One of the most disappointing games I've played in a while.

Every area is either a series of hallways or just plain tiny. Exploration is almost non-existent.

Quests make the game drag. You can tell the devs are too used to working on MMOs, cause this is fetch quest galore. They really made a character named Mid who sends you on a mandatory hour long fetch quest.

The game is only about 30 hours long yet 17 hours are cutscenes, and many of which add little to the story. The writing itself is nothing to write home about, either. The ending in particular is comedically bad.

The boss fights and combat are the one thing the game does right. It can be fun, but only when the game actually lets you play it.

30/100

Stranger of Paradise is actually kino, plain and simple. Don't let all of the memes fool you, this game does so much right. The plot is okay, and maybe even a little predictable at times, but it serves its purpose in regards to FF1's story. The real treasure here lies in the gameplay, music, and aesthetic. Many times the game will feel like a cheesy classic action film, much to its benefit, as you gameplay is exactly that. While you might initially think this is either a hack n' slash, or a soulsborne kind of game, it's actually neither. Stranger of Paradise's job system adds a much needed layer of depth as your playstyle will depend upon it, while also requiring you to master timing blocks well. I would give this a full 5/5 if the budget was slightly higher and it looked a bit more polished, but it's overall an excellent game and an enjoyable one to master/platinum.

Just got the platinum on this game and wow I'm disappointed. Might as well call this series Camidgula Effect because everything about this game is mediocre at best. With the depth of a seasonal anime every character feels like they have one or two quirks and that's their entire character, the plot is way too similar to 1 and feels like a rehash at times, the combat can be neat but is way too slow, dialogue is awkward, and even the OST is worse than the first game. Do not play this game unless you're a masochist who enjoys awfully dull games.

Legend of Dragoon is a game very near to my heart. While the game has many pitfalls, like the bad translation for us westerners or the bad invetory system, the game excels at having an excellent plot, extreme amounts of worldbuildinf and lore, a battle system that constantly makes you feel like you're improving and a badass, an OST where almost every song slaps, and lastly one of my favorite aesthetics of all time. LoD has a similar style to many PS1 era JRPGs, with the way backgrounds are handled and how janky models look, but it feels like it absolutely masters it in a way alike to how Chrono Cross did. The intro to this game, and especially when Dart enters his village, is perhaps my favorite opening to any game. Absolutely give this game a shot if you enjoy classic JRPGs, you likely won't regret it.

Soulless, an unnecessary sequel to Earthbound with even more sad attempts at quirky humor. While Earthbound improved the gameplay of Mother 1 but had worse writing, Mother 3 is a step backwards in both regards. Sure the combat is fun sometimes, but I feel it's not worth dealing with the cringe inducing attempt at comedy. Also wannabe intellectuals will tell you this game is some deep message about capitalism and politics but it's really just juvenile drivel about greed in general. This game's not worth it unless you're dead set on playing all 3 games.

Kino, XC2 is the second best game in the franchise, only beaten by Xenogears. What makes XC2 so good are its character-driven plot, its addictive soundtrack, its top notch world and worldbuilding and its battle system. However it should be noted that the game is held back by a needless gacha system and some pretty awful character designs, which hold it back from reaching the level of perfection that Xenogears accomplished. These are minor criticisms though as the gacha can be ignored and the truly awful character designs are found in that system. I recommend this game to any JRPG fans with a Switch.