I sat here for a bit trying to figure out how to start this review, and I've got nothing. Hades is good. It's really fucking good. In fact, it's great. Not only is it great, but it might be one of my favorite games of all time. Very rarely do games come on my radar that are this innovative, creative, and feel specifically tailored to my interests. This is pure, unadulterated, neuron activation.

I had known about SuperGiant Games for a long time now, ever since Bastion was first making it's rounds. Though, Hades was the first of their games I truly sunk my teeth into. I first got this one on Steam, and put a fair amount of hours into it. But there were two issues, none really having to do with the game itself. One, I sucked. Two, I don't like playing games on my laptop. So after countless failed runs to the final boss, I put the game down for a bit.

Then, a few weeks ago, I re-bought the game on PS5 on a complete whim. It's been all I played since I bought it.

What makes Hades stand out from many of it's roguelite peers is how it uses the mechanics of the genre in service of it's narrative. Even though the gameplay is fantastic in this, the characters and Zagreus' arc is what kept me playing this one, and is what makes me prefer it over many of Hades' contemporaries.

How to explain the constant loop of runs? Zagreus is a god, he can't die. And neither can his enemies, they're either gods, monsters, or ghosts. Because of this framing, it allows the characters to be acutely aware of their situation without ever breaking the fourth wall. And from this awareness, we watch these characters shift.

The first boss, Meg, we watch her get more and more discouraged as you begin to master her fight and beat her nearly every run. We watch her get frustrated as her two sisters join the fray, and I even started to look forward to when she'd be my first boss again. Her and Zag grow to have this strange sense of camaraderie, in fact all of the bosses do. Though my favorite aspect of this continuing narrative througline in all of the runs, is when it gets serious. Once you start reaching the last level, Hades changes. He doesn't scold you as much, there's genuine anger there. It's implied that he's really starting to organize people to stop Zag, and that's sending ripples across the House and it's NPCs will speak on it accordingly. Even though the player is sympathetic to Zagreus' quest for escape, and many of the NPCs are as well, there are just as many who have to suffer the blowback from Zag's constant escape attempts. The transition from somewhat harmless fooling around to a serious and genuine problem is felt, and it's incredibly effective.

The downside of this, unfortunately, is that these mechanics sort of just fall apart if you're really good at the game. It's not impossible to beat the game on your first few runs, but I don't recommend going for that. It took me over 20 to finally best the final boss, and it took me nine hours to do so. If anyone is interested in playing this, I implore you to take your time. And I believe the game wants you to, because of it's own added flavor to the typical roguelite formula.

To tie into the idea of new runs not being a completely fresh start, Zagreus can unlock some permanent upgrades for himself. This ranges from extra health, to extra lives, to simply just starting a run with more money. What's great is that all of these upgrades are completely optional, and the game's post-game (if that's the right term for it) is designed around tweaking values within a run to make it more difficult and rewarding. This, of course, is explained in the narrative as well. Though I did feel a bit robbed once I got the first ending, but I imagine that was intentional. But to move onto other aspects of the game...

The combat in this...it's SO good. It's quick, snappy, impactful, and honestly a bit addicting. It does an excellent job of having the player need to balance patience with aggression, and I think the permanent upgrades are a big part of why I was able to slowly gain that confidence in a way that felt just as natural.

The roguelite items in this, the Olympian Boons, are something I grew to be a massive fan of. A big part of what really send this game over the top for me are the keepsakes, which are items that NPCs can give you that grant you small buffs. The ones the Olympian Gods give you allow you to manipulate the RNG of when they show up, and this is what truly allows for builds to come together. It was super fun to learn the weapons, their upgrades, and then plot out which Gods and specific boons work best with your playstyle. Those first initial runs, where you build up your upgrades, allowed me to really experiment with what I was given. And the Prophecies, which act as side-quests/checklists almost, encourages players to try out everything. For example, there's one for each weapon where you are rewarded if you take each upgrade at least once. And because of that encouragement, I found an upgrade I wouldn't have thought of using, that ended up helping me complete my first run!

Hades as a whole is full of these smart game design decisions. Combine all of this with a game whose art style is striking, whose voice-cast is excellent, and a score that just ties it all together? Fucking. Fantastic.

I feel like I've really only scratched the surface with this game, despite "finishing" it. You never fully finish roguelites, and that's true for Hades and for its narrative. I'm looking forward to continuing these characters' stories, seeing where they take them. And I'm glad to spend it with Zag himself, a charming protagonist whose dialogue and monologue is always a joy to listen to. I love all the characters, from the most minor to even the purposefully annoying. Hypnos, I love you bud, but man your cheerful commentary on how I died to a basic enemy after I come crawling back to House Hades after a choked run definitely stings.

