figleafplays
1996
Charming art style. However this is a rhythm game that cant even stay on its own timing. Stage 5 and 6 are literally almost impossible to beat due to this. Game would be way better if they tightened it up.
more of a puzzle game with horror theming then the other way around. Wish there was more lore in the game but a nice snaky little experience otherwise.
2020
I've got to admit, this games combat was tedious as hell the closer it got to the end. The final boss is an effort in hair rending frustration. Good while it lasted and i really loved the characters (and neo pronouns! ) but i was wishing it was over due to the combat hours before I was done with it.
As nostalgic Gen 1 is, boy have we come a long way as far as QOL. Gen 1 is perfectly playable, just expect to encounter how its put together with spit and string in comparison to modern standards.
I can't say anything about A Space for the Unbound other then it's a masterclass in storytelling. One of the most compelling indie games I have played in a long time. Go in knowing nothing.
The fighting in this game is super rad. i just wish the menus worked. Its very frustrating to hop into a lobby and have to fight the game to have control of the avatar. Once you actually get to fighting this is one of the best and easiest to understand fighting games ive ever played. I enjoy it a lot.
2021
The fact that this version doesn't have the bonus dungeons that are in the ps1 and gba versions kinda sucks but its great otherwise.
ive decided recently that i really dont have time anymore for games that dont respect my time. I've tried to get into souls but I don't think i have it in me to also play the carbon copy ripoffs unless they do something unique that makes the game less punishing or provides a neat twist. Mortal Shells shell and harden mechanics do neither in my eyes.
2013
One of my favorite traditional RPGs of all time. the brave and default features really add a new sense of depth to the system that wouldnt be possible otherwise. I totally get peoples gripes with the story; feeling like you are circling the drain a bit as the game comes to a close doesnt feel good, but it never bothered me as much as it bothered others. Praying for Bravely Default and Bravely Second to get ports at some point.
Card system is interesting and its neat what they were able to do with such a low powered system to bring KH to handhelds for the first time. Nothing super to write home about. Infinitely more playable IMO then the 3d remake.
Honestly not as bad as ive heard that it was. the non-linearity of the story was sometimes confusing but I liked having a variety in the decision moments for once.
2020
A classic but getting to the point where its showing its age.
2023
At this point I consider myself a fairly avid Persona fan. Back in 2014 my friend told me about this great game Persona 3 FES and said I should buy and play it. After downloading it on my PS3 and giving it a shot, I had my gripes with it when I started out. By the time I was finished with it, I was completely hooked. I had previously dabbled in the SMT series in the PS2 era with such cult classics as SMT 3 Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga but up to that point I had somehow completely dodged the Persona subseries entirely. After playing and finishing Persona 3 I jumped right into trying to acquire a copy of Persona 4 Golden. The rest from there is history. Now after 3 full runs of each game under my belt, Atlus comes out with ports of Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden to modern consoles (finally)
Persona 3 Portable is the version of Persona 3 that I was least familiar with before this release. I did purchase P3P on the PS Vita store via the PSTV but I never got around to playing it. Having it available on the switch definitely opens up a whole new world. The decision to port Portable rather than the FES version of the game is a bit of a perplexing decision that has been discussed a lot since the announcement of the port.
Portable is the more recent port of the game and its QOL features over FES are noticeable and very helpful. Part of the appeal of the FES version of the game was just having control over your playable character during battles. In portable just like Golden, you have the option to take direct control over your party members. You have the option to still let the AI control them, but it allows more precision and less overall frustration by assuming direct control. You also can return to the top floor you have explored rather than just relying on checkpoints which is one of P3P’s best features over FES. P3P does not include the additional scenario “The Answer” which was included in the FES port, but is generally considered to be a weak additional campaign, which is all dungeon crawling with some essential features such as the persona compendium ripped out to make it artificially more difficult.
The graphics are slightly up-rezzed from the PSP version of the game, but saying the models look a little rough is an understatement. This is my biggest issue with them choosing this version over the FES version of the game. At least P4 Golden, having been a Vita game, has fairly decent graphics and doesn't look too terribly rough even in its native resolution. Portable having come from the PSP does not have that luxury. The models look like late PS1 era models that have been upscaled to have HD textures. While it looks fine, it would have looked better to just remake the models. Almost calling this port a remaster feels insulting with how little effort that appears to have been taken with the graphics.
As usual with most Atlus games, the gameplay is as stellar as usual with no big changes from the PSP version of the game. The game acts more like a visual novel rather then an open world when you are outside of Tartrus. This worked well on the psp due to limitations of the console, but just feels cheap on current hardware.
Overall the game is still excellent, just graphically could have used a better facelift then the AI overhaul that Atlus went for. The gameplay is still fantastic and I say that this game is still worth the pickup regardless of your experience with Persona 3 before this release.
This review was cross posted from: https://figleafgamingnetwork.wordpress.com/2023/02/24/persona-3-portable-switch-review/
Persona 3 Portable is the version of Persona 3 that I was least familiar with before this release. I did purchase P3P on the PS Vita store via the PSTV but I never got around to playing it. Having it available on the switch definitely opens up a whole new world. The decision to port Portable rather than the FES version of the game is a bit of a perplexing decision that has been discussed a lot since the announcement of the port.
Portable is the more recent port of the game and its QOL features over FES are noticeable and very helpful. Part of the appeal of the FES version of the game was just having control over your playable character during battles. In portable just like Golden, you have the option to take direct control over your party members. You have the option to still let the AI control them, but it allows more precision and less overall frustration by assuming direct control. You also can return to the top floor you have explored rather than just relying on checkpoints which is one of P3P’s best features over FES. P3P does not include the additional scenario “The Answer” which was included in the FES port, but is generally considered to be a weak additional campaign, which is all dungeon crawling with some essential features such as the persona compendium ripped out to make it artificially more difficult.
The graphics are slightly up-rezzed from the PSP version of the game, but saying the models look a little rough is an understatement. This is my biggest issue with them choosing this version over the FES version of the game. At least P4 Golden, having been a Vita game, has fairly decent graphics and doesn't look too terribly rough even in its native resolution. Portable having come from the PSP does not have that luxury. The models look like late PS1 era models that have been upscaled to have HD textures. While it looks fine, it would have looked better to just remake the models. Almost calling this port a remaster feels insulting with how little effort that appears to have been taken with the graphics.
As usual with most Atlus games, the gameplay is as stellar as usual with no big changes from the PSP version of the game. The game acts more like a visual novel rather then an open world when you are outside of Tartrus. This worked well on the psp due to limitations of the console, but just feels cheap on current hardware.
Overall the game is still excellent, just graphically could have used a better facelift then the AI overhaul that Atlus went for. The gameplay is still fantastic and I say that this game is still worth the pickup regardless of your experience with Persona 3 before this release.
This review was cross posted from: https://figleafgamingnetwork.wordpress.com/2023/02/24/persona-3-portable-switch-review/
You kinda get whats on the tin on this one. Its DDLC with a little bit more lore thrown around. The extra episodes were cute and it was nice to get some slice of life time with these characters and see them fleshed out a bit more. I have to comment about how silly hard it was to get all the achievements due to the instructions for unlocking everything to get to 100% completion on the journal being unclear at best, which lead to HOURS of digging around to try to figure out what I was missing. Just be warned if you are looking to experience everything.
at first this was a nice nostaglia trip to see what fire emblem grew from, but since it contains none of the qol the series has gained since then it was roooough to say the least. Id say play shadow dragon DS but ive heard even that versions not great either.