mena2425
138 reviews liked by mena2425
Elden Ring
2022
Started a new character and beat the game for the first time recently. Yeah, it's amazing. No kidding, right? Literally a game that keeps on giving. I am astounded by how many intricately designed areas FromSoft was able to pack in this massive world. The build variety is insane, and I'm already excited to try out a new weapon for NG+ to prepare for the DLC.
my life will never be the same again. this game has ruined me. cloud and aerith will forever keep changing me, their relationship pierces straight into my heart and soul. the cast is beyond perfection. i couldn't breathe through the tears.
Yakuza 5 Remastered
2019
dreams are big, and subtext is for cowards
have you ever wanted to be a taxi driver? what about a bear hunter? what about an idol? what about a guy who has money?? what about a ex baseball pro??? well guess what! with yakuza 5, your dreams (wink) canm come true!!!!!!
yakuza 5 does have some littol flaws that keep it from being a 5/5 for me, such as the encounter rate which made me want to have an encounter with falling off the side of a cliff :3 there's some plot issues but tbh they are not so bad that they bring down the game much, if at all, for me.
the new characters make me ascend higher than the highest highs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! takasugi and shinada 4 lyfe <333333 i think also this game in the series is one of the first to really dig deep into self reflection, and using dreams (wink) to showcase characters flaws and goals in such a beautiful way oh my god, very good very well done rgg i love u
i also think the antags are very good and i'm so happy that yakuza 5 did not fall into the same tropes that have been going on for 4 games in a row. good job yakuza 5
yakuza 5's themes are dreamlike (wink), i think they really do well at weaving the protagonists stories together, and make the finale section of the game genuinely superb writing. there's something so special about these larger than life characters, who often times literally and metaphorically explode off the screen, have wishes that are so human. dreams (wink) are so big and huge, yet the humans wanting them are so small, but can still be a constant inspiration for those around them
yume think i'm exaggerating, but i wouldn't dream of it, this game is sheer peak, and i cannot wait for more of the story to come <3
have you ever wanted to be a taxi driver? what about a bear hunter? what about an idol? what about a guy who has money?? what about a ex baseball pro??? well guess what! with yakuza 5, your dreams (wink) canm come true!!!!!!
yakuza 5 does have some littol flaws that keep it from being a 5/5 for me, such as the encounter rate which made me want to have an encounter with falling off the side of a cliff :3 there's some plot issues but tbh they are not so bad that they bring down the game much, if at all, for me.
the new characters make me ascend higher than the highest highs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! takasugi and shinada 4 lyfe <333333 i think also this game in the series is one of the first to really dig deep into self reflection, and using dreams (wink) to showcase characters flaws and goals in such a beautiful way oh my god, very good very well done rgg i love u
i also think the antags are very good and i'm so happy that yakuza 5 did not fall into the same tropes that have been going on for 4 games in a row. good job yakuza 5
yakuza 5's themes are dreamlike (wink), i think they really do well at weaving the protagonists stories together, and make the finale section of the game genuinely superb writing. there's something so special about these larger than life characters, who often times literally and metaphorically explode off the screen, have wishes that are so human. dreams (wink) are so big and huge, yet the humans wanting them are so small, but can still be a constant inspiration for those around them
yume think i'm exaggerating, but i wouldn't dream of it, this game is sheer peak, and i cannot wait for more of the story to come <3
Really good but the moments which should have been easy slam dunks in terms of their emotional impact often fell a little flat, mostly because they were never allowed time to breathe. Great ending though and gameplay is very fun.
This review contains spoilers
This was my most anticipated game of the year. I enjoyed it and found it disappointing. This game felt crushed under the weight of its own padding - endless side quests, world traversing, and elongated story sections that should otherwise feel urgent in terms of pace and emotional intensity (the Temple of the Ancients is an especially frustrating example). I am curious about the multi-verse they've introduced with this series, but dejected at how little they have done with it thus far. I waited in anticipation to see how the "unknown story" would change, only for it to be basically the same in the end.
Prior to this release I actually felt myself falling off the franchise a little bit.