Hades is a game that is worth the hype, even years later. It's creative, it's innovative, it's engaging, and it's replayable as hell (pun intended.) While I do think that core, first-run experience is great by itself, the amount of customization that Hades allows of you following that is something I truly admire. It's just so well tuned and finely crafted, from how good it feels to punch people all the way to how goddamned hot everyone is. Seriously, excellent game for bisexuals.

But jokes aside, I've been playing this game for a long time, even if I only just finished it now. As I said earlier, so many aspects of this game just come together perfectly. The presentation, the gameplay, it's creative take on its genre, and even just the greek mythology angle--it's perfect. Usually, I try to have something more personal at the end of a review like this, but I don't have as much as I usually do. Hades is a game that feels like it was made for me, and I couldn't ask for more. I may have finished this game, but I feel it will always be one I can throw on whenever I'm bored. Hades, of course, is still a roguelite at heart. And I'm always happy to see if Zag can make it out one more time.

This one was a weird game to properly wrap my head around when trying to pick apart my feelings on what makes it tick. There are so many weird, clashing elements at play that simultaneously serve to make for something borderline unplayable and deeply interesting. Almost every misstep ultimately contributes to another aspect of the game in an evocative way while playing nicely into the whiplash and incongruence that the Kingdom Hearts series thrives in, managing to tell its best story in the process. Despite the cutscene collection getting the main gist of things across, the amount that playing the game properly adds to the nuances of each character also cannot be understated, it should be obvious, but playing the game is the preferable option to watching a truncated recap of events!

Despite my immediate praise for the game, one that extends to the core gameplay, it’s also not hard to understand why Days is so consistently maligned. There are layers to the idiosyncrasies that the player will be interacting with constantly, with each of them requiring you to meet the game on its own terms, lest things get extremely stilted and a bit difficult to fully digest. The pace of the combat is often very slow and simple compared to the PS2 games, which is to be expected given the fact that this is a DS game, but the way that its handled is pretty effective for the most part, despite a couple of sticking points. To accommodate for the simpler, slower combat, the enemies have likewise been simplified, yet are still made interesting by their mechanical extremities being emphasised. Elemental weaknesses are far more devastating in this game, and enemies will often only have one or two moves they can use, but they’ll instead be used in a synergistic way with other heartless. A big example of this is the role of the loudmouth equivalent in KH2 compared to in Days, where it’s now almost exclusively a healer for the enemies, instead of being a standard enemy with healing capabilities as well, now making them a constant priority, especially given how much slower and weaker Roxas feels than Sora. Enemies such as the barrier master have similar qualities that ultimately contribute to the majority of heartless types feeling distinct and memorable, rather than visually different pieces of fodder. The change in dynamic that the player has to get used to is one of the biggest reasons why I’ve seen a lot of dislike for the game I’d wager, as another change that was made here is that enemies will often have a lot more HP than might seem reasonable, with even the basic enemies often reaching over a health bar by the end of the game. If not properly approached, this would take an excruciatingly long time, because the game pulls no punches in making you feel weak and stupid the very moment you stop listening to it.

The panel system is key to this entire bit of the game working so well for me, as it’s the element in place to make following exactly what the game wants you to do a bit trickier. This essentially turns your inventory into a big tangram board, with each ability, piece of equipment, item and even level up being a piece to put into this inventory grid. It’s set up in such a way that you’ll be having to sacrifice some aspect of your character if you want to ever excel at anything and forces the player to plan in advance before entering a mission, using the little tidbits of information provided to make assumptions about the threats that will be faced in each individual task. If you don’t engage with this system to its fullest extent, there will be frequent situations in which you’ll be left taking far longer than feels good to accomplish your objective. This layer of strategy that gets incorporated into the game is a big part of what makes me have such a great time, it feels great to tweak your build to accommodate for the task ahead, and a lot of instances of things feeling too slow ultimately feel as if they boil down to poor strategic choices, and then it’s just a matter of if I accept this or back out so I can focus even more on the specifics that acted as a roadblock. It also has that fun little wrinkle where level ups are not a strict upgrade in every scenario, due to the space they take up that could theoretically be applied more effectively in particular cases, I just have a lot of fun when even such basic things are used as resources rather than a strict number upgrade with no strings attached sometimes. While it’s true that a lot of this could have functioned equally as well with something like an AP system, where equipping things cost a certain amount of points to use, I don’t care, this system is fun and gives the game a bit more personality!

