I've tried on a few occasions in the past to play through this, though each has been well after the the game's original release. This was my furthest effort so far, and I got near the halfway mark before I finally gave up.

It's a little frustrating reviewing this, because there is so much to like. The game is gorgeous; it has aged incredibly well thanks to the art style, which makes fantastic use of Yoshida's concept and character artwork. The score is another strong element, as is the story and localization. The script is frankly a wonder for a game of its time, when localizations were still often rushed and threadbare. You can tell that genuine care went into it, and the story deserves it; the characters are interesting, and the political/religious web of intrigue is compelling.

But the gameplay. I don't doubt that at a younger age, I would've had more patience to navigate the game's obtuse and granular combat system, exacerbated by the cumbersome menus you have to navigate on a constant basis. It took some effort to overcome one of the numerous walls in the game, spending several minutes sorting through a half dozen weapons one by one, looking for the one with the right array of parameters to deal more than a single point of damage against an enemy at hand. Eventually it was just exhausting, especially when little more than bad luck found me without such a weapon, and even more particularly when trying to navigate maps where said enemies respawn, hamstringing me in the throes of being hopelessly lost.

I think some of the elements of the combat design are very cool and interesting, and some amount of streamlining might've really clicked for me, but as is I just grew tired of it, and found myself trying to simply run past whatever fights I could, its own exercise in frustration. I simply wasn't having fun at a point, and I had to call it.

But I did immediately go to YouTube and find a cutscene compilation so that I could experience the rest of the story, visuals, and soundtrack. I can't give the game a bad rating in light of that, but I also just can't say I love the game like I wish that I could.

On a purely audio/visual level, this does represent a nice upgrade from the previous game, Path of Radiance. The maps have more detail, as do the combat models and animations. The cutscenes for both games look nice, but the audio is of far higher quality this time around, the voice overs stronger and more audible, plus the addition of subtitles for the cutscenes was welcome.

Mechanically, its a lot more of the same, with a few changes that are a little more nuanced. The support mechanic has been changed to a selectable one to one system, with more generic support dialogue, which feels like a step back and easy to neglect. The cast of characters is also enormous, with returnees from the previous game, alongside a whole new cast. The abilities of these characters varies so wildly that it's kind of embarrassing. Notably, the "Dawn Brigade" cast is very lacking, and can make portions of the game very tedious. I found quite a few maps to be more annoying than challenging, between this and enemy placement, spawn rate, and other small scale mechanics.

Which leads into one of the more interesting and potentially frustrating topics, the game's difficulty overall. I would say in general the game is already largely more challenging at a base, but I only learned after starting about the strange decision to increase the difficulty of the NA version of the game, making that version's Easy mode equal to the JP Normal mode, and thus the NA Normal lines up with the JP Hard. So going from Path of Radiance on Normal to this represents a far larger spike than expected. Something to bear in mind, if you're not looking for the kind of experience that demands you meticulously plan every single move.

Plot wise, I did appreciate all the rich details, resolving mysteries from the first game, making deep connections among the huge cast and the setting's history. There are some questionable bits regarding one of the core romances (though it's not huge part of the plot) and due to the huge scale of everything, there are still some things that fall through the cracks; conflicts that never really get fully resolved, instead being shunted aside due to the accumulation of other events. I would've liked to have seen some characters legitimately discuss their actions to smooth out how exactly they were coming to terms with each other, instead of just hand waving it.

So while I wouldn't say this is a big step back from Path of Radiance by any means, and it should appeal to fans of that game and the series in general, for me it was just slightly less enjoyable overall.

After thereabouts of 200 hours and having picked up the platinum trophy, I finally feel comfortable in saying I've "played" Elden Ring. What could I say in a review that hasn't already been said in all the hype around this release?

As a fan of Fromsoft over the last decade, it was everything I wanted and more. Sure it has some hiccups and issues, but those are thoroughly overwhelmed by the scope and scale of everything else. I just know I'll be replaying this again regularly for years to come.

A great tactical JRPG; the combat system had tons of depth, but also felt streamlined and easy to get into thanks to the way the classes and equipment were narrowed down. Love the art direction, and the soundtrack is strong too.

It was nice that the social elements of the game felt important as well, looking for clues to unlock more dialogue options to better gain control in the various key decision points. While I didn't get the "best" ending on my first playthrough, I was happy enough with the outcome, and it looks as though the NG+ is fairly robust. After about 45 hours or so, I feel content enough to set this aside for now, but maybe I'll swing back through and gun for that ending another time.

There were certainly some pains adjusting to this right after playing Elden Ring, but I got there eventually. I spent a lot of time with the original game on PS3, and returning to it was charming in a lot of ways. This review is more about the remake particularly than the game as a whole though.