Not that it was generally dropping off in terms of quality, just that the two prior games "Ishin" and "Gaiden" weren't really my favourites this series had to offer.
Still though, I was exciting for this one seeing how 7 was such a confident establishment of a brand new genre shift to turn based gameplay, and how wonderful Ichiban Kasuga turned out to be as a protagonist.
Now that I've hit credits, I'm rather thrilled to say that this has now wormed its way into being one of my favourite entries.
I'll begin with talking about characters and gameplay, then moving onto world and story.
THE CHARACTERS
In terms of character writing this is by far the best RGG has done, every party member feels rich in terms of backstory and have such vivid personalities that it is incredibly hard not to be endeared to them after bashing a few heads.
The "bond" system has been expanded to include a bingo cards. In essence, there are spots in the map where the player character and party member can talk about a variety of topics. From a friendly game of Sega Bass Fishing to starting a band.
These events are incredibly frequent and each one you unlock helps you complete that party member's bingo card. Upon completion of the bingo slots you receive bond points which unlock "drink links" which is where you have a sit down with that party member and do their side story.
Overly long explanation over, I go into that much detail because I wanted to highlight how much work went into making the crew as lovable as possible.
And how each and every mechanic builds and relates to each other. It constantly feels like you're making progress in something, even if you set out to simply run around and enjoy the Hawaii fresh air, there's always something you'll be doing.
THE COMBAT
Onto the thing you'll do the most in the open world, they also managed to refine the turn based combat to be rather gratifying and fun. A lot of the complaints I had with 7, i.e. AOE's being hard to pull off due to the AI deciding where to position your party members, an undercooked feeling job system, and exploitable attacks that felt poorly balanced, have been expanded upon and fleshed out.
You can now move your character during battle, so attacks are much easier to land as you are now in control of where you're positioned and can make adjustments accordingly.
Not only that, but the job system has been improved also.
Now there are a lot more centre's to change your job at for one, but they also went a long way to make the jobs feel more specified than before.
In 7 every job basically came down to "Move that hurts enemy but with a different animation" but now that enemies have a lot more weaknesses to exploit it makes the jobs a lot more vital.
Another issue 7's combat had was that whenever an item, for example a bike or a cone, was in between you or an enemy, your character would pick it up when doing a basic attack. The problem being that you could not control where or when this happens due to the AI taking positioning into its own hands. Now you can simply move away from the item in order to do the attack you want.
It still isn't perfect though, doing a basic attack next to another party member will trigger a "tag team attack" of sorts. Basically an animation where both characters join together to punch the enemy. However with this new addition, it can be tough to try and land a basic attack if you want to do one as the tag team (and interactable items) may leave you with no room to properly position yourself.
A simple fix for this would be a button turning off the tag teams and item pick ups, thus making it a lot easier for the player to properly control what the character does.
THE WORLD
In the marketing they prized this game as being the biggest one they've made yet, and Hawaii certainly makes it feel so.
RGG went to great lengths to make Hawaii come to life, individuals you can greet and all have lives and hobbies, sun so bright that it becomes blinding at noon, a dynamic rain system which rears its at random (which the characters always had something to say about every time it happened)
Work, a lot of bloody work went into this and it shows.
I mentioned the bonds and drink links but they don't even scratch the surface of the content available on display here.
A delivery based reimagining of Crazy taxi, an entire Pokemon game, enough wacky substories to show up 100 other games, an animal crossing inspired island to build and improve on and more.
But my favourite out of all the side content is easily Kiryu's "bucket list"
I won't go into much detail but it's rare when the optional content is this vital in expanding upon overarching thesis of your game.
Quite honestly, if you removed this side of the game then the experience would've suffered greatly. Because the core mystery isn't the strongest this franchise has offered.
THE STORY
This game has gotten a bit of flack from long time fans. Saying that the actual plot itself is very messy in places and rushed in others, and loath I am to say this but it's undeniable that this is the truth.
It's not Game of Thrones Season 8 level of "Oh man, you guys rushed this" in fact the story has so many good scenes within it that pay off on years of character development that it feels like this ending was the plan for ages.
