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BACKER
Excellent DLC. Lots of good exploration & legends to catch. It's def the best part of the SW/SH game. I love Calyrex & his big noggin, I would die for him.
More exploratory than the base game. Has Klara. whew.
Peak. An unhinged Twin Peaks fan fiction that is just. Fascinating. There are actually a lot of interesting ideas in NPC's on their own schedules, etc. It's funny how much is just straight up Twin Peaks while also having its own feeling & plot. I love Francis York Morgan & this game has a great soundtrack, and hilarious bits. All around a great time.
A complete masterpiece. I've long been turned off from open world games jamming massive checklists and filler down your throat, but BotW revolutionized & made this genre fun for me again. A huge world to explore and a story you create with your adventures. The sheer amount of experimentation that you can get into to, and the fact that you can go anywhere and you'll probably find /something/ there, whether enemies, items, korok seeds, or shrines... it's peak.
2019
I think it's funny everyone cried about a tree looking bad for an entire year while the rest of the game is full of beautiful environments. It's really apparent, replaying it post all that discourse, and after playing Violet. While I still like S/V more, I think this has some of the series' coolest characters, and I really love how big the gym battles felt.
It's really not got enough going for it in terms of exploration, and I hate how quickly you're moved from one area to the next.
It's really not got enough going for it in terms of exploration, and I hate how quickly you're moved from one area to the next.
2019
I wanted to like this game a lot more, but just can't. The story is interesting, I like the odd combo of investigating + action game. The grading system is the number 1 thing that doesn't work at all imo. It only really rewards you for forcing you to go through a strict set of actions, whereas something like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry is more expressive in your combos & allows you to experiment and make yourself better--it really doesn't matter if you are good or get better, because you get a top mark just for using every different monster at your disposal. I found this extremely irksome. The game also goes a bit too far in trying to be everything at once. The stealth segments weren't fully baked & just weren't really any fun compared to other parts. The final boss was super epic, really enjoyed that, and the cast was cool. Overall I just think it falls short of its potential.
There's a good cast here, but it's held back by the game itself. The monastery stuff gets old quick, the character class diversity is less than Awakening or Fates--you've promoted a unit! Here's a guy with a horse now. I think the decision to include a secret 4th route that isn't clearly flagged that you can accidentally get into is horrible design, in a 40-60~ hour game. The bland brown color scheme just looks ugly, honestly, compared to older entries and their clean, sprite look.
A great take on Kanto. The capturing method isn't my favorite, but the detail they put into the environments, gyms, etc, the art style / music is just beautiful.
Easy 5/5, peak fiction. If only they'd used this as the premise for the main game & really expanded on it, we'd have had a masterpiece. This is the redemption arc for XC2. Great characters, even better combat, music rips. This is it.
2018
Beautiful art, great music, drops the ball in basically every other respect. Locking the real "connected" story behind a hidden boss gauntlet grind. Party members who barely acknowledge each others' existence. Repeating the same chapter structure 8 times, in the worst ways--for ex, facing very similar boss gimmicks nearly 8 times during ch 2. Giving you almost all the tools of the game / progression / skills all at once. I like the characters well enough, but not the game.
A masterpiece.
The characters are great. End game patches go hard. Yotsuyu is one of my faves ever.
The. GOAT.
Apex fiction. The best of the best.
Incredible piece of art. The music, art, characters are all beautiful. This game takes you down a winding path and narrative that spans time & space. It is incredibly brilliant, and one of the best pieces of narrative in any game I've ever played.