Despite my appreciation for the ideas behind this dynamic, it doesn’t always pan out either unfortunately, some enemies really do just feel too tanky, the carrier ghosts being the most egregious example. The problem is at its worst with the boss fights however, since literally all of them other than the final couple are genuinely horrible in one way or another. The more simplistic enemy design philosophy that the game sticks to falls apart when approaching these much bigger encounters that feel as if they require a bit more to them to make them feel especially interesting to interact with. Fights like the Infernal Engine or the Guard Armor feel too simplistic and easily exploitable just by fighting normally, while fights such as the Antlion require certain precise movements that are a pain to do with the somewhat clunky controls the game can have, but the worst of it comes from the way that certain fights seem to revel in the idea of wasting your time. There’s a reason why the Leechgrave and Ruler of the Sky are considered so insufferable, and that’s just because of how long a fight with them can take even when you’re aptly prepared due to mechanics that make getting any real damage a total slog. It’s a shame because visually, both of these are some of the coolest looking heartless in the series, but a big portion of their fights respectively are either taking out a lot of really tanky enemies, or slowly chasing it down just to get a couple of hits in before it goes out of reach yet again. It’s such a shame to go through the storyline of each location only to have it culminate in something so consistently underwhelming, seeing awesome designs before being struck with the realisation yet again that the ensuing fight feels like garbage (once again with the exception of the final couple, which are genuinely incredible).

The narrative of the game is where it all really shines to me though, being by far my favourite storyline of any Kingdom Hearts game, contributing a lot to my appreciation for a solid handful of the Organisation members while also telling a poignant journey in its own right. I genuinely do not think I’d care for a few of the Org XIII members without this game, as it gives characters such as Saix and even Xemnas a lot more presence to elevate them beyond being functional but not super interesting to think about on a level deeper than “this guy is intimidating”. The idea of Nobodies and their supposed lack of hearts and emotions has always been an interesting concept in this series and this game sets out to explore this rather than leaving it as interesting in a purely conceptual way, showcasing the different ways in which the members process this facet of their existence hinting at how their pasts had shaped them along the way. It also just makes me feel really, really sad for Roxas for a multitude of reasons, dude just can’t catch a break and this is one of the few times where a game has made me cry as well, especially when even the moments in life where he’s shown the most kindness are still undercut by so much bullshit that it ultimately feels deceptive towards him and a bit of a farce. Even the structure of the game plays into this, with the nonstop, frequently insignificant missions thrown your way further reinforcing how miserable working for the Organisation was. It’s not handled perfectly, as there’s definitely a point in the middle third of the experience where it gets a bit overly tedious even when looking at the game in the favourable light of it being intended to reflect how Roxas should be feeling so upset about having to do such menial nonsense all the time, but its nonetheless really interesting to me and is essential in its role of providing space in between the big events so you can better feel things such as Saix’s increasing hostility towards you, or the developing friendship of the ice cream trio.

358/2 Days is a weird, flawed game without a doubt, but it’s also a game where a lot of those issues contribute to something else in a positive fashion. It’s the ideal sort of game for the DS, it understands that trying to replicate the feel of KH1 or 2 on the system would feel rough, and instead makes a lot of concessions to craft a slower experience that requires a lot more forethought and planning as opposed to leaning more into the execution of a lot of these plans. It doesn’t always work, but it does so often enough to make for a great baseline with some wonderful texture in how a lot of these systems feel to utilise. The game also made me cry so like, yeah. Certainly not a game for everyone, but it’s a game for me.

I don't normally like commenting on this kind of thing but there's a fascinating consensus that I've noticed when it comes to opinions on this game. It's slow, tedious, repetitive and looks like crap. But that's not what you really play it for, right?

Well, in a lot of ways it really is what you play it for. I think one of the most interesting parts of FSR to me is how it utilizes those long stretches of walking. I found myself thinking of every step, watching Sumio creep closer and closer to another inane goal. My eyes fixated on the surroundings, taking in the quickly familiar fuzzy landscapes of Lospass Island. I wasn't paying attention out of any sense of danger or obstacles popping up, and it wasn't even because I expected some great payoff at the end. It was because I had fallen under its spell. Sumio walked, and so did I.