Often times the plot feels dragged out, a tad uninteresting and basic all things considered. But it has a very obvious heart and humility that I can't help but love.
Upon hitting credits I was left with the biggest grin imaginable, the ending sequence is something this series hasn't exactly gone to before.
It felt refreshing, small and above all it was so much fun.
"Fun", that's the word I would use to sum up this game.
There is nothing to distract from its unbridled optimism and joy, and it helps smooths over the lacking moments wholesale for me.
Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu had one hell of a road trip, one I won't be forgetting any time soon.
"If your heart's in the right place, that's all that matters."
Not that it was generally dropping off in terms of quality, just that the two prior games "Ishin" and "Gaiden" weren't really my favourites this series had to offer.
Still though, I was exciting for this one seeing how 7 was such a confident establishment of a brand new genre shift to turn based gameplay, and how wonderful Ichiban Kasuga turned out to be as a protagonist.
Now that I've hit credits, I'm rather thrilled to say that this has now wormed its way into being one of my favourite entries.
I'll begin with talking about characters and gameplay, then moving onto world and story.
THE CHARACTERS
In terms of character writing this is by far the best RGG has done, every party member feels rich in terms of backstory and have such vivid personalities that it is incredibly hard not to be endeared to them after bashing a few heads.
The "bond" system has been expanded to include a bingo cards. In essence, there are spots in the map where the player character and party member can talk about a variety of topics. From a friendly game of Sega Bass Fishing to starting a band.
These events are incredibly frequent and each one you unlock helps you complete that party member's bingo card. Upon completion of the bingo slots you receive bond points which unlock "drink links" which is where you have a sit down with that party member and do their side story.
Overly long explanation over, I go into that much detail because I wanted to highlight how much work went into making the crew as lovable as possible.
And how each and every mechanic builds and relates to each other. It constantly feels like you're making progress in something, even if you set out to simply run around and enjoy the Hawaii fresh air, there's always something you'll be doing.
THE COMBAT
Onto the thing you'll do the most in the open world, they also managed to refine the turn based combat to be rather gratifying and fun. A lot of the complaints I had with 7, i.e. AOE's being hard to pull off due to the AI deciding where to position your party members, an undercooked feeling job system, and exploitable attacks that felt poorly balanced, have been expanded upon and fleshed out.
You can now move your character during battle, so attacks are much easier to land as you are now in control of where you're positioned and can make adjustments accordingly.
Not only that, but the job system has been improved also.
Now there are a lot more centre's to change your job at for one, but they also went a long way to make the jobs feel more specified than before.
In 7 every job basically came down to "Move that hurts enemy but with a different animation" but now that enemies have a lot more weaknesses to exploit it makes the jobs a lot more vital.
Another issue 7's combat had was that whenever an item, for example a bike or a cone, was in between you or an enemy, your character would pick it up when doing a basic attack. The problem being that you could not control where or when this happens due to the AI taking positioning into its own hands. Now you can simply move away from the item in order to do the attack you want.
It still isn't perfect though, doing a basic attack next to another party member will trigger a "tag team attack" of sorts. Basically an animation where both characters join together to punch the enemy. However with this new addition, it can be tough to try and land a basic attack if you want to do one as the tag team (and interactable items) may leave you with no room to properly position yourself.
A simple fix for this would be a button turning off the tag teams and item pick ups, thus making it a lot easier for the player to properly control what the character does.
THE WORLD
In the marketing they prized this game as being the biggest one they've made yet, and Hawaii certainly makes it feel so.
RGG went to great lengths to make Hawaii come to life, individuals you can greet and all have lives and hobbies, sun so bright that it becomes blinding at noon, a dynamic rain system which rears its at random (which the characters always had something to say about every time it happened)
Work, a lot of bloody work went into this and it shows.
I mentioned the bonds and drink links but they don't even scratch the surface of the content available on display here.
A delivery based reimagining of Crazy taxi, an entire Pokemon game, enough wacky substories to show up 100 other games, an animal crossing inspired island to build and improve on and more.
But my favourite out of all the side content is easily Kiryu's "bucket list"
I won't go into much detail but it's rare when the optional content is this vital in expanding upon overarching thesis of your game.
