monkeyplushie
really customisable and pretty game, but it lacks charm and replayability. i do feel as though they released an unfinished game. the fact that we're supposedly not getting any more substantial updates is really disappointing too. where's porter :-(
i am pretty much in love with this game despite the world of ruin being a bit of a drag... whenever i replay this again, because it's definitely a game i'm going to replay, it'll probably be the pixel remaster (with amano portrait mods of course) for the qol features (random encounters my beloathed)
i kind of feel like crying sometimes when i remember how my cousins and i would lie on our beds in the evenings and play this together
2023
INCREDIBLE INCREDIBLE GAME I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!!!! i never played the first one but im SO glad i picked this one up. also it made me cry a couple times
the only thing that bothers me is the terrible sound mixing but otherwise stellar game. cant wait for octopath3
the only thing that bothers me is the terrible sound mixing but otherwise stellar game. cant wait for octopath3
(saw the credits roll so i'll log it now even though i will continue to play act3)
its story isn't revolutionary and is generally kind of a standard jrpg save-the-world type deal but MAN does it do this well!!! this has been on my backlog forever because i knew i would get obsessed with it (which i am...) but i'm SO glad i finally played it. it's so rich and full of life!!! so much character!!! so much love and passion put into the game that you can really feel as you play through the story.
and the characters are incredible. hendrik and jasper are my favourites... because i'm predictable... but i love the rest of the party so much. each character has so much love put into their individual narratives٭ and they don't all blend together as it sometimes tends to happen with rpg parties.
to be honesttt i kind of just love this game a lot and it's become something very dear to my heart. i can't say i'm particularly keen to start act3 knowing what happens... but at least i get to spend more time with these characters.
really just the minor complaints i have are that the music largely sucks most of the time (thank goodness you can replace the field music at least) and the luminary shouldn't have been a silent protagonist. now... onward...
٭ jade aside, because the game is more concerned with making her its token sexy girl instead of giving her more depth or development -_-
edit 13/2/24: i did NOT like act3. the only good thing in act3 is the closure hendrik gets about jasper... otherwise it's just a selection of watered down act2 events + grinding + challenge dungeons. not changing my rating because i still love this game dearly but when i replay it i'm going to end it at act2's finale and pretend act3 doesn't exist. Idgaf
its story isn't revolutionary and is generally kind of a standard jrpg save-the-world type deal but MAN does it do this well!!! this has been on my backlog forever because i knew i would get obsessed with it (which i am...) but i'm SO glad i finally played it. it's so rich and full of life!!! so much character!!! so much love and passion put into the game that you can really feel as you play through the story.
and the characters are incredible. hendrik and jasper are my favourites... because i'm predictable... but i love the rest of the party so much. each character has so much love put into their individual narratives٭ and they don't all blend together as it sometimes tends to happen with rpg parties.
to be honesttt i kind of just love this game a lot and it's become something very dear to my heart. i can't say i'm particularly keen to start act3 knowing what happens... but at least i get to spend more time with these characters.
really just the minor complaints i have are that the music largely sucks most of the time (thank goodness you can replace the field music at least) and the luminary shouldn't have been a silent protagonist. now... onward...
٭ jade aside, because the game is more concerned with making her its token sexy girl instead of giving her more depth or development -_-
edit 13/2/24: i did NOT like act3. the only good thing in act3 is the closure hendrik gets about jasper... otherwise it's just a selection of watered down act2 events + grinding + challenge dungeons. not changing my rating because i still love this game dearly but when i replay it i'm going to end it at act2's finale and pretend act3 doesn't exist. Idgaf
at the end when all the peace delegates were starting to cooperate i said to myself, "now the bread and cheese are gonna start making out sloppy style." and then the bread actually gave the cheese a kiss on the cheek... my yaoi intuition is never off. with that said this game has a lot of heart (pun intended?) and it is so so charming. another childhood favourite
the entry that got me into animal crossing. i really love this game a lot. i miss when my mum and i would each have a file in the same town. love you mum
this game is fucking INCREDIBLE... oh my god. the story is so so good ive never played anything else like it
-1 star because of gameplay nitpicks, mostly:
- balance issues
- huge difficulty spikes (personally only had an issue with dorter because i grinded like hell before wiegraf/belias/riovanes rooftop LOL)
- very grindy if you want to unlock certain jobs
but otherwise this has definitely become a new favourite. i am SO glad i stuck with it even after dorter put me through various agonies... maybe this isnt a lot of people's first ff but im glad it was my introduction to the franchise. VERY GOOD GAME!!!!!!