Of course part of what makes it so great is how it bathes in the atmosphere of the island at every moment. I've seen it compared to a horror movie before, with the sense of eerie claustrophobia that comes from running through the same environment over and over again. But it's also something that becomes intimate, just part of the routine after a while. None of it is reinforced better than through Sumio's odd interactions with each character. He's given a nonsense task, he completes it because, well, of course he does. It's who he is, and who we become.

It's hard to properly explain why I love FSR's writing, but the character interactions make for both absurd and heartwarming moments. Suda51's tonal balance here is absolutely immaculate. The endings to each chapter shift from ridiculous punchlines to fantastic punctuations of a huge story moment, sometimes both at once. Also some of the rare metacommentary that is actually funny. Thank you Suda.

I've seen people also talk about how this game becomes slowly more hostile to Sumio over time. It's true, more and more as time goes on he is called a "pawn". But even at his most derided, it feels like there's a genuine appreciation for him by the end. Lospass Island really embodies a feeling of "paradise" that I haven't seen before. I left it not with feelings of discomfort, but a vague sense of warmth. The one thing about paradise is that it can't last forever, and eventually Sumio and the player have to go. But you can always take back souvenirs.

I don't really know what I'm talking about anymore but I love this game. KILL THE PAST

It would be a stretch to say that it abandons the arcade feel entirely, but I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking this is the first "real" home console game in the Ace Combat series. The striking aesthetic cued me in immediately to how much more thoroughly crafted of an experience it would be compared to the first two games. The Y2K-esque UI asks you to create a "new account" in lieu of a save file, the animated conversations take place in an eerie cyberspace, and the cheesy Top Gun ripoff rock tracks are replaced by thumping techno music.

More impressively though, AC3 manages to perfectly walk the line between making the combat more refined than ever while also giving it a much more grounded feel. The new compass implemented into the HUD is an excellent touch and the extended range on all of the weapons is appreciated. At the same time, the fighters all have more weight to them than ever, with turns feeling much slower and wider and much less pinpoint precision when it comes to small adjustments. It makes each jet feel like the heavy machine of death that it is without ever compromising on how good it feels to soar the skies.

It's absolutely fitting then that the first "real" story in the series is one that comments on the nature of the wars being fought. AC3 doesn't center itself around the ideologies or effects of war so much as it does the people who wage them, nameless faceless corpos with only a politically feeble stand-in for the UN in the form of UPEO. AC3 truly excels when it leans into this worldbuilding, news reports and wingman conversations are an excellent way to add a layer of doubt to each mission. It's especially great that every story branch is done through the gameplay as well, forcing the player into a difficult choice with little time to think about it.

The story was also the greatest source of disappointment for me at times however. Ideologies falling to the wayside feels fitting for a vague corporate war, but it felt like the characters attributed to each "branch" needed much more compelling reasons to be sided with. In a way it's fitting that the player would be an outsider to whatever conflicts Rena or Dision have, but it also feels like it expects you to have at least some attachment to what their goals are to be siding with them. My main issue with all of this is exemplified by the true ending, however, so:

AC3 TRUE ENDING SPOILERS AHEAD

The true ending also makes sense in a lot of ways. After all, what is war if not something to be done in complete vain? I'm able to accept a plot that's intentionally a let down, but boiling it down to one man running a simulation for reasons we only are privy to at the very end feels like a hollow way of going about it. I suppose what it wants to tell us is that Nemo was a pawn, but doing that through the normal routes would have felt much more convincing to me. Being told that all of our decision making was by design just doesn't really line up with the actual experience. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I wish it had felt like an evolution of what was presented in the early game rather than an admission that it was pointless.

SMT2 is atypical from most JRPGs in more ways than you would expect. Eschewing a traditional adventure with towns along the way is nothing necessarily new, but the way SMT2 focuses on such a sprawling but interconnected region feels pretty forward thinking. There's obvious inspiration from Western RPGs, but it also evokes Dark Souls or FF12 with its commitment to an immersive world.

There's no doubt that the world itself is incredibly interesting and creative in a lot of ways, much more so than SMT1. From the unique flavor text to the striking aesthetics of each area, Kaneko's creativity really bleeds through constantly. It makes for probably the best aspect of the exploration.