Quite honestly, if you removed this side of the game then the experience would've suffered greatly. Because the core mystery isn't the strongest this franchise has offered.
THE STORY
This game has gotten a bit of flack from long time fans. Saying that the actual plot itself is very messy in places and rushed in others, and loath I am to say this but it's undeniable that this is the truth.
It's not Game of Thrones Season 8 level of "Oh man, you guys rushed this" in fact the story has so many good scenes within it that pay off on years of character development that it feels like this ending was the plan for ages.
Often times the plot feels dragged out, a tad uninteresting and basic all things considered. But it has a very obvious heart and humility that I can't help but love.
Upon hitting credits I was left with the biggest grin imaginable, the ending sequence is something this series hasn't exactly gone to before.
It felt refreshing, small and above all it was so much fun.
"Fun", that's the word I would use to sum up this game.
There is nothing to distract from its unbridled optimism and joy, and it helps smooths over the lacking moments wholesale for me.
Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu had one hell of a road trip, one I won't be forgetting any time soon.
"If your heart's in the right place, that's all that matters."
This review contains spoilers
This review will include full spoilers for remake, rebirth, the original title and any and all spin-offs in the FF7 compilation.
Final fantasy 7 is a game that took me a while to truly come around to. Initially I believed the combat to be a slog with an ugly and outdated aesthetic and writing that had been so poorly translated with a confusing story on top of that.
But somewhere along the line, the Stockholm syndrome set in.
Joking aside, every time I've gone back to replay the original entry I've enjoyed it more and more. There is a pointed fierceness to the politics it engages in and how confidently it slams its hand down and forces you to take notice of themes like global warming, imposter syndrome, the feeling of not being in control and more.
The characters were all so unique and interesting with arcs you couldn't see coming. The eco-terrorist remains true to his cause of saving the planet, but realises that destroying the reactors that were sucking the life out of the planet was also endangering real human lives. He learns that he has to think bigger than his own self serving sense of justice and work with other people of the same ilk to make a much larger systemic impact.
The main character is your typical cool guy with big sword archetype with two love interests he has to choose between, except as the game goes on you come to see that this is a front for not knowing who he is or how to function on a day to day basis.
He constantly has panic attacks and doesn't know how to handle them, he stole his identity off a man he doesn't even recall and lives his life like he's going through the motions of what he thinks he should do.
But the point of his arc is that he doesn't need to do any of that, he learns who he is fundamentally as a person and accepts that he's a dork like the rest of his crew. He takes the love and friendship that was shown to him and uses that to bolster their way to the finish line.
To get to this point he had to experience the grief of losing a friend, someone incredibly close to him. And it wasn't something one could possibly process at the time, when it happens he and his friends are thrusted into a fight. Barely having the time to understand the events that took place.
Aerith has now returned to the planet. And while she's gone, her impact still remains.
I know all of this is extremely scattershot and messy, and that's because this review has been stewing in my head even since I beat the game.
I've struggled with how to format this for a while now and I think I'll just continue typing until I reach a mythical word limit.
Now with all the interesting stuff out of the way, let's talk about the remake project!
The first entry of which released in April 2020 to great buzz and critical reception.
Initially I played it back when I wasn't too into the FF7 universe so I thought it was a fine enough game. Second time round, after I combed through the universe, I felt a lot colder on it.
The pacing felt so elongated with plot points being few and far between, instead of staying true to the pulse of the original's environmental message it felt more obsessed with the style and aesthetic of the universe. Which had its pros, there are absolutely some stunning moments in that game and a lot of really good meat and potatoes boss fights.
Instead of adapting the original 1 to 1 it added a lot of the compilation content and meta ghost elements to spice things up. Neither of which I cared for, but at the very least admitted was a gutsy move. In an admittedly clumsy ending it you with the promise of an unknown journey, one where fate could be changed and exciting new possibilities.
This was my charitable reading of it leading into rebirth. So, how did they choose to execute their new vision?
Well, in truth, they didn't. Every single event that happened in the original happens here, but instead there will be an incredibly awkward scene shoved in to pretend like something is different.
