kumasbear
I definitely understand why Tokimeki is the titan of dating sims that it is today. Art and presentation is fantastic and all of the girls are super fun and full of personality. They each have such charm that I really want to see them all to completion.
That being said, in the modern time, the game kind of sucks. Gameplay loop is super repetitive and dull. Mechanics are obfuscated seemingly just to be frustrating. Basic actions take forever to complete (calling Yoshio sticks out as being so unnecessarily time consuming) and it feels very unfulfilling to play. Definitely a series that I will go back to appreciating from a distance.
Also, Yoshio, why the hell do you know your little sisters BWH?
That being said, in the modern time, the game kind of sucks. Gameplay loop is super repetitive and dull. Mechanics are obfuscated seemingly just to be frustrating. Basic actions take forever to complete (calling Yoshio sticks out as being so unnecessarily time consuming) and it feels very unfulfilling to play. Definitely a series that I will go back to appreciating from a distance.
Also, Yoshio, why the hell do you know your little sisters BWH?
I've been sitting right outside the final boss for a few months now but have lacked the motivation to go back and actually beat it, and now with some ongoing hand problems I don't know when or if I ever will.
The game is better than BotW but the longer I thought about it, I still don't think it's, like, great? I don't know how to structure my thoughts on this either, because there isn't a clear delineation on what I like and don't like about the game because I like certain aspects but at the same time I think those same aspects are bad? So this is going to be kind of ramble-y.
I think at it's core, I like the fuse system. Building weird vehicles, solving physics puzzles, crossing gaps and climbing huge towers with ways that felt like I was cheesing it was fun! For the first 30 hours. And then it was all the exact same thing for like 60 more. They did give you some nice tools to facilitate making things easier, like being able to save construction recipes so you didn't have to build the same thing over and over again. But still , I would've liked some more unique challenges/ways to explore that weren't just blatantly better than the rest?
Here's where it starts getting ramble-y because to explain my issue I need to talk about the dungeons which I think were mostly a step up from the Divine Beasts. The Rito one was the worst by far (though the boss fight made up for it) but like, I honestly don't know how you're supposed to do the Goron or Zora temple legitimately because I just skipped it all using rocket shields. Why would I bother doing anything but buying rockets? It was fun finding them the first time and experiencing doing a rocket shield skip for the first time, but by the time I'm making my 200th rocket shield it's like. Just boring. I wish they would've scaled back the fusing tools and had dungeon items that would introduce new ways to traverse the overworld rather than giving you noclip upfront.
Speaking of boring, the combat! It still sucks! Enemies scale way too hard way too fast and become pure tanks WAY too soon. And hey, apparently there is a way to upgrade your armor, but thanks to the non-linearity of the game, I never found that! So for the last 40 hours of my gameplay, EVERY SINGLE ENEMY could 1 or 2 shot me. Except the bosses which didn't scale! So I was more frightened of a fuckin moblin then I was a giant robot spider 40 times bigger than me! Weird!
I wasn't a hater on weapon durability in BotW. Both of these games throw weapons at you. You are never in danger of running out of good weapons. I give them props for that. People just got burned in some game in like the 90s that wasn't designed well and assume any game with consumables is going to be like that. Just use your stuff, it's fine.
But what wasn't fine is that the weapons you get have to be fused with materials, and the controls for that are abysmal! I started to despise weapon durability in a game I was fine with it just because that if a weapon broke I would have to go through the labyrinthine act of opening menus and dropping materials and then choosing a weapon and then swapping ultra-hand abilities and jesus christ just let me do it in bulk in a menu.
In general, what the hell were these controls? BotW sure, it's a different style Zelda, you weren't sure how to set up the controls, but you had 6 years since then. Why are they the same? We've figured out 3D game controls years ago, where the hell were you? Why do I have a dedicated button for calling a horse in a game where I can build flying machines and cars? Why are jump and sprint ACROSS from each other and not next to each other to make running jumps not a nightmare? Why can't I rebind them??? JFC. Also, I hate having the NPC party members running around with me because they get in my way and I trigger their ability when I don't want it and then when I do need it I have to sit and wait because they just wasted it. Cool!