However the exploration itself often ends up as a tedious and extremely frustrating task. I mentioned Dark Souls as an example of an immersive world that SMT2 reminds me of, but Dark Souls both commits to making you move from place to place on foot and has interesting gameplay. SMT2's gameplay is, well, terrible. It's pretty much brainless levels of easy for most of the game but with a ridiculous amount of encounters. I sort of knew this would be the case going in, but even if I was able to get past the combat itself the overall design feels made to waste time to insane degrees. Most of the games runtime is made up of fetch quests which drag you around every corner of the map. I understand wanting you to explore the map, but so much of the game being inane backtracking for little gameplay or story reward gets extremely frustrating.

Unfortunately, this detracts a lot from the story a lot of the time for me as well. This is by far the aspect of the game I've seen praised the most, and I think there is good reason for this. Not only does it have a much more interesting setting than SMT1, it also has a much more interesting alignment system that feels less wishy-washy about what it's trying to say. But the structure hurts it greatly still, as the story is only interesting until it suddenly isn't again. For every long expository dialogue scene there's another 10 hours of wandering around doing random tasks afterwards with little story impact. Aleph is a cool idea for a protagonist, with a really neat twist, but it's also undermined by the fact that there's little to no interactions that build up to the twist or follow up on it. For every interesting plot point I know it will be followed by "Find the 8 Idols of shitfuck to unlock the gate" I got the Law ending and it was interesting and neat but also felt detached from the rest of the game as well, mostly functioning off a cool aesthetic. I think the story had a big chance to make up for the rest of the game for me but I came away from it with little attachment.

I might be giving SMT2 a more positive score than how it actually felt to play but I can see the appeal to such a unique game. There's a really striking creative voice behind a lot of it that even SMT1 didn't really have. I just wish it could have all come together for me to be able to see it as a masterpiece at all.

"A Rebirth Of Tactical RPGs"

I can't confess to having played Ogre Battle, the series which Unicorn Overlord has been compared to the most, however I've played enough Fire Emblem to appreciate the goals it set out for. This phrase, which was all over the marketing, touts it as a "rebirth", which implies that it will lean the most on being a throwback. If anything however, it's the fusion of old and new here that makes Unicorn Overlord work so well.

If we never get a Genealogy of the Holy War remake, I can at least relish in the fact that we got another game where a blue hair prince on a horse is fighting battles on maps that are 1:1 to the world map. Vanillaware considered this game their biggest undertaking yet, and it shows in how impressive the scale of it is. Each battle is elevated both by the sense of immersion that fighting on chunks of the overworld brings, and it's also a satisfying 60 hours or so of seeing more and more territory reclaimed. It also extends even further than Genealogy by letting you actually spend time in the world you are fighting through. The town rebuilding may not be the most mechanically satisfying, but it is also integrated well enough into just normal exploration that its never a nuisance. Alongside the other overworld sidequests, it helps to add enough texture to the world to make reclaiming it feel rewarding.

Of course it takes plenty of elements to make a great strategy game, and the great mechanical base that Unicorn Overlord has makes it worthwhile in it's own right. The unit system is an excellent way of forcing frequent optimization, paying careful attention to which pieces to mix and match. On top of this, the sheer variety of classes that keeps being introduced until the end keeps this process going strong. For even more depth, the Tactics system is a fantastic turn on the automated battles that most SRPGs have. A FF12 gambit system-styled form of programming provides a lot of room to further fine tune every aspect of the combat. In a lot of ways, this works well with the enemy design to elevate the somewhat basic map design, however the maps are still probably the biggest flaw. There are some interesting wrenches thrown in here or there, like a fog of war chapter or ones with strict time limits, but it feels too afraid to commit fully. A common sentiment I have seen is that this game is too easy, which is true, but Vanillaware's goal being accessibility is fine enough. Yet I still wish they were more willing to make players feel uncomfortable, which I think Fire Emblem succeeds at while also being fairly accessible. It's never easy to demand more content, especially in a game like this, but I wish they went further with what they DO have.

Speaking of a common sentiment, the majority of criticism has focused on the games story. It's fair for people to call it "generic" but it's also somewhat misguided to me. While I also rolled my eyes at first seeing the Tolkien-esque setting and the deposed prince premise, I don't think this is entirely an issue. While many of the elements of the world are trope-y, the countless smaller stories within them give them a unique flavor, particularly for the individual characters. In taking influence from Fire Emblem, Vanillaware must have wisely noted how invested people are in the characters in these games. Thus the rapport system serves as a valuable way to add more story where needed while also never being intrusive on the core experience. I would say it even surpasses FE supports in a way with how much it lets you pick and choose with what you want to do, and the sheer scope of interactions you can have is impressive.