Red XIII's backstory is interrupted to introduce these new beings who want the black materia. How will this factor into things? It doesn't, they are never brought up again.
Zack is alive in a different world and in that world events are intertwined and all over the place. What creative gameplay and story moments will come out of this?
Absolutely nothing. The Zack content is fed piecemeal, separated with long stretches of forgetting he's even a factor. Despite the fact that he's on the cover of the box.
There are a plethora of more examples I could site, but my point ultimately is that I have to accuse this remake series of one thing and one thing only.
Cowardice.
They are not confident in their new vision so they play it incredibly safe and spend the entire runtime saying and doing nothing of note. There aren't really any themes to this tale, it is full bombast all the time.
There are scenes that break through and manage to resonate, the aforementioned Red XIII backstory and Barret's history with Dyne. But these moments are few and far between, they have done themselves no favours with what that have chosen to adapt and how they adapted it.
Aside from those two cast members, everyone else is completely lost.
"What's that, cloud is acting like a lunatic again and pushed Tifa into a mako lake? Well whatcha gonna do, that's cloud for you!"
Moment after moment the characters need to act in unbelievable ways so we can go back to the open world format. And dear god, let's get to that why don't we?
A world with so much potential for thematic richness and they choose to make a checklist out of it, with two annoying and redundant characters there every step of the way to re-explain objectives to you like you're a toddler.
Ubisoft towers, combat challenges with the same three objectives over and over, some of the worst traversal I have ever played and absolutely no reason to explore the environment outside of the icons on the map. We did it, everyone. A new revolutionary take on the open world.
I understand that I'm coming off as petty and dismissive, if anyone reading enjoyed said content then honestly I am happy for you. I just struggle to see the point in it.
Why does there need to be so much copy and pasted content like this. If the answer is "To give you a chance to test out the combat" then I have bad news for you because the enemies facilitated in the open world die in what feels like two seconds. There is even a quest in Gongaga with Yuffie where you are tasked with fulfilling three objectives when fighting three enemies. But the problem is that you kill them so fast that it is actually dumb luck if you can even get two of these objectives done before the fight is over, let alone three.
Some moments of this legitimately do not feel play tested. Who wants to do a box throwing dungeon as Cait Sith? Who wants to try traversing Gongaga with the horrible feeling Chocobos? Who wants to avoid engaging with the themes of final fantasy vii so we can do a copious amount of minigames?
Minigames, there's a topic to discuss.
Even the people who love this game agree that this aspect it incredibly hit or miss. And while you may be expecting me to complain about them, I actually don't have an issue with this aspect of the game really.
Yes, there are too many that are shoved into the main story. Yes, some DO feel horrible to control. But at the very least, you're doing something new.
You're not completing a checklist, you're not going through a belaboured regurgitation of kingdom hearts. You are engaging in bite sized content you can pick up or put down.
I want to take the chance to celebrate my favourite minigame and what could be my favourite thing in the game as a whole come to think of it. And that's Queen's Blood.
It is a staggeringly well made card game with an incredible soundtrack that I never got sick of. The best chapter in the game is where they set you on a cruise boat and let you partake in an entire tournament where you can choose your opponents and there are like 7 different songs.
Speaking of music, that is also an unequivocally excellent aspect of this game. So many good compositions and reinterpretations of the old soundtrack, and the new songs are no slouch either.
While it's fairly uninspired game design to have a dog escort mission, it does come complete with two songs dedicated to Stamp the shinra propaganda dog. One for traversal and the other for combat. There is a lot of work put into the ost that I would never attempt to discredit.
However, I do have to pivot into a complaint.
Remember when I said the best chapter was the queen's blood tournament?
In a way I think that exemplifies the strengths and weaknesses of this game.
Because short term? There is a lot of fun to be had.
If you focus on mainlining the content you like then there is a lot of fun banter and a joyous atmosphere to be had with hanging out with the characters and seeing what wacko minigame lies around the corner, not dissimilar to the Yakuza games.
However, when I say "short term" I do mean short term. Because viewed as a whole it is difficult to actually parse any type of forward momentum or themes this game has. I used "full of bombast" to describe this game and I want to elaborate on that.