It looks stunning, to say the least. Immensely detailed and fleshed out. That said, I do think a lot of the game's atmosphere has been diluted with choices made here, the look of certain enemies veer into "gross" territory more often than not, rather than the unsettling and uncanny of the original designs. The remastered score is also a mixed bag for me personally. The music isn't bad in a vacuum, but again dramatically alters the tone of some encounters, and fails to capture the same emotional core.

That said, there are some basic quality of life updates and additions that are always welcome, so my experience with the game was pleasant enough. Obviously this adds a level of accessibility to the game that will bring it to many players for the first time, which is great, and it's a totally respectable way to access the game. But I can't deny that the ultimate vision and art direction sets this slightly lower than the original game for me personally.

Once upon a time I'd have had more patience for this. It has a cute aesthetic, and the airship-centric world building is interesting. But wow is it slooooooowwww. Walking around, combat, airship combat especially. Everything takes forever, and from my experience the mechanics and story were mostly pretty standard fare. Not bad, but far from engaging enough for me to be interested in enduring the pacing. I can tell it's a fine game overall, so I won't give it a bad rating, but I'm just not that fond of it.

Admirable for its open ended structure and deep mechanics. I liked the main character sprite work, and Ito's score has some great moments. But this was a painfully obtuse experience overall, with little discernible direction. The battle counter timing system means locking yourself out of certain events (even potentially soft locking the game's ending), which really made me feel I'd regrettably wasted my time getting lost; despite the game kind of being designed for it.

I think by and large it's just mired in the amount of systems as well; there are so many little things going on, from the large party size and positioning system (which is just as often randomized in battle anyway, despite whatever game plan you thought you had), to the various weapon and spell skill systems you need to manage (whose resource pools are semi-hidden). It was a hell of a thing to pack so much into a game in this era, and I can see where it could be good for experimenting and testing the boundaries of, but I don't have the patience for it the way I might've as a kid, when game options were far more limited.

One of the major entries I never got around to due to not having a GameCube growing up. The 3D graphics aren't as charming as the sprite work that came before it, but the plot is engaging, the characters and designs likeable, and most of the maps are fun. It does surprisingly leave some mysteries and cliffhangers unsolved, considering that from what I've read development on the direct sequel only came after this game's success.

I can see why the game was well received; it's pretty true to the formula overall, but does feature some of the earlier implementations of the base and support mechanics that have become more prominent in the franchise over time. Having a non-lord lead in Ike, who is a little more rough and tumble too, was a nice choice. I'd say this is a great entry whether you're already a fan of the series, or looking for a starting off point.

So many long awaited quality of life updates, and a new open world that finally makes the task of catching Pokemon feel satisfying and rewarding. I do think the battling mechanics, while made slightly more interesting with the new Agile/Strong mechanics, are a little bit stripped back in a way that isn't quite as fun as the core games in the series, but since they're less the focus, it's not a huge deal. It wasn't until the absolute end of the game that it affected me.

Obviously there are still a lot of things they could do to bring the Pokemon games into the modern age, but this feels like a great step forward and hopefully a signifier of more progress in the future.

Very conflicted feelings about this one. Love the general art direction, and the weird, high concept plot line that sees you guiding the evolution of an Earth and Humankind that is familiar to our own. The first leg of the game was a lot of fun and unique, but as the game goes on and it gets a little sillier and more typical to other JRPGs. I genuinely disliked the majority of bosses as well, so many of them are outright tedious slogs, where they should be exciting and memorable. So it came out very uneven for me, but it has a lot of unique and creative elements that make it worth the look.

The biggest compliment I can pay this game is that it surprised me how much it felt like an extension of the original. While the combat mechanics are a stylistic departure, great lengths went to incorporating the mechanics that were familiar into the new system in fun and satisfying ways, while the navigation, cutscenes, writing, soundtrack, and everything else felt like a perfect match. Nothing about it felt cheap, or like a knock off or cash grab the way that spin off games often do.

There are some elements of the story structure that are a little more simplistic, while other elements are also streamlined (like the calendar system), likely to keep the game from running too long or becoming a massive undertaking of development, but the new story and characters are very satisfying and compelling, and the game play, while initially a little overwhelming, eventually comes together into a recognizable, rewarding pattern.

I did a thorough run of the base game, and then dipped my toes into the unlockable Merciless difficulty. Sadly that was a bit much for me; it ramps up to an extreme in a way that felt too punishing to be fun, and is probably the one real detractor for me overall. I'm sure for many the challenge could be rewarding, it's not strictly bad design or anything like that, it just isn't my scene. Otherwise, if you enjoyed Persona 5, I would wholeheartedly recommend this.