Yet simultaneously that scope is what leads into my actual issues with the story. It's impressive to have 5 distinct regions with their own cultures and histories, yet we don't get nearly enough insight as we should. Being generic isn't an issue, there's genuinely interesting ideas being hinted at in each region yet it's hard to really get invested in them. Even though the game is 60 hours, if you split that up into 5 it doesn't leave much room for each area to shine as much as it could. Part of that is because so much of it is core gameplay, yet I would trade maybe a couple filler missions for some more narrative depth. Simultaneously this would make up for the main story with Alain being not that great, but it makes it come off a little worse instead. It feels like he lacks agency a lot of the time and has to take a backseat to these situations which would be fine if they had gotten more depth. There are some choices in the game, but they feel like pretty obvious ones most of the time. I respect the width it guns for, but its easy to see why it ended up unsatisfying.

Of course it's worth putting all of this in perspective too. This game took just under a decade to develop and Vanillaware ran out of money. 13 Sentinels also had a long and arduous development concurrently, with most of the focus being on the story. This isn't to say that Unicorn Overlord is made better by knowing this, but it would be also unfair to say the ambitions were misplaced ultimately.

I would hesitate to call the story of Conquest functional. Every character is one-dimensional or a complete moron, the way they respond to plot events tends to make very little sense, and the entire conceit is wasted with shallow writing that's so incongruent with what you're doing in the gameplay that it's honestly hard for me to believe this got published as-is. It's truly baffling in every respect.

Despite this the actual gameplay is really well done. I've previously only ever played the GBA Fire Emblem games (and Echoes but I never finished it) so all the new mechanics were overwhelming at first, but rewarding to gain a deeper understanding of as I played. The different pair-up stances add much more immediate depth to even the simplest of skirmishes, especially when trying to align specific units together to build support. This game provides various methods of reclassing, giving you abundant freedom to customize units as you see fit based on many different parameters, which become even more layered as you take into account what skills and classes to pass down onto a child unit and how you want them to grow. It's so much to play around with and provides a near-infinite amount of options for repeat playthroughs. I was skeptical of the changes to weapon durability at first, and while I feel certain aspects are a bit overtuned (basically no reason to ever use a Silver weapon), it clicked when I started seeing them more as aspects of a unit's build as opposed to resources to be passed around and used up like in previous games. I do also enjoy the addition of hidden weapons and the consolidation of magic into one category for the sake of weapon triangle simplicity, as I always felt light and dark magic were too underdeveloped compared to anima for it to stand as any kind of equal balance.

The maps are also a major highlight, as they tend to utilize gimmicks that make battles clever and interesting without coming off as too obtrusive (for the most part, the fox illusion one is pretty bad). The Dragon Veins that facilitate many of these gimmicks add even further strategic elements to each map, as choosing when and how to activate them for best increasing your advantage while hampering the enemy adds a unique flair to every fight that never feels too far removed from the core gameplay experience. The design in both a gameplay and aesthetic sense is astounding, with a variety of different environments being employed in tandem with their respective gimmick that create a wide assortment of unique and memorable gameplay experiences. I don't think I've played another Fire Emblem game where I can immediately recall so many maps from memory after only one playthrough.

As boring as it may be I ultimately agree with the consensus regarding Conquest. I plan to play it again on a harder difficulty at a later date, using what I've learned to be much more optimal and plan out more diverse builds for each unit, but even for a particularly vanilla playthrough I still had a good time with the game. Just not when any characters were talking.

The Hanging Edge

The name shared by both the first area and its accompanying background music in FFXIII immediately transmit the sense of tension and exhilaration that both of them contain. As you gain control of Lightning, the area around you is chaotic, crawling with enemies, rife with conflict. The slightly panicked piano pops into your ears, compelling you to start to move forward. Yet then it is also a sweeping strings section that bursts in as well, conveying the scale of everything happening around you. It makes you want to soak in the stunning environment, the excitement of your surroundings. But there is only one way forward, and the only option left is to run.

It wouldn't be true to say that XIII is defined by freneticism necessarily, but it is such a striking element that it bears mentioning nonetheless. That first level sets a tone that doesn't let up for quite some time, one that deserves immense credit for how committed they were to it. The paths only have one way to go because it's the only way the characters CAN go. They are hunted by what feels like the entire world around them, while pitted against the ticking time bomb they've been stuck with, and still not even able to keep from fighting with each other. Needless to say, the design directly serves the story by adding that tension for them to spin great character moments out of. This is a group of people struggling against circumstance, compelled to keep moving forward when they don't really have a direction. Splitting the party up works great for this, as it allows for Lightning/Hope and Sazh/Vanille to play off of each other and simultaneously get strong character development. These sections work so well because of how focused they are, but the resolution is equally as satisfying too.