It is not a game engaged with the original text of final fantasy vii, it is a game that uses the visuals and characters to present wacky moments in a world that feels more like a theme park than an actual place that is suffering.
The original presented a world that had been tainted by neglect and suffering. Everything is inefficient, so they suck up the resources from the planet to compensate. This only resulted in the world becoming emptier and colder every day.
Final Fantasy Vii was a sad game a lot of the time, it mourned
how easily people can mistreat the planet they inhabit and made a stance against that mindset.
Everywhere you went, you saw people suffering. Not enough food, not enough water, not enough gil.
Nothing was free and everything was tough, it was your job to upset the status quo and make an honest attempt to save what was left of the world before it was too late.
In Rebirth everyone is all smiles all the time. Planet suffering? What planet? Hey, why don't you run around as red and play some football? Come stay at the golden saucer that runs on the ever dying resources of the planet. Don't think about anything too taxing now!
Taxes, I wanted to get to that.
I think the number one thing that is indicative of how lazy the world building is just that, money.
Every inn, and I mean every inn, is completely free. You don't have to spend a cent of your gil once to sleep. This, to me, breaks the universe in two.
This is meant to be a society that is relying on the scraps of what's left to survive, no?
No, this is Disneyworld. Come look at the attractions.
The game almost shows its hand by having a cardboard cut-out of Rufus Shinra, because truly that is what this game is. A xerox of a xerox. A game that has no interest in making you re-evaluate how you effect the world around you but one filled with momentary whimsical distractions where they forget to drop the other shoe.
I have more to say but I think that's the greatest offence this game makes, it looses what was special about the original story and replaces it with cheap thrills.
It doesn't matter that there are 12 different worlds with 5 new timelines, what matters is an actual story. A worldview the creators wanted to communicate.
There is nothing like that here.
Mechanically there is fun to be had. Orchestrally it soars. You may have fun. But in the end, your life will be exactly the same as it was before you started.
The original endures through time.
Rebirth makes you endure it.
Final fantasy 7 is a game that took me a while to truly come around to. Initially I believed the combat to be a slog with an ugly and outdated aesthetic and writing that had been so poorly translated with a confusing story on top of that.
But somewhere along the line, the Stockholm syndrome set in.
Joking aside, every time I've gone back to replay the original entry I've enjoyed it more and more. There is a pointed fierceness to the politics it engages in and how confidently it slams its hand down and forces you to take notice of themes like global warming, imposter syndrome, the feeling of not being in control and more.
The characters were all so unique and interesting with arcs you couldn't see coming. The eco-terrorist remains true to his cause of saving the planet, but realises that destroying the reactors that were sucking the life out of the planet was also endangering real human lives. He learns that he has to think bigger than his own self serving sense of justice and work with other people of the same ilk to make a much larger systemic impact.
The main character is your typical cool guy with big sword archetype with two love interests he has to choose between, except as the game goes on you come to see that this is a front for not knowing who he is or how to function on a day to day basis.
He constantly has panic attacks and doesn't know how to handle them, he stole his identity off a man he doesn't even recall and lives his life like he's going through the motions of what he thinks he should do.
But the point of his arc is that he doesn't need to do any of that, he learns who he is fundamentally as a person and accepts that he's a dork like the rest of his crew. He takes the love and friendship that was shown to him and uses that to bolster their way to the finish line.
To get to this point he had to experience the grief of losing a friend, someone incredibly close to him. And it wasn't something one could possibly process at the time, when it happens he and his friends are thrusted into a fight. Barely having the time to understand the events that took place.
Aerith has now returned to the planet. And while she's gone, her impact still remains.
I know all of this is extremely scattershot and messy, and that's because this review has been stewing in my head even since I beat the game.
I've struggled with how to format this for a while now and I think I'll just continue typing until I reach a mythical word limit.
Now with all the interesting stuff out of the way, let's talk about the remake project!
The first entry of which released in April 2020 to great buzz and critical reception.
Initially I played it back when I wasn't too into the FF7 universe so I thought it was a fine enough game. Second time round, after I combed through the universe, I felt a lot colder on it.
