I finally got around to this after the announcement that is leaving Playstation Plus shortly.

I think Stray is a good game that sticks out because of two elements; the purr-tagonist and the design of the world. It's genuinely fun to explore because the setting is so interesting. I think without this element then the catch of playing as a cute cat would get old really quick. I also think the game is at a very appropriate length for what it is.

I don't think it is completely engaging on a gameplay level but provides you with enough to stay invested from beginning to end and it is absolutely worth a play, especially if you have PS Plus.

Platinum trophy # 133
Platinum #9 of 2023

This really isn't a bad game. Not at all. In fact, I'd argue it's pretty fun. But there's a reason I don't often go for games like this and this was a stark reminder. Crash Team Rumble was fun for a few hours once I realized that it's all that the game is, I lost interest to keep playing. And that's probably just a 'me' problem. It's very rare that a multiplayer loop has keep me engaged for a long time (Halo being a notable exception). Even with the different playable characters and maps, it just kind of felt like I had seen most of what this game has to offer and I don't really think I'll go back to it.

But it's really not bad! If this is your thing I'm sure you'll have a great time. I just think other Crash games are much more re-playable and this one probably needs that the most.

So I 'beat' this game after playing it for a few days but fill disclosure, I only played through it once and the game wants you to play through it again to fully experience it. So my thoughts on this game do not represent a thorough experience with it but I played it for enough time to have some thoughts.

I liked it! The basic mechanics are fun. It's incredibly Castlevania inspired if you couldn't tell. I liked playing as Shinobu a lot because having a gun in a game like this is a fun way to spice up the formula. I like the art, particularly with some of the bosses. It's a shorter game that helped get me out of a month-long gaming hiatus and a good time killer until Final Fantasy XVI comes out.

The map system is a little pointlessly archaic. You can only view it when you engage with fast travel and you can only fast travel at the beginning of each stage, which was a bummer. I have to be honest, I wasn't really inspired to go completionist with this one. I did not use a guide and I missed every secret area in every level. Oops!

Overall a good time with some flaws that I wouldn't completely recommend but I also wouldn't advise against!

I'm not going to go on and on about why Final Fantasy IV is one of my favorite games of all time (2nd to be exact, see my note on my Top 100 Favorites Games List). This game means so much to me, and pixel remaster is a wonderful way for you to jump in. My recommendations for you, fix the font to classic (this should be done for all the titles) and set the soundtrack to original instead of arrangement (I'd recommend arrangement for 1-3 but please please experience this GOAT soundtrack in its original form). From there, just get lost in the story and the characters and the world and everything that comes with it. This game lived endlessly in my imagination when I was a kid. This showed me what video games can be.

Platinum trophy #132
Platinum #8 of 2023

Great game! Easily the best of the pre-SNES Final Fantasy titles. This one took me a bit by surprise, I was expecting something good but this game is really solid and could potentially have reached classic status were it not for 4 and 6 being even better. This has a story on par with its predecessor but filters out a lot of the poorly aged or downright annoying mechanics. Instead this introduces the highly customizable Job system that we'll later see again in Final Fantasy V, and introduces other staples like summons and moogles. All in all a very important game in the franchise.

Of course most Final Fantasy titles features airships, but this one has a neat mechanic where you go underwater as well and can explore some locations. This also feels like the first one so far to really introduce side dungeons, completely optional content. Combat is also very fun and an improvement on both of its predecessors.

All in all if you're looking for a classic Final Fantasy experience I wouldn't skip this one. Onto the next one!

Platinum trophy #131
Platinum #7 of 2023

There's a lot of things I like about Final Fantasy II but they won't really outweigh the frustrating parts. The game's story is pretty decent, a definite step up from the first one. It introduces having the protagonists be actual characters rather than just blank slates. The learning system is...interesting. I could see why they thought it would be an alright design decision back in the NES days but its not something that holds up at all. The leveling is easily my least favorite in the entire series so far. I'm really not sure why it is the way it is but it helps give the game an identity.

I still liked it but I don't see this as a FF title I'll revisit any time soon.