The thrilling nature of the story plays very well into the design of the combat system as well, contributing to the consistent sense of energy that the game has. The original ATB system was inspired by Formula One races, yet this system is the first time that dream feels fully realized. The segmented ATB bar gives that sense of actual speed, making it rewarding to act as quickly as possible. It also rewards attentiveness, as even with just auto-attack the timing of your actions is important. Strategy is more important than ever as well, due to Paradigms allowing for mid-battle adaptability. The stagger bar is a great mini-time limit that incentivizes all of these things. It all works quite excellently, and while it takes some time to fully unfurl it is easily one of the best battle systems in the franchise. If anything, I wish it could have been taking advantage of even more. The menus could be even snappier, the time between switching paradigms even faster, and even enemies with more emphasis placed on countering player inattentiveness.

I mentioned before that the fast-paced style of the game isn't the only one it has, and the marked shift it undergoes later is interesting in a lot of ways. There's an inherent satisfaction in stepping into a vast open area after hours of being essentially trapped, a really well done contrast that shows just how foreign Pulse is compared to Cocoon. However, it also feels disappointingly compromised in a lot of ways. A side mission based structure is a fun idea, but it mostly functions as a way to still lead you from point A to B rather than giving a real sense of exploration. Having a lot of enemies that are meant to be avoided is a neat idea for an area consumed by nature, but it also feels at odds with how enjoyable the freedom of the combat is. It also just feels unnecessarily trial-and-error heavy, which just feels like wasting time. Of course the dungeons at the end of this area are quite strong, but it still feels like it missed on the potential at hand and just went back to what works.

This is just one chapter though ultimately, so it's hard to say it ruins the game. One aspect that it does show that I found to be much more detrimental, however, is that the story starts to crack pretty hard around this point. The story thrives off character moments for most of its run time, but it feels somewhat aimless once it moves past that. Of course, this isn't to say it's bad or anything. Oerba is a particularly impactful moment, letting a long lost town just completely speak for itself for the most part is an excellent contrast to the excess of Cocoon. Outside of this though, the story fails to entirely deliver on the promise it makes. We know that Cocoon has elements of a police state, that people like Cid resist it, and that its citizens support its crimes, yet it never feels like we get solid resolutions to these aspects of the world. I don't think answering all of these necessarily makes for a great story, however I don't think pinning them all on the influence of a Fal'cie does either. The main villain has plans that are greater than we know, but that also makes it hard to get attached to the main characters fight against him. The idea that defying fate is the only reason you need to fight is a good theme, yet I don't think that means it couldn't have been more as a whole.

Even if it falls short of being my favorite in such a stacked franchise, I want to reiterate that I think XIII still resonates quite well all around. It's hard to not be impressed by how bold this game is when it pays off in so many ways. I heard most of my life about what a disaster it is, and now it feels like that just speaks to what a tough time it was for JRPGs to get a fair shake. Rather than a fundamentally broken mess, it's a game that could have tapped into its potential even more. Yet what is there is still quite special in its own way, and for that I hope it manages to get more recognition some day.

This makes me feel very vindicated as a long time 3D World fan. Bursting with so many unique ideas, both in terms of gameplay and style, that show how few games can really come close to Mario at it's best in terms of creativity. I don't think every idea here reaches it's fullest potential but I appreciate how none of them really overstay their welcome. A lot of these levels definitely place more emphasis on these unique experiences and exploration as a whole over pure platforming, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I guess my main knock is that I expected a more complete package, not even necessarily longer just more to it. These mini-challenge levels with badges are fine in their own right but they feel like a concession to both pad the level count and give more straightforward platforming areas, yet come off a bit half-baked. I was also pretty surprised at how short the endgame was but it is done very well for what it is. I'm sure there will be either DLC or a sequel to this eventually which is fine. At worst, it's a really big step in the right direction for 2D Mario and the most exciting entry in quite some time.

