The plot of the Fell Xenologue is one of the biggest flaming dumpster fires I have ever seen in any media, but I don't see that as a big problem. Sure, It's just unabashedly contrived, arbitrary, and illogical, but the novelty of seeing all of Engage's familiarly bland characters deranged in this bizarre alternate world is just so much more interesting and amusing to me so much more than Engage's thoroughly uninspired main narrative.

As for the gameplay, the maps are fine. Classes, levels, and loadouts (for the DLC units) are all set, although you can use any characters and emblems you have in the main game. Playing on hard difficulty and refusing to let any units be lost, it was a formidable challenge, especially coming from Engage's late-game campaign. As others say, the associated DLC maps relating to the emblems are better while also being challenging.

Honestly, my biggest issue with it is how it is integrated into the main campaign. Considering the gameplay is mostly unconnected to the progress you've made in the main campaign, I much preferred the setup of Three Houses' side-story, which is completely separate from an individual playthrough and instead unlocks benefits and possibilities in existing campaigns. Instead, having the FX haphazardly tacked on to Engage's main plot leads to some substantial problems, from both narrative and strategic perspectives... but then Engage wouldn't be Engage without blatant contempt for its narrative and worldbuilding, would it?

Overall, 2.5 stars because Edelgard is in it.

This game is one of my favorite games of all time, and the best place to start for anyone looking to give the Monster Hunter series a try. Excellent mechanics, a fantastic cast of creatures and beautiful graphics make this the peak monster hunting experience, with tons and tons of content and nigh-infinite replayability due to every weapon's unique playstyles. The game's difficulty curve is fair and challenging, demanding enough skill from the player to succeed while also not being too punishing in the early stages. The game's story is fine if purely functional, with the main draw being the gameplay - cause if you just enjoy hitting big dragons with sticks like I do, I can't recommend it enough.

This game is phenomenal, and utterly unique. Excellent graphics for the 3Ds, stellar music, snappy writing, great characters and a fun overarching story all culminate in a game that I am so happy I played unspoiled. The gameplay can be a bit janky at times, and the controls as mentioned by others will cramp your hands, but Kid Icarus: Uprising is such a fantastic overall experience that I don't regret a single moment playing it. Have I mentioned the protagonist is adorable? Play Kid Icarus: Uprising.

While not a masterpiece of fiction, Dissidia 012 is a great time for Final Fantasy fans. Containing all of the content from the original along with a new bonus chapter, the game offers interesting and in-character interactions from the series' myriad of protagonists, brightly displayed before the intriguing, albeit admittedly convoluted backdrop of its main storyline. In one of the most baffling story decisions I've ever seen in a video game, Dissidia 012 decides to lock the most important pieces of its lore behind a incredibly difficult, grind-filled postgame, of which I didn't bother to complete despite legitimately enjoying what else the game's narrative had offer. For your own sanity, look these cutscenes up on YouTube.

Narrative aside, the real reason to play Dissidia 012 is the timeless gameplay. The Brave/HP attack system is utterly unique amongst its fellow fighting games, and the push/pull dynamic it creates fosters endless opportunities for cinematic clashes and surprising comebacks. The customization options for each character is robust, and the amount of characters available - along with a myriad of fun unlockables such as costumes - is guaranteed to keep you entertained once you get used to the flow of combat. Gameplay wise, this is one of my favorite fighters of all time, and the level of content on display here is impressive at even today's standards.

Overall, this game is very good mechanically, with a story that ranges from dullingly simple to robust and complicated. However, if you're like me and can simply get enjoyment out of watching your favorite characters stand in a room and chat, you'll have a great time regardless.

A very good visual novel for people who don't usually like visual novels. The characters were interesting, the voice acting was superb, and the frequent-yet-unobtrusive dialogue sections were segmented with enough fun point-and-click puzzle rooms that I didn't feel as though I was ever getting bored. Some writing decisions that put me off at first ended up paying off in the end, and although the narrative is not perfect, I did really enjoy my time with this game. Though, a word of caution; play it on a DS if you can. Nothing quite replicates the experience quite like the original console.

Man, this game rocks even in 2023. I played the 3D remake simply cause I found the graphics to be charming, and I did not end up being disappointed. The story, despite being simple, is still endearing to this day, and I grew to enjoy the characters more than I expected the longer I played. The 3D remake having voice acting in most major cutscenes was an unexpected plus, along with the 'thought bubble' system, in which you would open your main menu and see your character's current thoughts; this minor feature in particular was very endearing, and was used expertly throughout the game to either provide hints, give insight into a characters motivations or foreshadow incoming events. The general look of the game from the 3D models to the UI is also lovely, and the combat, of which I played in the action-time system, is as classic and enjoyable as ever.