I liked the way the cutscenes were directed. At least, the Zelda stuff. It all had a nice look to it. I kinda HATE the actual story they tell and it's a joke how they treat her, but it looked nice! The dungeon cutscenes, however, are a complete joke. The first time I saw one I thought "Wow, that was more elaborate than I expected! Can't wait to see the rest!" and then I got to the next one, and it was the EXACT same cutscene, they just pan the camera to a different character. What a joke.
Somewhere I can be fully positive is the music. Loved the whole soundtrack. BotW's OST was good for what they were doing but it wound up being too same-y and incidental. Here, I loved all of it! Shrine music was great, overworld and town themes were great, boss themes were fantastic. Good stuff! Oh yeah, and the Depths. Super awesome. Yeah, when all is said and done there wasn't actually that much down there. But holy crap the moment you fall down there the first time? Wow! That's what I'm talkin about. Exploring that place was one of the highlights for me. Wild that I don't think they ever talked about that place pre-release? It was way more interesting to me than the sky islands which I think were severely underutilized.
Yeah, I dunno. This game was trying to be so many things for so many people so it's understandable that it feels like a mess at points. My rambling here sounds overly negative, but don't get me wrong. I had fun with a lot of things! I just had anti-fun with a lot of things too! I think in a weird way it did a good job of capturing the spirit of what I personally like about Zelda but failed in a lot of the execution. I'm kind of pessimistic about the future of the franchise though. An impressive achievement worth checking out nonetheless.
The game is better than BotW but the longer I thought about it, I still don't think it's, like, great? I don't know how to structure my thoughts on this either, because there isn't a clear delineation on what I like and don't like about the game because I like certain aspects but at the same time I think those same aspects are bad? So this is going to be kind of ramble-y.
I think at it's core, I like the fuse system. Building weird vehicles, solving physics puzzles, crossing gaps and climbing huge towers with ways that felt like I was cheesing it was fun! For the first 30 hours. And then it was all the exact same thing for like 60 more. They did give you some nice tools to facilitate making things easier, like being able to save construction recipes so you didn't have to build the same thing over and over again. But still , I would've liked some more unique challenges/ways to explore that weren't just blatantly better than the rest?
Here's where it starts getting ramble-y because to explain my issue I need to talk about the dungeons which I think were mostly a step up from the Divine Beasts. The Rito one was the worst by far (though the boss fight made up for it) but like, I honestly don't know how you're supposed to do the Goron or Zora temple legitimately because I just skipped it all using rocket shields. Why would I bother doing anything but buying rockets? It was fun finding them the first time and experiencing doing a rocket shield skip for the first time, but by the time I'm making my 200th rocket shield it's like. Just boring. I wish they would've scaled back the fusing tools and had dungeon items that would introduce new ways to traverse the overworld rather than giving you noclip upfront.
Speaking of boring, the combat! It still sucks! Enemies scale way too hard way too fast and become pure tanks WAY too soon. And hey, apparently there is a way to upgrade your armor, but thanks to the non-linearity of the game, I never found that! So for the last 40 hours of my gameplay, EVERY SINGLE ENEMY could 1 or 2 shot me. Except the bosses which didn't scale! So I was more frightened of a fuckin moblin then I was a giant robot spider 40 times bigger than me! Weird!
I wasn't a hater on weapon durability in BotW. Both of these games throw weapons at you. You are never in danger of running out of good weapons. I give them props for that. People just got burned in some game in like the 90s that wasn't designed well and assume any game with consumables is going to be like that. Just use your stuff, it's fine.
But what wasn't fine is that the weapons you get have to be fused with materials, and the controls for that are abysmal! I started to despise weapon durability in a game I was fine with it just because that if a weapon broke I would have to go through the labyrinthine act of opening menus and dropping materials and then choosing a weapon and then swapping ultra-hand abilities and jesus christ just let me do it in bulk in a menu.