I don't think the approach 999 takes with it's story is always perfect, but Uchikoshi still has such a deep understanding of mystery that it wraps up in a great way nonetheless. Cutting through all of the crazy stuff this game pulls, there's a sound theme about connection transcending both time and space that I think works well. I can't say I emotionally connected with it to the degree that I wanted to but it still is impressive nonetheless, especially when it manages to sell every aspect of it so well. Even then it still leaves a lot unanswered, which I can't really say is a good or bad thing for now but it leaves me excited for the sequel.

a game that feels severely less than the sum of its parts.

it's strange that i would feel this way about any game - games more often than not than any other piece of media are able to have fundamental flaws looked over because of how easily enjoyment can be gauged from just one aspect of the experience. whether this be the story, the gameplay loop, atmosphere, sound, or rewarding progression, it's of no surprise to anyone on this website that bloodborne excels at all of these individually.

with all of that being said, this game strangely fails to evoke any emotion from me at all. as well thought out a lot of the lovecraftian, gothic, and victorian horror ideas are to diversify the setting from prior fromsoftware games, i think this is hidetaka miyazaki's most lacking project as director to an abnormally strong degree.

i certainly wouldn't have felt this way at the start of my first playthrough. central yharnam as an introductory point is gorgeously realised and dense with captivating level design scenarios that provoke unique ways of thinking for any player regardless of their experience in the genre. this catalyst of engaging design also seamlessly allures the player to the game's subtle yet ultimately impactful slices of lore and rewards heavily in added emotional stakes for those who put in the effort to piece it together. this is capped off by two of the best initial boss encounters fromsoftware had created to that point - although i think it's been surpassed since within elden ring's opening hours, i am fully supportive in commending the opening of this game as one of the finest ways the medium has been utilised to immerse and appeal to players of any kind heading into it.

i cannot say this about the rest of the game. what followed from central yharnam felt like a shallow evolution of ideas and design that feels so intent on delivering a worldly counterpart to its small lore elements that i genuinely believe a better game could have been constructed without them.

i understand this is a confusing perspective but i'd want to justify this in probably the most understandable way first to anyone reading, i promise there's a cohesive point behind this. blood vials for example - wonderfully thought out, an idea of a healing mechanic completely in tone with the body horror elements of the game and a constant representation to the player of the negative to positive dichotomy blood holds in the lore. does this make for a better gameplay loop synonymous with the design though? absolutely not. it's ridiculous grinding for consumable healing was revisited after the initial stint with demons souls when estus flasks completely mitigated this design choice 4 years prior when dark souls was released.

odd yet understandable choices like these are at the heart of why this game fails to deliver as a project for me. the beast bosses are thematically and sonically excellent but suffer from all having the same move set because of their similarity and relation in the lore. the hunter bosses are a mechanically refreshing change of pace and encourage an aggressive style of play unlike any souls game before it but lack visual diversity or any genuinely engaging red herrings to their fights because of the lore. worst of all, the level design post central yharnam is for lack of a better word, uninteresting, to fit the condensed locale of the lore. not to be confused with underbaked, because i do believe the vision to create this world was achieved and delivered on an exceptional front to most players. however, a baffling lack of enemy variety, a weirdly intense focus on verticality and platforming, and the visual setpieces being compromised to the point of just being a different light filter because of the ps4's limited technology subverted what should have been immersive worldbuilding to me than little more than tedium. sometimes i'd find this tedium was occasionally broken up by the sudden thrill of an enemy standing by in the dark and a gatling gun positioned at you which was devastating for all the right reasons on my first encounter with them. in the 2nd half of the game these cheap jumpscare thrills exist in every room you explore and are never once implemented again in a different way.

but a lot of these viewpoints are overly sentimental and critical of the game in relation to its reception, especially when a lot of my favourite games are just as guilty of feeding the same gameplay encounters wrapped up in a slightly different visual package to you. what is the real loose end from this game that makes the various painstakingly crafted facets of this experience completely fall apart for me?

i don't like london :(

An excellent spiritual sequel to Jet Set Radio, I congratulate the game designers for getting right the style that makes Jet Set Radio famous.

Talking about the gameplay, it's very similar to JSR, but you don't have to use rollerblades, in fact you can also use BMX and even skateboards, although they all work the same way, I think that's a good thing, in the end it's like playing JSR.

For the music on the other hand I'm a bit disappointed, I had high hopes for the soundtrack of the game, just because they announced a collaboration with the amazing composer Hideki Naganuma, the historical composer of the JSR series, I thought Naganuma did the whole soundtrack, but in the end Naganuma only did 3 tracks for the game, I'm not saying that the rest of the songs aren't decent, there are some amazing bangers, like I Wanna Kno by 2 Mello.

Overall, the game has been built on the foundations laid by Jet Set Radio, creating a new fun experience.