Unlike other fantastic ports of puzzle games, this is different than the Saturn game in pretty big (and negative) ways. The reduction of the amount of rows you get, in addition to changes to the way pieces are cleared make this feel like an incomplete minigame compared to the original. It also doesn't help they used the same (awful) 3D graphics, but just digitized them with all the love of the Gameboy Mortal Kombat ports. This could have been Baku Baku's premier platform, and instead we lost a treasure of puzzle gaming to the ages.

Or at least, we could have had a decent thing to play on the Game Gear between Collumns

nicely cute though doesn't fully scratch the itch I was hoping for. maybe the artstyle puts me off a smidge.
the larger problem I have is that things feel too one-dimensional. too many of the items you receive along the way are one-use. I would have loved to see more challenges that utilized different recurring mechanics rather than "here's this clothing that you'll use for one photo and forget about wearing until the next piece of clothing replaces it," ESPECIALLY the filters which I was expecting to have a lot of potential. I didn't 100% the game so perhaps there's more that mix-and-match than I encountered?
the music and world are nice, the act of photography feels snappy (haha), I merely wish those good aspects could have been allowed to flourish even more.

feels like i played this alongside my six year old self. we did it lil' buddy, we finally beat the one game we had no chance in hell of finishing without a gamecube memory card

as with sa1, there's really no point in arguing about this series since the detractors have long made up their shitty minds. sa2's an interesting beast though because it manages to excel just as much as its predecessor... in very different ways!

the speed stages are great, albeit nothing like sa1's. maybe you prefer these more linearly driven, setpiece-focused levels, but i might be partial to having a spindash that can blaze me across entire courses in a matter of seconds. i like going places i shouldn't and being rewarded for it. there's some of that here, but it's not nearly the same. that said, there's no city escape or final rush in sa1 so we'll call it a draw

treasure hunting is improved tenfold. i definitely prefer the newly limited radar system (it makes finding shards early super satisfying) and the overall increased difficulty. especially after knuckles' previous story was an absolute cakewalk. rouge is basically knuckles on hard mode and i generally prefer her side more for that. love her music too, though i wish it was more lyrically driven to better contrast knuckles

shooting's a more mixed bag. tails reps one of the best stages but also most of the worst. eggman on the other hand for the most part lives up to gamma's gameplay well enough - especially once he gets his booster. there's def a sense of flow to these that i feel a solid chunk of people don't give deserved credit because they just wanna go fast and grind rails

...which is a sentiment i don't completely identify with because i feel sa2 is more than the sum of its parts. the narrative is genuinely great and actively shifts moods and gameplay styles accordingly. you're always listening to a banger, you're never on the same sort of stage for more than a few minutes at a time - and you're always pushing closer to one of the greatest fuckin' finales you'll ever find in video games. the quality of direction really skyrocketed here. the last episode's preview alone completely solos every single scene in sa1

one strange oddity though: there's a surprising lack of shadow gameplay here. maybe the devs weren't so confident in him as a newcomer and didn't expect him to be such a hit?

if they knew what was good for them, sonic team would've just made a whole ass game where you play as shadow the hedgehog...

EDIT: after careful deliberation (replaying the shit out of everything) i've decided that i have 0 significant issues with this game. i'm not even standing by what i said about the speed stages before. they're all fuckin' fantastic and i think i might actually prefer these to sa1's (granted i need to spend some more time with that game too for confirmation)

on top of all of what i've said - i've still barely scratched the surface of the chao world content and that on its own is pretty impressive for being in an already tightly-packed game to begin with. how the fuck did this get made in two years?

i also learned last night via the extra video that city escape was inspired by sonic team constantly receiving parking tickets while living in san francisco. that's worthy of some merit on its own

and maybe this is cheating to mention since it's largely battle rerelease content, but i don't care: the multiplayer is some of the most fun i've ever had with a 2-player game

you know what - fuck it, 10/10

EDIT 2: got all 180 emblems. basically a perfect game

why do vanillaware titles always cause so much melties LMAOOOOOOO, notice how none of the review bombers have actually talked about the gameplay.

anyways, this shit is really good (so far - only 11hrs in), so if you're on the fence about picking up a cool srpg - i'd strongly say go for this.

also i carnally need berengaria so bad

MadWorld is a game I REALLY want to like but whenever I go back to it, I either get bored or stuck and give up until I pick it up again years later. This time I wanted to give it a proper go in time for the 15th anniversary, but my patience wore thin by the time I got to the castle area.