In general, what the hell were these controls? BotW sure, it's a different style Zelda, you weren't sure how to set up the controls, but you had 6 years since then. Why are they the same? We've figured out 3D game controls years ago, where the hell were you? Why do I have a dedicated button for calling a horse in a game where I can build flying machines and cars? Why are jump and sprint ACROSS from each other and not next to each other to make running jumps not a nightmare? Why can't I rebind them??? JFC. Also, I hate having the NPC party members running around with me because they get in my way and I trigger their ability when I don't want it and then when I do need it I have to sit and wait because they just wasted it. Cool!
I liked the way the cutscenes were directed. At least, the Zelda stuff. It all had a nice look to it. I kinda HATE the actual story they tell and it's a joke how they treat her, but it looked nice! The dungeon cutscenes, however, are a complete joke. The first time I saw one I thought "Wow, that was more elaborate than I expected! Can't wait to see the rest!" and then I got to the next one, and it was the EXACT same cutscene, they just pan the camera to a different character. What a joke.
Somewhere I can be fully positive is the music. Loved the whole soundtrack. BotW's OST was good for what they were doing but it wound up being too same-y and incidental. Here, I loved all of it! Shrine music was great, overworld and town themes were great, boss themes were fantastic. Good stuff! Oh yeah, and the Depths. Super awesome. Yeah, when all is said and done there wasn't actually that much down there. But holy crap the moment you fall down there the first time? Wow! That's what I'm talkin about. Exploring that place was one of the highlights for me. Wild that I don't think they ever talked about that place pre-release? It was way more interesting to me than the sky islands which I think were severely underutilized.
Yeah, I dunno. This game was trying to be so many things for so many people so it's understandable that it feels like a mess at points. My rambling here sounds overly negative, but don't get me wrong. I had fun with a lot of things! I just had anti-fun with a lot of things too! I think in a weird way it did a good job of capturing the spirit of what I personally like about Zelda but failed in a lot of the execution. I'm kind of pessimistic about the future of the franchise though. An impressive achievement worth checking out nonetheless.
2024
Do get it twisted. Do gamble. Do start. Gambling is entertainment and entertainment only. You will break even. You will win. You will do any of that. You understand? You will only go into fun and love your fucking life. I do this cause I fucking love it. I do it all the time. It's entertainment for people who can afford it. And that's it. YOU WILL WIN. I'm winning. Do you understand? I AM UP MILLIONS
2019
Wanted to come and write some thoughts about this because I've been revisiting it as an anti-anxiety game lately.
One of the greatest arcade puzzle games ever made, full stop. An absolute joy in all aspects. The style, animation, and character designs are top-notch and the soundtrack is non-stop jams. There is so much game here with different modes, daily challenges, and bonus stages. It is simple enough that you can enjoy it as a simple time waster AND deep enough that you can put a lot of time and thought into every single move and ability you take to each stage to optimize and complete all of the challenges in.
I saw some people say it doesn't really benefit from being on PC/console and I disagree. I think they made some good UI changes with the extra space and personally I dislike playing games on touch screens. Not to mention the fact that I subbed to Apple Arcade for a year solely for this game which wound up being about 60 bucks whereas the game on its own is only 20.
One of the greatest arcade puzzle games ever made, full stop. An absolute joy in all aspects. The style, animation, and character designs are top-notch and the soundtrack is non-stop jams. There is so much game here with different modes, daily challenges, and bonus stages. It is simple enough that you can enjoy it as a simple time waster AND deep enough that you can put a lot of time and thought into every single move and ability you take to each stage to optimize and complete all of the challenges in.
I saw some people say it doesn't really benefit from being on PC/console and I disagree. I think they made some good UI changes with the extra space and personally I dislike playing games on touch screens. Not to mention the fact that I subbed to Apple Arcade for a year solely for this game which wound up being about 60 bucks whereas the game on its own is only 20.