Finally, the game moves with a sense of urgency—something I appreciated after the occasionally plodding pace of Earthbound. I could go on and on and on about what Mother 3 does well.
All of that said, Mother 3 isn't perfect. Most of the time, I felt that the game involved a few great moments wrapped around a series of McGuffins (more on this later, don't kill me). For example, the game continually asks you to recover the Egg of Light or pull the Needles, but you're given no indication as to why any of this matters until Leder's explanation in the climax, whether through worldbuilding or dialogue. While a lot of the lore is interesting, this "lore dump" approach to storytelling almost always feels lazy and unearned. A large portion of this game involves trudging ahead through unimaginative environments because the game tells you to, but, in my opinion, not because you care.
However, nearly all of my complaints melted away by the time I got to New Pork City. The game is batting on all cylinders there. Rather than giving you a true final boss, Mother 3 uses the final "battle" against Claus as a narrative device that I assume most players, myself included, will never forget. Like I said before, I don't think that Mother 3 is a perfect game, and I still prefer Earthbound in most regards. That said, in light of everything that it does so extraordinarily well, Mother 3 is a game that everyone should play.
In a lot of ways, Mother 3 meets those expectations. First off, it's extraordinarily well-written, with Itoi's trademark sense of humor (tinged with a measure of dread) shining throughout. It has a very engaging battle system which, when paired with the "rhythm battle" mechanic, makes for some of the most fun I've had playing a JRPG. Finally, the game moves with a sense of urgency—something I appreciated after the occasionally plodding pace of Earthbound. I could go on and on and on about what Mother 3 does well.
All of that said, Mother 3 isn't perfect. Most of the time, I felt that the game involved a few great moments wrapped around a series of McGuffins (more on this later, don't kill me). For example, the game continually asks you to recover the Egg of Light or pull the Needles, but you're given no indication as to why any of this matters until Leder's explanation in the climax, whether through worldbuilding or dialogue. While a lot of the lore is interesting, this "lore dump" approach to storytelling almost always feels lazy and unearned. A large portion of this game involves trudging ahead through unimaginative environments because the game tells you to, but, in my opinion, not because you care.
However, nearly all of my complaints melted away by the time I got to New Pork City. The game is batting on all cylinders there. Rather than giving you a true final boss, Mother 3 uses the final "battle" against Claus as a narrative device that I assume most players, myself included, will never forget. Like I said before, I don't think that Mother 3 is a perfect game, and I still prefer Earthbound in most regards. That said, in light of everything that it does so extraordinarily well, Mother 3 is a game that everyone should play.