diginyourheels
2010
After finishing this game, I think it's safe to say that we need more Zelda inspired action RPGs about 9/11.
I'll come back to this game when the third remake is on the horizon, but I can't lie to myself and pretend the good outweighs the bad here. This is a game that is by all accounts made with reverence towards FFVII, one of my favorites. It absolutely feels like a celebration, and in some ways an elevation of the source material. My issues lie in just how much is sacrificed to make this worthy of the 60 dollar price tag. This should not be its own game. I've played for over 20 hours and maybe 10 of it is justifiable. The sidequests are ass, there's endless padding, and I'm unconvinced this game understands what made FFVII so special. At the very least, it fails to capture what was so special about FFVII to me. It is a modern triple A video game and I honestly can't think of a worse format for the story that is FFVII.
1998
Going into Xenogears, I knew 3 things. The first was that this game was supposed to be Final Fantasy VII, a game I played just a few months ago and became an instant favorite. The second is that due to a hard locked release schedule, the team didn't have enough time to properly "finish" Xenogears. The third is that it's basically just Evangelion.
I also felt it was fair to assume that this was gonna be a favorite. What I didn't assume was that this game would challenge the way I think about my relationships. At the age of 22, I didn't really think I would be able to have my worldview shifted by stories anymore. That was a thing for my teenage years. I get now this was a stupid thing to think.
I struggle to think about what I can even say about a classic like this that's unique or fresh. It's an old beloved RPG, everything that can be said about it has. So in order to talk about it I have to get vulnerable. Hi. My name is Mads. I have BPD.
The way being borderline has impacted my relationships is almost all internal. I seek validation, I want to belong, to have an impact on the people I love. Nothing I or they can do is able to convince me of that. I feel incomplete. Consequently, I feel my relationships are hollow because of me. I'm not able to get as intimate as I'd want to. I'm not able to ask for a shoulder to lean on. It feels selfish. It feels undeserved.
There's a scene about a third into this game that hammered home just how much this game made me feel seen. Without going into specifics, it involves 2 of the main cast members talking about how incomplete they feel. One describes their acts of kindness as a selfish act because they don't feel they belong, and all they hope to get out of that kindness is a place to be. The other validates that it's ok to act kindly out of selfishness. Eventually, in trying to fill yourself up, you'll complete yourself with the lives of those around you.
Another scene in disc 2, which was a flashback regarding the history of one of the main characters and explaining why they are the way they are, filled me with an intense urge to call my abusive mom and say "I'm sorry." I can't explain that. I have nothing to be sorry for. It's not my fault she treats me the way she does. I don't know what else to do besides talk about it, because god knows I have no interest in following through on that.
As far as this game not being finished goes, well, I don't think it's fair to call it that. It's a front to back story. It covers all the beats it needs to in order to function. Sure it's not fully realized, but I think it's okay to not be whole.
I also felt it was fair to assume that this was gonna be a favorite. What I didn't assume was that this game would challenge the way I think about my relationships. At the age of 22, I didn't really think I would be able to have my worldview shifted by stories anymore. That was a thing for my teenage years. I get now this was a stupid thing to think.
I struggle to think about what I can even say about a classic like this that's unique or fresh. It's an old beloved RPG, everything that can be said about it has. So in order to talk about it I have to get vulnerable. Hi. My name is Mads. I have BPD.
The way being borderline has impacted my relationships is almost all internal. I seek validation, I want to belong, to have an impact on the people I love. Nothing I or they can do is able to convince me of that. I feel incomplete. Consequently, I feel my relationships are hollow because of me. I'm not able to get as intimate as I'd want to. I'm not able to ask for a shoulder to lean on. It feels selfish. It feels undeserved.
There's a scene about a third into this game that hammered home just how much this game made me feel seen. Without going into specifics, it involves 2 of the main cast members talking about how incomplete they feel. One describes their acts of kindness as a selfish act because they don't feel they belong, and all they hope to get out of that kindness is a place to be. The other validates that it's ok to act kindly out of selfishness. Eventually, in trying to fill yourself up, you'll complete yourself with the lives of those around you.
Another scene in disc 2, which was a flashback regarding the history of one of the main characters and explaining why they are the way they are, filled me with an intense urge to call my abusive mom and say "I'm sorry." I can't explain that. I have nothing to be sorry for. It's not my fault she treats me the way she does. I don't know what else to do besides talk about it, because god knows I have no interest in following through on that.
As far as this game not being finished goes, well, I don't think it's fair to call it that. It's a front to back story. It covers all the beats it needs to in order to function. Sure it's not fully realized, but I think it's okay to not be whole.
2003
as soon as this game ended i went online and enlisted in the US army. no child will ever suffer like this again on my watch
Briefly made me question whether what I even liked about OG FF7 was even there and intentional in the first place before I remembered that these are the same people that turned Barrett into a an oil baron and now I'm just a little bit bitter that the FF7 compilation past OG has been as rough as it is. Praying Remake saves me.
Gege Akutami presents Kingdom Hearts
The genius of the hole: no matter how long you spend climbing out, you can still fall back down in an instant.
2001
a bit closer to heaven...
Dude it's so cool how the farewell to the action identity of Like a Dragon did double duty as an in universe reconciliation for all of Kiryu's mistakes and a proper goodbye to the dream that has been at the center of the series since 2005.
The antagonist of Gaiden feels like an insert for a certain brand of Yakuza fans. Clinging desperately onto the legacy of a man they don't truly get, buying into the series's romanticization of the yakuza, and it doesn't actively shame that fan.
