liquidddingle
17 reviews liked by liquidddingle
Resident Evil 6
2012
Resident Evil 6 is horrible, as my friend @liquidddingle said, this is (also) the “worst game I’ve played to completion”…
For some sort of reference to those who’ve played it I played the following characters: Piers, Jake, Leon and the Agent (with the latter being the worst by a long shot…). I’ll just break this down by chapters briefly:
Chris and Pier’s campaign was an ‘alright’ starter, it was relatively basic and kind of set an example of what to expect but it was extremely repetitive (as with the vast majority of the game) with a few ‘fun’ sections here and there (vehicle chases). The final boss was noteworthy too, Jake having the electric power was quite cool but the boss itself was confusing we found.
Jake and Sherry’s campaign is my personal favourite, it had a lot of unique sections such as the section where you ride down the mountain, although it was frustrating it was unique and fun when it worked, I quite enjoyed the motorcycle too.
Leon and Helena’s campaign was really messy, it was just all over the place, there was a brief segment that had some resemblance of puzzles but it was just very basic and brief which is a shame, the rest is just the gameplay loop of gun, door, gun, door.
Ada and the Agent’s campaign is the worst BY A LONG SHOT as mentioned earlier… at least if you play as the Agent, and I expect Ada too for that matter. It’s so uninteresting the Agent cannot do anything except shoot and climb ladders, Ada has to do everything even stuff like open doors (wish I was joking), Ada’s campaign was clearly designed to be a solo gig and the Agent was just shoved in.
I don’t even wish to touch on the story it was so confusing for no reason and there wasn’t really any characters I cared for besides Sherry (and I haven’t even played the game shes from). Quick ranking of the campaigns are Jake & Sherry > Chris & Piers > Leon & Helena >>>>>> Ada & Agent.
Essentially the game is much better when it’s not the same gameplay loop of ‘Enemies -> Door -> Enemies -> Door (and rinse and repeat)’. I don’t wish to play this game again and I firmly believe it’s past the point of being ‘saved’ from a remake.
For some sort of reference to those who’ve played it I played the following characters: Piers, Jake, Leon and the Agent (with the latter being the worst by a long shot…). I’ll just break this down by chapters briefly:
Chris and Pier’s campaign was an ‘alright’ starter, it was relatively basic and kind of set an example of what to expect but it was extremely repetitive (as with the vast majority of the game) with a few ‘fun’ sections here and there (vehicle chases). The final boss was noteworthy too, Jake having the electric power was quite cool but the boss itself was confusing we found.
Jake and Sherry’s campaign is my personal favourite, it had a lot of unique sections such as the section where you ride down the mountain, although it was frustrating it was unique and fun when it worked, I quite enjoyed the motorcycle too.
Leon and Helena’s campaign was really messy, it was just all over the place, there was a brief segment that had some resemblance of puzzles but it was just very basic and brief which is a shame, the rest is just the gameplay loop of gun, door, gun, door.
Ada and the Agent’s campaign is the worst BY A LONG SHOT as mentioned earlier… at least if you play as the Agent, and I expect Ada too for that matter. It’s so uninteresting the Agent cannot do anything except shoot and climb ladders, Ada has to do everything even stuff like open doors (wish I was joking), Ada’s campaign was clearly designed to be a solo gig and the Agent was just shoved in.
I don’t even wish to touch on the story it was so confusing for no reason and there wasn’t really any characters I cared for besides Sherry (and I haven’t even played the game shes from). Quick ranking of the campaigns are Jake & Sherry > Chris & Piers > Leon & Helena >>>>>> Ada & Agent.
Essentially the game is much better when it’s not the same gameplay loop of ‘Enemies -> Door -> Enemies -> Door (and rinse and repeat)’. I don’t wish to play this game again and I firmly believe it’s past the point of being ‘saved’ from a remake.
Final Fantasy XVI
2023
The Final Fantasy series has been one of the most influential game series's in my life. Final Fantasy VII Remake was one of my first RPGs and Final Fantasy X is my favourite game ever made. The only Final Fantasy post X I had played leading up to this point was XV which left me very disappointed in many ways but I am very happy to say this one didn't. Final Fantasy XVI is without a doubt one of the best RPGs made this year and in fact, one of the best games made this year.