I was already feeling that the stages were becoming a bit monotonous with how much point pushing it felt like was needed each time just to get to the boss fight, but not only does the castle area ramp this up, but it also introduces annoying BS which feels like runtime padding considering on average this game takes 5-10 hours not really including all the times you need to reset 20 mins back to the start of the stage. In particular on the shitlist, this level has:
- Randomly spawning enemy that takes 1 life per hit. You have 3 lives per stage.
- Enemies that grab you, forcing you to perform a QTE to avoid the one hit death enemy.
- Enemies that can only be attacked in a certain way as they otherwise respawn in packs. Only method of attack that works uses up a pretty fast draining attack meter and has to be done in a certain direction subject to motion controls working.
- A bossfight on average 20 mins into the stage where you are ganged up on by around 10 creatures that respawn when you kill them.

After already struggling with other levels for an hour or so beforehand and debating throwing in the towel, dying right at the end of this ordeal was as good as reason as any to figure that it doesn't get much better than this (I've heard it does, but I don't want to sit through this stage multiple times to find out to be completely honest, a complete moodkiller when said mood was just already "meh").

Sick soundtrack, mostly good presentation (enemies blend too much into the background sometimes due to black and white) and an intriguing plot do a lot of heavy lifting, but monotony and stage design sink the ship. Also, why is this game stuck in 480i? It came out in 2009. Not only could it have looked way better, but it would've helped with the colour clashing issues this game can sometimes suffer from. Don't really see Platinum pulling this game out of their backcatalogue (even with heavy re-edits since some things are pretty dated) but something that would at least help it somewhat.

A very, very good game with few flaws, but still flaws nonetheless. The perviness of the plot given some of the subjects covered for the first half of the game just feels sleezy and held back my enjoyment of it somewhat, despite how well said plotpoints feel told even despite the stark contrast to just flaunting off the female characters whenever they feel like they need to grab the player's attention again.

My other issues mainly come down to a lack of clear communication for first timers on how to best interact with the game and specifically the progression of certain events later in the game, but given how well the rest of the game is explained and laid out, it's not too huge of an issue and something you either already know or will quickly learn.

Otherwise, I had a good enough time to put in 75 hours over 3 weeks, so when I say I really enjoyed it, I mean it. Looking forward to getting deeper into the rest of the series after a bit of a break with some smaller games.

the DJMax experience:
- the best kpop song you've ever heard
- the best electro house song you've ever heard
- really catchy r&b but the lyrics are clearly written by someone who only knows english as a second language
- edm that turns into a completely different song every 20 seconds
- penis music
- around half of these have the most ill-fitting anime visuals you can possibly think of to go along with them

This was a much better game to me than Yakuza: Like a Dragon, evident by the fact that I actually saw this playthrough through. I really appreciate the many improvements to the battle system and the clearer explanations from the game on how to manage the many intricacies of your party. Indications of what level and equipment you needed for major parts of the game as well as no major difficulty/level spikes made this a much less frustrating and more manageable experience as someone who's not especially great at RPGs. Having managed to finish this has given me the confidence to play other RPGs as well as hopefully the knowledge to finish Yakuza: LaD one day. Only real complaint with the combat would have to be that battles are often thrown at you in quick succession which along with my teams not having many area of effect options made some areas of the game a little repetitive feeling since I was fighting through so many enemies at a slow pace back to back. Aside from that, a huge improvement to the existing RPG Battle system.

I think just about every chapter had a moment that had me in tears, something that maybe an ending occasionally has the power to do in this series, but Infinite Wealth is full of heartfelt moments and hardship that got me in the feels more than any other game in the series. Safe to say, the story did a lot of heavy lifting for my enjoyment here.