The pacing felt so elongated with plot points being few and far between, instead of staying true to the pulse of the original's environmental message it felt more obsessed with the style and aesthetic of the universe. Which had its pros, there are absolutely some stunning moments in that game and a lot of really good meat and potatoes boss fights.
Instead of adapting the original 1 to 1 it added a lot of the compilation content and meta ghost elements to spice things up. Neither of which I cared for, but at the very least admitted was a gutsy move. In an admittedly clumsy ending it you with the promise of an unknown journey, one where fate could be changed and exciting new possibilities.
This was my charitable reading of it leading into rebirth. So, how did they choose to execute their new vision?
Well, in truth, they didn't. Every single event that happened in the original happens here, but instead there will be an incredibly awkward scene shoved in to pretend like something is different.
Red XIII's backstory is interrupted to introduce these new beings who want the black materia. How will this factor into things? It doesn't, they are never brought up again.
Zack is alive in a different world and in that world events are intertwined and all over the place. What creative gameplay and story moments will come out of this?
Absolutely nothing. The Zack content is fed piecemeal, separated with long stretches of forgetting he's even a factor. Despite the fact that he's on the cover of the box.
There are a plethora of more examples I could site, but my point ultimately is that I have to accuse this remake series of one thing and one thing only.
Cowardice.
They are not confident in their new vision so they play it incredibly safe and spend the entire runtime saying and doing nothing of note. There aren't really any themes to this tale, it is full bombast all the time.
There are scenes that break through and manage to resonate, the aforementioned Red XIII backstory and Barret's history with Dyne. But these moments are few and far between, they have done themselves no favours with what that have chosen to adapt and how they adapted it.
Aside from those two cast members, everyone else is completely lost.
"What's that, cloud is acting like a lunatic again and pushed Tifa into a mako lake? Well whatcha gonna do, that's cloud for you!"
Moment after moment the characters need to act in unbelievable ways so we can go back to the open world format. And dear god, let's get to that why don't we?
A world with so much potential for thematic richness and they choose to make a checklist out of it, with two annoying and redundant characters there every step of the way to re-explain objectives to you like you're a toddler.
Ubisoft towers, combat challenges with the same three objectives over and over, some of the worst traversal I have ever played and absolutely no reason to explore the environment outside of the icons on the map. We did it, everyone. A new revolutionary take on the open world.
I understand that I'm coming off as petty and dismissive, if anyone reading enjoyed said content then honestly I am happy for you. I just struggle to see the point in it.
Why does there need to be so much copy and pasted content like this. If the answer is "To give you a chance to test out the combat" then I have bad news for you because the enemies facilitated in the open world die in what feels like two seconds. There is even a quest in Gongaga with Yuffie where you are tasked with fulfilling three objectives when fighting three enemies. But the problem is that you kill them so fast that it is actually dumb luck if you can even get two of these objectives done before the fight is over, let alone three.
Some moments of this legitimately do not feel play tested. Who wants to do a box throwing dungeon as Cait Sith? Who wants to try traversing Gongaga with the horrible feeling Chocobos? Who wants to avoid engaging with the themes of final fantasy vii so we can do a copious amount of minigames?
Minigames, there's a topic to discuss.
Even the people who love this game agree that this aspect it incredibly hit or miss. And while you may be expecting me to complain about them, I actually don't have an issue with this aspect of the game really.
Yes, there are too many that are shoved into the main story. Yes, some DO feel horrible to control. But at the very least, you're doing something new.
You're not completing a checklist, you're not going through a belaboured regurgitation of kingdom hearts. You are engaging in bite sized content you can pick up or put down.
I want to take the chance to celebrate my favourite minigame and what could be my favourite thing in the game as a whole come to think of it. And that's Queen's Blood.
It is a staggeringly well made card game with an incredible soundtrack that I never got sick of. The best chapter in the game is where they set you on a cruise boat and let you partake in an entire tournament where you can choose your opponents and there are like 7 different songs.
Speaking of music, that is also an unequivocally excellent aspect of this game. So many good compositions and reinterpretations of the old soundtrack, and the new songs are no slouch either.