Obviously it criticizes the viewpoint to an extent but it also feels like it recognizes that this is the franchise's own fault. The logical endpoint of being actual yakuza PR for a decade is people being sold on it and its so cool to have a game that recognizes that earnestly.
(just copied a thread i wrote on twitter bc i felt it encapsulated what i loved so much about this entry into the yakuza canon mb)
The antagonist of Gaiden feels like an insert for a certain brand of Yakuza fans. Clinging desperately onto the legacy of a man they don't truly get, buying into the series's romanticization of the yakuza, and it doesn't actively shame that fan.
Obviously it criticizes the viewpoint to an extent but it also feels like it recognizes that this is the franchise's own fault. The logical endpoint of being actual yakuza PR for a decade is people being sold on it and its so cool to have a game that recognizes that earnestly.
(just copied a thread i wrote on twitter bc i felt it encapsulated what i loved so much about this entry into the yakuza canon mb)
2015
i like when you do miguel's back 3 and he says woohoo
god dude they really made his ass SO BIG it's WILD
2021
i could do a creative and/or original review but honestly
UNWAVERING BELIEF
UNWAVERING BELIEF
2018
held by back heterosexuality
ryo aoki is babygirl-core
This review contains spoilers
imagine a dragon sitting in a bar with just him and the mama. a man comes bursting through the door, enraged, possibly drunk. the dragon's dealt with this man before. and by god is he tired of him. and yet, he still steps out. he still beats him in a fair one on one fight on the man's terms.
the dragon sees dealing with ruffians unimportant. he returns to the bar. he returns to a child in his care that was just out of shot.
therein is the core of yakuza, summed up neatly in the cold open to what might be the most introspective and heartfelt game ever written.
yakuza 6: the song of life is the lest leg in kiryu's long, overwhelming, and tumultuous journey. it sees the dragon of dojima forced to reconcile with a world that's moved past him. the yakuza life is no longer what it once was. the little honor left in the world went away with the imprisonment of daigo, saejima, and kiryu. the new blood doesn't see things the way our old guard does. it's turned into a business of pencil pushing and number crunching.
fate has been overturned. the yakuza have found the exact balance they needed to stay afloat without meaningful risk or meaningful change. they are, after all, criminals first. but that's not to say these criminals are all without heart.
takumi someya is probably the most fascinating bit of this game. sporting no tattoo, his back is barren. his fate has yet to be written. or maybe he was never destined for anything.
time and time again, kiryu puts himself in the way of someya doing anything with his life. someya's bloodstained philosophy is one kiryu, no, the dragon of dojima stands to reject. it works directly counter to every last thing the dragon wants to leave behind. this isn't aizawa. this isn't daigo. this certainly isn't mine. no, someya's very existence within the tojo contradicts everything our dragon stood for.
so if takumi someya's existence in the tojo stands in contradiction to kiryu, and takumi someya is also not a criminal without a heart, then where does takumi someya belong?
well, someya IS kiryu. at least, their journies are paralleled. someya was never destined to be a criminal. he was meant to be a loving husband and a great father. his back is bare because his fate wasn't with the yakuza. but his life in the yakuza worked against his life with his family. the two couldn't truly coexist.
the dragon of dojima is against the tojo, which is why takumi someya's existence in the yakuza is against the whims of the dragon.
there's a lot more to say about this genuinely unbelievable game but to leave this rambly mess on some kind of note i'll say this.
i think takumi someya is really really hot
the dragon sees dealing with ruffians unimportant. he returns to the bar. he returns to a child in his care that was just out of shot.
therein is the core of yakuza, summed up neatly in the cold open to what might be the most introspective and heartfelt game ever written.
yakuza 6: the song of life is the lest leg in kiryu's long, overwhelming, and tumultuous journey. it sees the dragon of dojima forced to reconcile with a world that's moved past him. the yakuza life is no longer what it once was. the little honor left in the world went away with the imprisonment of daigo, saejima, and kiryu. the new blood doesn't see things the way our old guard does. it's turned into a business of pencil pushing and number crunching.
fate has been overturned. the yakuza have found the exact balance they needed to stay afloat without meaningful risk or meaningful change. they are, after all, criminals first. but that's not to say these criminals are all without heart.
takumi someya is probably the most fascinating bit of this game. sporting no tattoo, his back is barren. his fate has yet to be written. or maybe he was never destined for anything.
time and time again, kiryu puts himself in the way of someya doing anything with his life. someya's bloodstained philosophy is one kiryu, no, the dragon of dojima stands to reject. it works directly counter to every last thing the dragon wants to leave behind. this isn't aizawa. this isn't daigo. this certainly isn't mine. no, someya's very existence within the tojo contradicts everything our dragon stood for.
so if takumi someya's existence in the tojo stands in contradiction to kiryu, and takumi someya is also not a criminal without a heart, then where does takumi someya belong?
well, someya IS kiryu. at least, their journies are paralleled. someya was never destined to be a criminal. he was meant to be a loving husband and a great father. his back is bare because his fate wasn't with the yakuza. but his life in the yakuza worked against his life with his family. the two couldn't truly coexist.
the dragon of dojima is against the tojo, which is why takumi someya's existence in the yakuza is against the whims of the dragon.
there's a lot more to say about this genuinely unbelievable game but to leave this rambly mess on some kind of note i'll say this.
i think takumi someya is really really hot