The gameplay in the game can be very easy but that doesn't mean it isn't fun. The argument of "watered down DMC" is a bit valid though but I feel it's still great at it's own thing. The basic combat system is fairly fun mechanically, to me what makes it really fun is its customization. Unlocking Eikon skills was always very fun to me and I had a great time mixing up my skills to see which combo flowed best.
The story in XVI while definitely not the best is still good. There are valid criticisms to it and I do have some of my own too but I can easily look past them if most of the story is very good still. The ending portion is definitely a bit fast although I feel there is no other place for that entire section of the game could fit into.
The cast here isn't the best in Final Fantasy but it's gotta be up there. I get its on the smaller size cast wise but it helps that all main characters are very impactful and memorable. This interpretation of Cid is definitely my favourite in the series and the most interested. This is the most in-depth he's been since XII and VII which is something I felt was needed.
Overall, XVI isn't a perfect game. There are pacing issues, loads of filler, easy combat, and a small cast. These issues to me though are minuscule in the grand scheme of things when the rest of the game does so much right.
The gameplay in the game can be very easy but that doesn't mean it isn't fun. The argument of "watered down DMC" is a bit valid though but I feel it's still great at it's own thing. The basic combat system is fairly fun mechanically, to me what makes it really fun is its customization. Unlocking Eikon skills was always very fun to me and I had a great time mixing up my skills to see which combo flowed best.
The story in XVI while definitely not the best is still good. There are valid criticisms to it and I do have some of my own too but I can easily look past them if most of the story is very good still. The ending portion is definitely a bit fast although I feel there is no other place for that entire section of the game could fit into.
The cast here isn't the best in Final Fantasy but it's gotta be up there. I get its on the smaller size cast wise but it helps that all main characters are very impactful and memorable. This interpretation of Cid is definitely my favourite in the series and the most interested. This is the most in-depth he's been since XII and VII which is something I felt was needed.
Overall, XVI isn't a perfect game. There are pacing issues, loads of filler, easy combat, and a small cast. These issues to me though are minuscule in the grand scheme of things when the rest of the game does so much right.
This review contains spoilers
This has better combat segments than Lost in Nightmares, but it's somehow shorter and feels wholly inconsequential. RIP Doug, you were a real one.
The first part has a cool idea that unfortunately doesn't quite work as well as it should, due to RE5's combat system. But the second part is fuckin sick and one of the best sections of gameplay in all of RE5. Super tense and feels brutal if you die right before the end. I was a big fan of that, not sure what everyone else on here is smokin.
josh will be the protagonist of RE9
I absolutely love games like this where you can just switch your brain off and have some mindless fun which also happen to be accompanied by a fun story! I loved the 5ish hours I spent with this and will definitely be checking the rest of the series out at some point! It’s not perfect it has its fair share of bugs and glitches which can be annoying but mindless fun so hey I don’t care.
Resident Evil 5
2009
RESIDENT EVIL 5 is overall a strong and enjoyable multiplayer experience held down by occasional flaws, with a consistent flaw being how long some enemies take to kill its honestly crazy.
Some of the occasional flaws come in the form of bad puzzle design (specifically the lasers…), quick time events being scattered randomly throughout the game with no prior warning, bosses can be really confusing and have no obvious way to defeat them (especially the final boss, the correct method is not clear at all).
I definitely feel this game can wildly vary depending on who you’re playing with and if you are playing with AI or not so it makes sense why I’ve always heard a big difference in opinions with this game. But I’m glad I played it, was very enjoyable multiplayer and also made for a good first mainline Resident Evil game! I hope this gets a remake at some point in the style of how It Takes Two or Wolfenstein Youngblood work where you only need 1 player to purchase the game in order to play, it would probably be a hit.
Elijah’s review: https://www.backloggd.com/u/liquidddingle/review/1513245/
Some of the occasional flaws come in the form of bad puzzle design (specifically the lasers…), quick time events being scattered randomly throughout the game with no prior warning, bosses can be really confusing and have no obvious way to defeat them (especially the final boss, the correct method is not clear at all).
I definitely feel this game can wildly vary depending on who you’re playing with and if you are playing with AI or not so it makes sense why I’ve always heard a big difference in opinions with this game. But I’m glad I played it, was very enjoyable multiplayer and also made for a good first mainline Resident Evil game! I hope this gets a remake at some point in the style of how It Takes Two or Wolfenstein Youngblood work where you only need 1 player to purchase the game in order to play, it would probably be a hit.