While it's fairly uninspired game design to have a dog escort mission, it does come complete with two songs dedicated to Stamp the shinra propaganda dog. One for traversal and the other for combat. There is a lot of work put into the ost that I would never attempt to discredit.
However, I do have to pivot into a complaint.
Remember when I said the best chapter was the queen's blood tournament?
In a way I think that exemplifies the strengths and weaknesses of this game.
Because short term? There is a lot of fun to be had.
If you focus on mainlining the content you like then there is a lot of fun banter and a joyous atmosphere to be had with hanging out with the characters and seeing what wacko minigame lies around the corner, not dissimilar to the Yakuza games.
However, when I say "short term" I do mean short term. Because viewed as a whole it is difficult to actually parse any type of forward momentum or themes this game has. I used "full of bombast" to describe this game and I want to elaborate on that.
It is not a game engaged with the original text of final fantasy vii, it is a game that uses the visuals and characters to present wacky moments in a world that feels more like a theme park than an actual place that is suffering.
The original presented a world that had been tainted by neglect and suffering. Everything is inefficient, so they suck up the resources from the planet to compensate. This only resulted in the world becoming emptier and colder every day.
Final Fantasy Vii was a sad game a lot of the time, it mourned
how easily people can mistreat the planet they inhabit and made a stance against that mindset.
Everywhere you went, you saw people suffering. Not enough food, not enough water, not enough gil.
Nothing was free and everything was tough, it was your job to upset the status quo and make an honest attempt to save what was left of the world before it was too late.
In Rebirth everyone is all smiles all the time. Planet suffering? What planet? Hey, why don't you run around as red and play some football? Come stay at the golden saucer that runs on the ever dying resources of the planet. Don't think about anything too taxing now!
Taxes, I wanted to get to that.
I think the number one thing that is indicative of how lazy the world building is just that, money.
Every inn, and I mean every inn, is completely free. You don't have to spend a cent of your gil once to sleep. This, to me, breaks the universe in two.
This is meant to be a society that is relying on the scraps of what's left to survive, no?
No, this is Disneyworld. Come look at the attractions.
The game almost shows its hand by having a cardboard cut-out of Rufus Shinra, because truly that is what this game is. A xerox of a xerox. A game that has no interest in making you re-evaluate how you effect the world around you but one filled with momentary whimsical distractions where they forget to drop the other shoe.
I have more to say but I think that's the greatest offence this game makes, it looses what was special about the original story and replaces it with cheap thrills.
It doesn't matter that there are 12 different worlds with 5 new timelines, what matters is an actual story. A worldview the creators wanted to communicate.
There is nothing like that here.
Mechanically there is fun to be had. Orchestrally it soars. You may have fun. But in the end, your life will be exactly the same as it was before you started.
The original endures through time.
Rebirth makes you endure it.
I'm a pretty big fan of the show so I wanted to give this a shot, I think Adventure Time's worldbuilding lends itself well to videogames but has strangely not really had any particular breakout games. Pirates of the Enchiridion is a cute little game with fun, if simple, combat. The cutscenes are cute but there are so few and the game is often completely silent which is bizarre, it kind of feels incomplete and the game just...stops. If you are a fan of the show and want to waste an afternoon in Ooo then pick it up on a sale.
A decent but short dungeon with some visually cool elements the deeper you progress. Worth playing for the Omega fight alone though. Like the other bosses in 16 it’s an incredible spectacle and there’s some more 14-style mechanics thrown in. The final moments of the fight were awesome.
Persona 3 Reload
2024
This was a game that affected me a lot when I was in highschool and is very important to me. As I write this I just completed a 100% run, all achievements on merciless in NG, and it was an extremely fun way to revisit a classic title. I love the combat and dialog changes, as far as the male route goes this is the best version of P3 possible, I won't go into story spoilers but it still makes me very emotional to this day, it might even hit harder the more I age. It is truly a special game, and you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. I gotta say though I really hate that a "definitive" edition of the game is charging a separate $40 for The Answer storyline and also missing the girl mc route, anyone defending that is actually a moron.