Platinum Trophy #130
Platinum #6 of 2023

It's a little tough to completely judge this version of the game due to its stark differences to the original version, in regards to both its visuals and its quality of life elements. I would imagine this version is a lot better than the original, thus making it harder to go back to.

As it stands, its a very good game, obviously having laid the foundation for the definitive JRPG series. I enjoyed my time with it quite a bit but I know that after a certain point, the franchise only gets better from here. So when comparing to the likes of 4 and 6 and beyond, it pales a bit in comparison especially when there really isn't a focus on narrative.

Still it was a lot of fun to play this with much better graphics and settings. Onto Final Fantasy II!

Platinum Trophy #129
Platinum #5 of 2023

I enjoyed my time with this cute little game. It has really nice pixel art, some cool characters, an interesting story and there are many cats and other animals you can pet along the way. What's not to like? It's basically an adventure game, with puzzles and QTE events to progress throughout the game. It has cool environments and a lot of charm. If it sounds like you'd be into this game, then I recommend it.

Side note, this is the third game in the past few months that I've missed out on the platinum trophy because I missed a stupid collectible. I follow guides but somehow I end up missing something cuz I am a dummy. It's all starting to make me feel jaded on trophies in general.

Anyhow, fun game!

(EDIT: I went back and played through a second time and got the platinum. I was almost defeated but NOT THIS TIME. ^_^)

Platinum Trophy #127
Platinum #3 of 2023

I think this would be a perfect 3.75 rating, but for the sake of my experience with this game I decided to scale down with my rating instead of up.

I did enjoy my time with Like a Dragon: Ishin, but to varying degrees throughout my time with it. I think for the first half or so I thought it was great, with a compelling story and setting and themes within. Like other entries in this series I played, I loved a lot of the side tasks (although the quests were mostly just fine). I liked the new environment and time period this was set in because it felt like fresh territory in the series.

The combat is fine. It allows for variation with different styles and weapons but more often than not I stuck with the same one (swordsman) while occasionally messing with brawler. Boss fights can be fun, but aren't always, and the random enemy encounters really become grating after a while. Some of my favorite games of all time have random battles but for some reason here I would roll my eyes or groan whenever one popped up, especially in my last 5-10 hours with the game.

The narrative I felt became more uninteresting as it unfolded, as I found that I checked out probably around chapter 5 or 6 or so. I can't exactly pinpoint why I stopped being into it. It just wasn't grabbing me I suppose.

A major reason this got bumped down half a star is because of some design decisions I found frustrating, particularly near the end. I won't spoil anything, but there's basically a point of no return (like there is with a lot of games) as you gear up for the final boss. So I utilized the warning and went to go find a vendor that sells Deluxe Vitality Pills so I can stock up and be prepared, only the vendor wasn't there. Welp. That was annoying. So, the final part of the game I would willingly let myself die if certain battles weren't going well, so I could regain my health and start over in hopes that I can manage it next time around, knowing that I must save what little items I have left for an inevitable, tough final boss.

Anyways overall I'd say its worth playing especially if you're a fan of the series, but I wouldn't consider it anywhere near my favorite of the series.

Just absolutely excellent.

I always had a bit of a complicated relationship with Resident Evil 4. I still think it's a great game, but it was a turning point in a series I really loved that was for the worse. A heavier emphasis on action was introduced here and Capcom took that ball and ran with it in future titles and I always blamed RE4 for being a negative catalyst.

To put it very simply, this is better in every way than its original because it's just so fun to play. Capcom has something really special with the RE engine and with the direction they've taken this series lately. There's a good amount of weapon variety and with this game being so focused on action, it makes you feel powerful and like you have choice in your encounters.

I like the story and the characters . I'm a Leon guy (I still love you Jill) and in particular I liked what they did with Luis. I remember in the original being really annoyed with Salazar and thinking he's a bit lame, but I thought he was a little better here.

Really though the highlight for me is the moment to moment gameplay. It's just constantly a ton of fun, a little scary and a little strategic. I do think Leon's movement could be a little improved, but it's more or less the same argument someone would have against tank controls in the original. They're not the most intuitive but they invoke challenge and suspense. His movement is a bit slow, and you can only really evade on QTE prompts and I suppose I would've liked a little more control over him, but I got by fine with what we had.