Elijah’s review: https://www.backloggd.com/u/liquidddingle/review/1513245/
Side Order is a stark contrast from the usual Splatoon campaign and I really appreciate that though I hope this isn’t the move going forward, I really did like this though, just prefer the formula of Octo Expansion of Splatoon 3’s regular story mode.
As a roguelike there isn’t any weapon centred levels and it’s quite unbalanced depending on what weapon you use, you’re going to struggle with a short range weapon a lot here not even to a fun degree. Regardless with the standard mid range weapons this game is really fun and challenging, picking the difficulty when given the opportunity was nice but also if you kept choosing easy or normal you get punished in the long run with rigourus challenges! I found myself going for hard missions most the time but if the ball missions were on rigourus I would always do that.
The story here is simple but let’s be real nobody is playing this for the story, they’re playing it for the challenge and fun. The skill card system is awesome but I found Pearl’s drone to be useless most of the time also I wish the new Splat 3 hosts were prevelant in this story mode but nope it’s Pearl and Marina for the 4th time, which yeah makes sense story wise but come on.
Overall I’m satisfied with this and had a lot of fun and rage with it at times but I don’t feel enough to do a full review here.
As a roguelike there isn’t any weapon centred levels and it’s quite unbalanced depending on what weapon you use, you’re going to struggle with a short range weapon a lot here not even to a fun degree. Regardless with the standard mid range weapons this game is really fun and challenging, picking the difficulty when given the opportunity was nice but also if you kept choosing easy or normal you get punished in the long run with rigourus challenges! I found myself going for hard missions most the time but if the ball missions were on rigourus I would always do that.
The story here is simple but let’s be real nobody is playing this for the story, they’re playing it for the challenge and fun. The skill card system is awesome but I found Pearl’s drone to be useless most of the time also I wish the new Splat 3 hosts were prevelant in this story mode but nope it’s Pearl and Marina for the 4th time, which yeah makes sense story wise but come on.
Overall I’m satisfied with this and had a lot of fun and rage with it at times but I don’t feel enough to do a full review here.
Just to rip the band-aid off here I really don’t think this game would have much of a legacy at all if it weren’t for the admittedly well executed ending.
The gameplay is generally pretty fun but is not exactly the best thought out at points, there’s a lot more randomness than I would like and some mechanics are flat out useless (SP). I appreciate the reworking of the Materia system though and I imagine that going after all the missions would encourage you to engage with those mechanics on an appropriately deep level.
The game is very clearly a relic of the PSP era, but honestly? Nothing wrong with that! If anything playing this just made me miss when there was a dedicated space for weird experimental spin-off titles like this designed around short but fun play sessions rather than constantly chasing immersion to rope you in for multi-hour play sessions. Definitely enjoyed my time playing this even if it wasn’t blowing me away in any capacity.
Story-wise…. man. This is really rough. I will say they won me over on Zack, even with his awful recasting I understand why he’s such a beloved character now. But everything surrounding him is, without mincing words, pretty bad. Playing this served as such a stark reminder of how bad the Compilation of FFVII idea was, there is such a strong disconnect between the tone, themes, and writing style of the original game and Crisis Core. That’s not to say that a spin-off shouldn’t have its own distinct identity, but it just feels like the writers room here had never played the original game.
On top of confusing and ridiculous Nomura-isms in both plot and dialogue, I just didn’t buy the connections between Zack and anyone else. Zack and Aerith like each other because the plot demands it. Zack and Cloud are friends because the plot demands it. There is absolutely no understanding of what made any of these characters compelling originally and they come off as caricatures of themselves.
The Nibelheim incident is expectedly reconstructed here, but feels hastily shoved in last minute because they suddenly remembered they had to, they even shoved in an original character for seemingly no reason. Even the ending, as praised as it is, is dramatized to the point of completely undermining the chilling brevity of the same scene as shown in the original game. These direct connections to the original come off as forced, and I honestly would’ve rather they just told an original side story about Zack that predated all of that entirely.
But the original stuff here sucks too!! The original characters weren’t compelling in the slightest to me, and the plot they followed felt like an absurd fanfiction. I mentioned the dialogue earlier but it’s especially bad here, there’s so many unintentionally hilarious moments that are only made worse by Zack’s awful voice actor.