All in all, highly recommended for any JRPG fan or fan of the Yakuza/LaD series. Knowledge of prior games really sweetens the deal, but you can probably get away without. Highly recommended.

Have so much to say but I can't write much. Have so much to express but I can't find the words. Have so much to elaborate but I don't have the energy. Have so much to expound but I can't be able to convey them.

I became conscious of death when my grandmother had passed, but it wasn't until my grandfather went away a few years after I fully became inundated as to what it meant. I can't think of many people as integral to my well being and personality as they were. I cannot recall a time where I wasn't thinking about that stark, orange colored block of a hospital room where the latter had laid, unknowing it would be the last I would ever see of him. I cannot recall a time where death wasn't something I had feared, an abstraction lay unto forces beyond my control, surrounding me so sickly as I continue to grow older. I was lost during my twilight years in high school where I was slowly accustoming into what adulthood would become like. Even now, it haunts me.

"...I finally began to understand...what it means to live... Thinking for yourself... Not running away... Accepting the inevitable... All things eventually come to an end... Every living thing will one day disappear... Only by accepting this can one discover what they truly want... What the meaning of their life will be..."

I wouldn't say Persona 3 was an answer I needed to these fears, but it helped a lot. It was the first game I had ever purchased second handed, and I remembered just the bare minimum when going into it after seeing an LP. A lot of people postured it as a game exploring death, but it's more about the examinations of life as we know it. Death is constant, but it isn't the weight. Turmoil is abundant, but it shouldn't be the reason for demise. Jealousy and apathy are thorns, which is why compassion and hope for tomorrow need to be accentuated now more than ever. Your actions to the other, no matter how insignificant it may be, can blossom and (re-)kindle something into the heart that they may have forgotten. You are your own person, even as you masquerade various personas in multiple conversations and meetups. You are the pillar and support for people, even if you never realize it.

"I decided that I would continue to protect you. I want to be your strength. I know I'm not the only one who can do this... but that's okay... My life will be worth living if it's for this reason... Thank you..."'

Both FES and Reload's combat mechanics are great to me. Though the AI tactic configuration is but a mere husk of its former design principle, stripped to bareness in each subsequent entry as any nuances and underlying appeal have since dissipated, leaving behind a set of reductions and glaring blemishes that, cumulatively, makes the initial appearance seem worse than it actually was - of which someone’s already making sure to right this wrong, I garnered some enjoyment from it regardless. Theurgy wasn't as intrusive as I had thought it was, instead an extension of person's psyche as well as the idea that the power we wield can be used to secure a better tomorrow. It’s been mocked as “cope” to say the old approach was an intentional decision behind the gameplay, but well, a collective interview between various Double Jump board users and Atlus when 4 was coming out has shown that’s just the truth indeed, and I find merit in how that form factor escalates into the feeling of a group coming together and bonding further and further into becoming a simple family. The relationship between Tartarus Guardians and Full Moon Shadows are intrinsically tied, but now reversed - you are no longer gauging the Dark Arcanas as a check for the Guardians' enforcement atop the higher floors, but are instead compartmentalizing the Guardians in an effort to combat the ephemeral being that can't and won't understand you. It's good. It's cyclical. It's the reverse of the cards we all face at some point.

"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life... Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of. I'll keep on living no matter what , so that I can protect you..."

I don't think this is entirely perfect. I actually much prefer the old Tartarus structure since this one is made much more convenient, and I don't agree with the false notion that the party system was archaic even if I understand not everyone will like it regardless. The presentation has some nice flourishes but, especially in the animation department, there are placements and alterations made that took me away from the intended effect. I also find it incredibly suspect that The Answer has been announced of a faux "expansion pass" relatively sooner than expected with two other "pre order bonus" ass costume DLCs preceding it, all without word on FeMC. At the end of it all, I still find FES to be the experience I'd attain whenever I want to revisit this world. Yet, I am content. It's one of very few things in fiction that has brought me to tears. It was wonderful to revisit this story (twice, even, since I replayed FES beforehand). If it means more people can experience this masterpiece, then so be it. Just another face for the fool to don as it shows itself onto the public.

"You can close your eyes. I'll always remain here by your side."