Overall, I still think RE2 is the best of the series but that's just my personal opinion. However this remake succeeded in making me a bigger fan of RE4 in general, and has helped me in understanding the degree of reverence it has.

As I do with games that I pick up and drop shortly after, I'm not gonna rate this because I didn't see enough of the game to give it any kind of fair rating.

But this is just not for me. Souls-like as a genre is not for me. I wish it was, because they are just massive right now. You boot one up, create a character, get dropped into a world and get destroyed. I just lose my patience with these games very quickly. I'm not curious enough to learn the mechanics. I'm not curious enough to explore these worlds. These games don't represent why I like games and why I play.

This is extra disappointing for me because I quite liked the demo. I like that it isn't as slow, heavy and trudging as a From Software title. I like that it has a jump button! But that's about it.

After the incredible drop that was this and Wild Arms 2 on Playstation Plus Premium with trophy support it was a tough call which one to go with first, but ultimately I went with The Legend of Dragoon and I was not disappointed. This was my first time playing it and I really enjoyed it.

This had its hooks in me pretty much from the beginning, though I must admit the dialog took a little bit to get used to. The English translation here is not highly regarded and I understand why. Nearly every line ends with two exclamation points (!!) and some of the lines are a bit ridiculous. But part of this game's charm is it is unrelentingly a JRPG. I know that term has been a hot topic as of late, but I mean it in the most endearing way possible. This checks all the boxes of JRPG greats and does it with love.

As far as the narrative goes, for the most part I was into it, but towards the end I did kind of start to trail off. Overall I did still enjoy it though. It was cliche in the right ways. I enjoyed the characters, and the journey they went on. My only knock is that Shana is a pretty terrible character. Her emotional arc is paper thin, and she's hardly a person outside of her connection with Dart. However it's a complaint I can set aside when it comes to my enjoyment of the game.

The combat system is a lot of fun. I will say that I'm glad I had a rewind feature for this because I missed a lot of the button prompts that come with attacking, so it was great to go back and do it until I got it right. I like the dragoon mechanic but I do wish there was a way to switch back and forth from it so long as you had enough SP, because once you turn into a dragoon you're locked into it until you run out of SP, and you can't use items while you're in it. Aside from that frustration I still had a great time with the combat system. I'm glad that in today's day and age, turn based RPGs still do well. I know some people aren't a fan of it but when a game like this does it well, it's just so much fun.

Another frustration of mine was I felt that the amount of items you could carry was too low. Maybe I'm alone in that, but I was constantly having to manage my inventory and sell off or discard items just so I could have a comfortable amount of healing and reviving items. I made it work, though.

Overall if you like JRPGs this one is absolutely worth playing. It has a banging soundtrack, cool and interesting environments, fun characters, a good story and combat system. You can't go wrong!

Platinum Trophy #126
Platinum #2 of 2023

Wow this was hard. Full disclosure, I completed this on SNES via Nintendo Switch and I’m not sure how I would’ve done it without the rewind feature!

Overall I’m glad I saw this through because the platforming is fun. I remember watching gameplay of Donkey Kong Country 2 at a neighbor kid’s house a long, long time ago and remember thinking it looked so cool. I’m looking forward to getting to that one.

Overall I enjoyed my time with this one and there’s not too much to be said other than I didn’t quite love it though I appreciate it for what it is.

In its structure, this is very Mega Man inspired, and that's a good thing. I was able to complete this in just a couple of hours. You complete a level, defeat a boss and then select what level you'd like to go to next, all while acquiring power-ups called chips that you can equip to enhance the gameplay.

First and foremost it feels fun to play, even if I wasn't completely good at it. I think its action is a bit better than its platforming, which was probably the most challenging aspect for me. Then again I'm sure I suck, so what do I know. The art and the style really shine here. The game has gorgeous pixel art, with its environments and enemies and in that regard was a joy to play.

Although this is similar Iength to a Mega Man title, I felt this could've been a little longer. I also think the dialogue between the characters could have been a little better, but I liked the story, I like the vibe. I think it could've been great but instead its just very good and definitely worth playing!