-1 star because of gameplay nitpicks, mostly:
- balance issues
- huge difficulty spikes (personally only had an issue with dorter because i grinded like hell before wiegraf/belias/riovanes rooftop LOL)
- very grindy if you want to unlock certain jobs
but otherwise this has definitely become a new favourite. i am SO glad i stuck with it even after dorter put me through various agonies... maybe this isnt a lot of people's first ff but im glad it was my introduction to the franchise. VERY GOOD GAME!!!!!!
really lovely game and story and i liked it more than curious village but jesus just don't put flora in it if you're going to shaft her like that
loved everything about this game except for the MATHS puzzles
a great fire emblem entry with beautiful art, but some horrible maps that make me never want to replay it
in the end i do like fire emblem after all. hector<3 i enjoyed this game’s simpler story although it wouldve been nice to be able to see nergal’s backstory without having to do the convoluted sidequest (i did not do it btw i looked it up)
also supports are HARD to get!!! the only a-support i ended with was raven/lucius… sorry florina/lyn and eliwood/ninian
anyway good game. no plans to play fe6 as of right now but fe8 is next … i hope it has units as good as pent too
also supports are HARD to get!!! the only a-support i ended with was raven/lucius… sorry florina/lyn and eliwood/ninian
anyway good game. no plans to play fe6 as of right now but fe8 is next … i hope it has units as good as pent too
2017
cuttlefish x dj octavio old man yaoi WHO SAID THAT
2019
this game means so much to me <3
2022
This review contains spoilers
there are things i liked about this game and there are things i didn't like. i want to write a proper review for this game so let’s go.
ART DIRECTION
art direction and character design are great. the sprites are really charming, environments look good, and it controls really smoothly. i loved flying over the world map with the airship (whispered chrono trigger!! to myself when i unlocked that)
speaking of sprites, the portraits not having different expressions to fit with whatever the characters are saying is just a minor gripe, but i don't feel as though it took me out of the immersion that much. overall art-wise i think it does really well.
COMBAT
the fucking overdrive bar. i know that there are people who like it but i hated this thing LOL it felt so limiting. i don't feel like it added any strategy to the combat at all. thankfully you can make it wider in the difficulty options though.
combat wise... i did go into a majority of the encounters with the same strategy (crit buff + attack buff + defense debuff + go crazy). i liked that it was so fast-paced but combat was not a fave if i'm honest. balance was also an issue. i don't know if i'm just bad at games or whatever but normal enemies felt WAY harder than they should've been. i ended up turning enemy stats to low so i could beat the game quicker but then every battle turned into a cakewalk... in my opinion the normal difficulty should've been between the game's low+normal settings. i am glad the difficulty settings exist though (also might be worth mentioning that i’m not the type of person who likes to optimize equipment).
i know a lot of people liked the levelling system but going into menus to learn new skills got reaaally tedious after a while. crystals were also annoying and probably the worst mechanic in the game but thankfully you can just ignore them. unfortunately you can't ignore the amount of mech battles you're forced to do in the later half of the game. i really did not like those mech battles LOL they felt like scripted fights. let me use the characters i've been investing in!!! big numbers is fun and all but most of the mech battles just felt like a slog.
WRITING
now. the writing. i won't lie my biggest gripe with this game is the writing. firstly, i know the developer/writer is german and that english isn't his first language. but i really do think a couple more drafts + an editor would've done wonders. a lot of emotional scenes lack punch because of the stilted way characters speak (the beginning especially... 0 contractions). swear words are thrown in haphazardly and feel more "12year old who just learned about swear words" than "mature story with dark undertones." dialogue is very on the nose and lacks subtlety most of the time too. characters just say what they think. the worst one for me was (act3 spoiler) when frederik dies and lenne just says "he wants me to forgive him but he's done too many bad things so i can't, even though he's my brother." like at this point you need to have some faith in the audience's ability to parse the significance of events/character relationships (though with the state of so many people's media literacy/comprehension i guess i do get it lmfao).
i don't HATE the writing though. i think the main plot is interesting and is paced well throughout. i do think an addition of a journal that covers the events would be helpful though - the game just throws you right in and lobs a bunch of names/factions/important npcs at you without giving you a ton of time to grasp it all. by the end of the game i was still confused about a bunch of the countries lol but maybe that's on me.
wait ONE MORE THING. why did we never even get to fight the megaloworm thing?! all that buildup and for what?!?
