falsenine
The legendary VN that took a decade and some change to make it to gaijin hands. Strong world-building and many likable characters but sadly it's a bit of a juvenile edgefest at its worst and lacks a properly structured narrative or even antagonists that scratch the surface of being remotely decent. The themes of Muramasa, while compelling, dominate the entire work to the point where it not only shoves them down the player's throat rather than relying on nuance, but also to where it has little else to stand on, aside from them. It could have been something great, but the execution just wasn't there.
Features some of the best character writing in not only the Sky trilogy but the entire Kiseki series and ties up all the loose ends from the first 2 games while serving as a victory lap for the Liberl arc's amazing cast. Sadly it's held back pretty massively by the fact that it's a completely linear game in terms of both progression and its narrative, the latter of which is just mostly a long form version of Kevin's character arc. A good game but sadly it's not the proper RPG it deserved to be.
The best JRPG ever. It's something spawned out of wish fulfillment that feels like we honestly shouldn't have it in our hands. it's a game that can only exist as a culmination of everything before it, the swan song of the JRPG Golden Age of the 1990s and early 00s. A work created out of pure passion by a struggling company that had fallen behind the times and was developing for a dying platform. Even with the first 4 chapters of the game being slow-paced and full of retreading environments from FC, it is still the best JRPG, and one of the best video games ever made. Everything introduced in FC is resolved in SC in the most impactful, poignant way possible. It's a work of pure passion, created by RPG fanatics themselves and no doubt something that would spawn new ones, even in the west where it is being praised en masse decades after its original release. Game of the year all years.
Comfykino that leads up to a legendary game. Everything in here is so meticulously crafted that it's hard to knock it, even if a lot of the action is backloaded into the later chapters of the game. Even when I was doing absolutely nothing in Rolent I enjoyed it.
1999
Really, it's a bit overhated. It's a game that shot for the moon and missed, yet managed to land among the stars. Could have been something greater, maybe even one of the great-est, but what we got is still enjoyable. Squall+Rinoa are great but at the same time take up way too much of the narrative. Could really use a revisit.
Played 1+2 but separating them since they're two games.
It's actually a cute proof of concept and takes a certain amount of bravery to make something like this in an age of very by-the-books RPGs. Marlone is a lovable protagonist and everything in the game is straightforward. I feel some of its beauty is in its simplicity, which has been lost in later Atelier games.
It's actually a cute proof of concept and takes a certain amount of bravery to make something like this in an age of very by-the-books RPGs. Marlone is a lovable protagonist and everything in the game is straightforward. I feel some of its beauty is in its simplicity, which has been lost in later Atelier games.
1998
RIOU AND JOWY. JOWSTON AND HIGHLAND. A great shounen-style adventure that expands on the original Suikoden to make a proper, full-fledged game. Heavily engaging game that's hard not to like, and features an excellent villain in Luca Blight.
The conclusion of Nash's story in Suikogaiden is a lot more compelling than the first, and begins to set the stage for Suikoden 3 as it properly introduces the intriguing Holy Kingdom of Harmonia and the many systems that make it up. It's a short game with a pretty straight shot for a plot, but it really solidified Nash as a top-tier character in a series with so many of them.
The boy Nash Latkje gets his own adventure! Sadly it features few real ADV-game mechanics such as player choice and the narrative itself doesn't get going until the second game. At least it's pretty short and can be knocked out quickly.
1995
A game that's above all else, a premise to Murayama's Suikoden series, yet sadly doesn't do as much to draw people in as its sequel. It's a neat proof of concept that's fun on a basic level, but it tends to lack depth outside of its novel "108 heroes" mechanic. Also a FANTASTIC showcase of why not to write a silent protagonist.
1998
Unfortunately it really isn't good. It lacks narrative clarity and tends to try and make up for that by making allusions to certain philosophical concepts, but the result of this crutch is a final product that's unsatisfying and puddle-deep. Gameplay ranges from alright to disastrous and there are around 3 or 4 dungeons in this game that are among the worst in any RPG, to say nothing of the heavily-hamstrung Disc 2.
1999
The best bad game I have ever played. Narratively it becomes a mess of sludge in the second disc but the world design and everything about Disc 1 is so compelling. I can't really neg it even though it becomes a trainwreck because the majority of it really is quite good in terms of graphics, OST, dungeon design and the plot's rising action. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun even if it ends weakly.
1998
Super cool game with a cute graphical style and an addictive battle system. Wolf Team absolutely had something big on their hands when they developed this game and the success of the Tales Of series really shows. It does a lot more legwork than many of its contemporaries from a narrative POV, possibly owing to the fact that it was adapted from a developer's idea for a novel.
There was a point when Tactical RPGs were a hard sell for me, but FFT turned out to be the perfect antidote. The inclusion of the job system in the game is one of the greatest strokes of genius in game design and carries the game into top-tier category. The world and narrative are excellent (though sadly some of the characters themselves could have been more compelling) and makes for an immersive low-fantasy epic. Not many games hit the right notes like FFT does.
2000
The legendary game that was built on a foundation of a decade+ of its predecessors. Hironobu Sakaguchi's life's work was Final Fantasy itself, but among those games, this is the finest one. Final Fantasy IX is what turned me from a player whose interest had been piqued by the series into a full-blown JRPG fanatic. It hits every beat, it sets up expectations while never boring the player, and yet subverts them spectacularly anyways. Zidane and Garnet. Vivi, Steiner. Kuja. It's all so good. Truly the crown jewel of Squaresoft's catalog. Good luck topping this one, lads.