The game did have a few issues, however. Some of the writing hasn't aged well (looking at the final party member in particular,) and some of the story beats feel a bit contrived. Also, mechanically the game is very difficult, which I personally enjoyed but I know is not for everyone; this is apparently an issue with the 3D remake in particular. Beyond these points though, there was little I had any problem with.

Although not my absolute favorite in the series, Final Fantasy IV is an excellent RPG and a very fun game, one that I can wholeheartedly recommend to any fan of the series and to most looking for a classic fantasy adventure. Oh, and turn your music up. This soundtrack is a banger.

Final Fantasy 15 is a game I love immensely, and find very, very hard to recommend. You have to have the patience of a saint to enjoy this game; it will test you over and over again, with its unintuitive controls, technical bugs, wack-a#s storytelling, terrible DLC scheme, and much more; most negative things people have said about this game are in fact true. However, despite everything, I love this stupid trashfire game so much. There are good points beyond just my own copium; the characters are easily the high point, with the main party of Noct, Gladdy, Iggy and Prom being a fantastic emotional core, with a truly astounding amount of randomly triggered unique interactions throughout the game that really makes me hope the excellent voice actors got payed well for their efforts. The combat is very fun when you get used to it, with the Point Warp technique in particular being a blast to use, and the game's soundtrack is on-par with most other Final Fantasy games, meaning it's superb. The game is very pretty as well (Altissia is one of my favorite video game locations ever, full stop) and even if its set pieces can be over-the-top, they're always a spectacle to behold visually.

Overall, this game isn't anything great, by any means, but for those who are looking for down-to-earth, truly emotional moments between characters who truly feel like friends, this might just be a game for you. Hey, if you're willing to give it a chance, it might even surprise you.

Endwalker is a masterpiece built on ten years of content that would be absolutely nothing without it. Shadowbringers is Final Fantasy XIV's best self-contained story, but nothing else beats the presentation and execution of Endwalker's tying of plot threads, acknowledgement of player engagement in content, and epic colliding of themes as it brings the overarching narrative of this game to a resounding close. This is an expansion that could not exist without the content proceeding it, and though some might (fairly) see this as a weakness, I found myself hopelessly buying into every second of fanservice, culminating in one of my favorite moments in any videogame, ever, being the ending. I am not one who often gets emotional over fictional media and yet this game made me ride an emotional rollercoaster unlike anything else I've played - made only better by the countless hours of personal investment I've put into the game being acknowledged and appreciated by the narrative. This is my favorite expansion, story and content in all, and it wouldn't be anything near what I love without the rest of them. Yes, my journey has been good, and worthwhile - and I look forward to many more adventures to come.

Oh, Shadowbringers. When raised out of the overarching narrative that is Final Fantasy XIV, I can confidently say that Shadowbringers is the best self-contained story out of any of the game's expansions. It's absolutely gripping narrative is only held back by its often overlooked terrible padding issues, made even worse by the promise of excellent storytelling held back beyond the faff. Shadowbringers is not the perfect expansion as some claim, and in my humble opinion, has more issues than people care to admit, but even I can acknowledge the excellent atmosphere, character dynamics, and visual/auditory mastery on display here. If you've gotten this far on the free trial you deserve to play it; it's fantastic.

When did this expansion get so good? My recent replay of Stormblood has made me appreciate far more than my original playthrough, from increasing my opinion on a variety of characters to realizing that this might be the best dungeon content in the game pre-Endwalker. The story itself, while a bit segmented, it still very good, and the general post-basegame content such as optional dungeons and raid series are also superb. I personally wasn't invested as much in the overarching narrative compared to Heavensward, but that's barely a dock against a story that's still really solid overall. It's not just the benchmark between Heavensward and Shadowbringers like some claim, and hey, you might even find it to be better than you remember if you stop and smell the roses. Did I mention this is free too? Go and play yourself some Stormblood.

Heavensward turned what I believed to be a mediocre game into one I have sunk countless hours into, and it continues to be my favorite expansion, even above Shadowbringers, in the pre-Endwalker block. Nuanced and interesting character writing, superb voice acting and impeccable atmosphere make up an expansion that sent the standard for those going forward, culminating into my personal favorite final patch of any expansion (3.3) to this day. It's actual dungeon content is weaker than I remembered on replay ("Oh boy! Spooky rock cave #2!") but that doesn't intensely impact my opinion on one of my favorite video game stories of all time. And hey, it's free too. That's pretty cool.