CHARACTERS
this is getting kind of long oops. i do want to talk about characters though.
kylian first because he really reminded me of delita from final fantasy tactics (wotl). is he as compelling as delita? no... but i think he's still an interesting character. i think he would've benefitted from some more screen time after he leaves the group so we could've seen more of his motivations and ambitions. the ending... i will get to it.
gwayn (and june) were my favs so not much to say about them other than that but i really enjoyed gwayn as a character. i like the morally grey chessmaster types i guess. i think he was utilised well and his endgame reveal was VERY GOOD. loved that.
sienna is a lot of people's favs for good reason. i think she's written decently well and it helps that she's so good in combat too. i liked the reveal of her backstory and her growing attachment to the party. i'm a sucker for the "guy who joins for convenience accidentally gets attached" trope i guess. her design is great too (loved the gag where the soldiers remember nobody except her down to the smallest detail). divorced failwomen W
honourable mentions: ba'thraz and amalia. i hope they find a way to break amalia's pact :( robb's growth was nice to see but i feel like it maybe had some pacing issues. oh also i enjoyed victor as a character. shishishi
lenne and glenn (lol) were the most uninteresting to me i won't lie. some more attention given to the way lenne speaks would've been good for her character considering her background... the game wants us to think that she's working hard to fit in with the common people but she already talks like everyone else off the bat. her character arc was pretty decent though.
glenn... i liked him in the beginning but that slipped into indifference towards the end. i will say that the plot twist regarding his identity was good and foreshadowed well though. other than that... i have nothing against protags who are unsure and don't know what they're doing, but for some reason glenn just didn't click with me. i can't really put my finger on why.
ENDING
before i talk about the ending i will say that i LOVED the worldbuilding in this game. i loved the lore about the true kings (sequel bait?) and the vaen. i thought that was really well done. sidequests were pretty good too, especially the jan & marsia one. that one tugged at my heartstrings... poor jan. i was worried marsia would be stuck like that but luckily you get one last sidequest to fix everything up.
okay. now the ending. i can definitely see why it's controversial after experiencing it for myself. i might be in the minority here but i thought it was an ending that fit well within the themes and context of the overall story. could it have been executed better? yeah. in my opinion the ending mostly suffers from everything being jammed into a short period of time which leads to it feeling kind of rushed. this is why i think the story should've gone through a couple more drafts! but overall i didn’t hate the ending.
tldr: solid 3/5 game for me. in some areas it does what it needs to do well enough, in other areas it falls flat. incredible accomplishment from a (mostly) solo dev though. gwayn you will always be famous.
ART DIRECTION
art direction and character design are great. the sprites are really charming, environments look good, and it controls really smoothly. i loved flying over the world map with the airship (whispered chrono trigger!! to myself when i unlocked that)
speaking of sprites, the portraits not having different expressions to fit with whatever the characters are saying is just a minor gripe, but i don't feel as though it took me out of the immersion that much. overall art-wise i think it does really well.
COMBAT
the fucking overdrive bar. i know that there are people who like it but i hated this thing LOL it felt so limiting. i don't feel like it added any strategy to the combat at all. thankfully you can make it wider in the difficulty options though.
combat wise... i did go into a majority of the encounters with the same strategy (crit buff + attack buff + defense debuff + go crazy). i liked that it was so fast-paced but combat was not a fave if i'm honest. balance was also an issue. i don't know if i'm just bad at games or whatever but normal enemies felt WAY harder than they should've been. i ended up turning enemy stats to low so i could beat the game quicker but then every battle turned into a cakewalk... in my opinion the normal difficulty should've been between the game's low+normal settings. i am glad the difficulty settings exist though (also might be worth mentioning that i’m not the type of person who likes to optimize equipment).
i know a lot of people liked the levelling system but going into menus to learn new skills got reaaally tedious after a while. crystals were also annoying and probably the worst mechanic in the game but thankfully you can just ignore them. unfortunately you can't ignore the amount of mech battles you're forced to do in the later half of the game. i really did not like those mech battles LOL they felt like scripted fights. let me use the characters i've been investing in!!! big numbers is fun and all but most of the mech battles just felt like a slog.