What could’ve been a simple but fun handheld footnote to FFVII’s legacy ended up being just another example of why the Compilation of FFVII was such a big mistake from the start. The original game never needed any of this expansion, and to this day it’s still best enjoyed while completely ignoring all supplemental material. If anything it made me appreciate Remake even more for nailing the tone and representation of the world/characters, despite all the fate ghost stuff.
I know I’m in the minority here as most fans seem to really enjoy this one but I just can’t connect with the story on any level and it drags the whole package down for me.
The gameplay is generally pretty fun but is not exactly the best thought out at points, there’s a lot more randomness than I would like and some mechanics are flat out useless (SP). I appreciate the reworking of the Materia system though and I imagine that going after all the missions would encourage you to engage with those mechanics on an appropriately deep level.
The game is very clearly a relic of the PSP era, but honestly? Nothing wrong with that! If anything playing this just made me miss when there was a dedicated space for weird experimental spin-off titles like this designed around short but fun play sessions rather than constantly chasing immersion to rope you in for multi-hour play sessions. Definitely enjoyed my time playing this even if it wasn’t blowing me away in any capacity.
Story-wise…. man. This is really rough. I will say they won me over on Zack, even with his awful recasting I understand why he’s such a beloved character now. But everything surrounding him is, without mincing words, pretty bad. Playing this served as such a stark reminder of how bad the Compilation of FFVII idea was, there is such a strong disconnect between the tone, themes, and writing style of the original game and Crisis Core. That’s not to say that a spin-off shouldn’t have its own distinct identity, but it just feels like the writers room here had never played the original game.
On top of confusing and ridiculous Nomura-isms in both plot and dialogue, I just didn’t buy the connections between Zack and anyone else. Zack and Aerith like each other because the plot demands it. Zack and Cloud are friends because the plot demands it. There is absolutely no understanding of what made any of these characters compelling originally and they come off as caricatures of themselves.
The Nibelheim incident is expectedly reconstructed here, but feels hastily shoved in last minute because they suddenly remembered they had to, they even shoved in an original character for seemingly no reason. Even the ending, as praised as it is, is dramatized to the point of completely undermining the chilling brevity of the same scene as shown in the original game. These direct connections to the original come off as forced, and I honestly would’ve rather they just told an original side story about Zack that predated all of that entirely.
But the original stuff here sucks too!! The original characters weren’t compelling in the slightest to me, and the plot they followed felt like an absurd fanfiction. I mentioned the dialogue earlier but it’s especially bad here, there’s so many unintentionally hilarious moments that are only made worse by Zack’s awful voice actor.
What could’ve been a simple but fun handheld footnote to FFVII’s legacy ended up being just another example of why the Compilation of FFVII was such a big mistake from the start. The original game never needed any of this expansion, and to this day it’s still best enjoyed while completely ignoring all supplemental material. If anything it made me appreciate Remake even more for nailing the tone and representation of the world/characters, despite all the fate ghost stuff.
I know I’m in the minority here as most fans seem to really enjoy this one but I just can’t connect with the story on any level and it drags the whole package down for me.
Final Fantasy XVI
2023
This is the first Final Fantasy game I’ve been able to play on release, I followed it closely for years and now that I’ve finally finished it I’m so happy to say it’s really fantastic. The one real issue I take with it is that there are a few filler quests within the main questline that have no relevance to the story and should’ve been side missions, they tank the pace of the game at a few points. I also wish they had incorporated more RPG mechanics, specifically elemental affinities. Other than that though, absolutely no complaints. Combat is fun as hell, super fluid, and I love the amount of abilities you can play with. Customizing your layout is lots of fun and never got old. Presentationally speaking of course it’s top of the line in every aspect, it’s exactly what we’ve come to expect from mainline FF. Boss fights are a consistent high point, the spectacle here is absolutely off the charts and arguably the best I’ve ever seen in a video game. The best part of this game to me is the story, it spans a whole 18 years and is incredibly complex but the new Active Time Lore feature makes it really easy to keep up with it all. I really loved this from beginning to end and the final scenes absolutely floored me in the best possible way. Thinking back to the “four pillars” that the dev team laid out wanting to focus on, they absolutely nailed all of them. This is a phenomenal game and easily the best in the series in decades.