WRITING
now. the writing. i won't lie my biggest gripe with this game is the writing. firstly, i know the developer/writer is german and that english isn't his first language. but i really do think a couple more drafts + an editor would've done wonders. a lot of emotional scenes lack punch because of the stilted way characters speak (the beginning especially... 0 contractions). swear words are thrown in haphazardly and feel more "12year old who just learned about swear words" than "mature story with dark undertones." dialogue is very on the nose and lacks subtlety most of the time too. characters just say what they think. the worst one for me was (act3 spoiler) when frederik dies and lenne just says "he wants me to forgive him but he's done too many bad things so i can't, even though he's my brother." like at this point you need to have some faith in the audience's ability to parse the significance of events/character relationships (though with the state of so many people's media literacy/comprehension i guess i do get it lmfao).
i don't HATE the writing though. i think the main plot is interesting and is paced well throughout. i do think an addition of a journal that covers the events would be helpful though - the game just throws you right in and lobs a bunch of names/factions/important npcs at you without giving you a ton of time to grasp it all. by the end of the game i was still confused about a bunch of the countries lol but maybe that's on me.
wait ONE MORE THING. why did we never even get to fight the megaloworm thing?! all that buildup and for what?!?
CHARACTERS
this is getting kind of long oops. i do want to talk about characters though.
kylian first because he really reminded me of delita from final fantasy tactics (wotl). is he as compelling as delita? no... but i think he's still an interesting character. i think he would've benefitted from some more screen time after he leaves the group so we could've seen more of his motivations and ambitions. the ending... i will get to it.
gwayn (and june) were my favs so not much to say about them other than that but i really enjoyed gwayn as a character. i like the morally grey chessmaster types i guess. i think he was utilised well and his endgame reveal was VERY GOOD. loved that.
sienna is a lot of people's favs for good reason. i think she's written decently well and it helps that she's so good in combat too. i liked the reveal of her backstory and her growing attachment to the party. i'm a sucker for the "guy who joins for convenience accidentally gets attached" trope i guess. her design is great too (loved the gag where the soldiers remember nobody except her down to the smallest detail). divorced failwomen W
honourable mentions: ba'thraz and amalia. i hope they find a way to break amalia's pact :( robb's growth was nice to see but i feel like it maybe had some pacing issues. oh also i enjoyed victor as a character. shishishi
lenne and glenn (lol) were the most uninteresting to me i won't lie. some more attention given to the way lenne speaks would've been good for her character considering her background... the game wants us to think that she's working hard to fit in with the common people but she already talks like everyone else off the bat. her character arc was pretty decent though.
glenn... i liked him in the beginning but that slipped into indifference towards the end. i will say that the plot twist regarding his identity was good and foreshadowed well though. other than that... i have nothing against protags who are unsure and don't know what they're doing, but for some reason glenn just didn't click with me. i can't really put my finger on why.
ENDING
before i talk about the ending i will say that i LOVED the worldbuilding in this game. i loved the lore about the true kings (sequel bait?) and the vaen. i thought that was really well done. sidequests were pretty good too, especially the jan & marsia one. that one tugged at my heartstrings... poor jan. i was worried marsia would be stuck like that but luckily you get one last sidequest to fix everything up.
okay. now the ending. i can definitely see why it's controversial after experiencing it for myself. i might be in the minority here but i thought it was an ending that fit well within the themes and context of the overall story. could it have been executed better? yeah. in my opinion the ending mostly suffers from everything being jammed into a short period of time which leads to it feeling kind of rushed. this is why i think the story should've gone through a couple more drafts! but overall i didn’t hate the ending.
tldr: solid 3/5 game for me. in some areas it does what it needs to do well enough, in other areas it falls flat. incredible accomplishment from a (mostly) solo dev though. gwayn you will always be famous.