genuinely one of the most impressive games on the PS1 in terms of presentation. everything from the animations, music, naturalistic voice acting, settings, and so on comes together so well. a true feast for the senses. it feels so uncommon to play a game where the main characters are at each others necks like this which made for an interesting dynamic.

i even enjoyed the combat system which at a glance seemed to be more difficult than it ended up. going for most of the content in the game (i collected the rare weapons, did backtracking for optional puzzles, fought the superboss, upgraded all weapons and spells except for Revive and one handed knives, etc.) had me so overpowered that i didn't have to think much about any of the later game encounters and i could just smack or blast things with whatever spell and they'd die within two rounds usually.

the animations and loading in combat are a bit slow and i could see how playing this on actual hardware would be a bit of a slog but being able to fast forward on duckstation got around it.

absolutely deserves to be more popular than it is. can't wait to dive into the Shadow Hearts games eventually too.

If you haven't played this game, you simply cannot consider yourself a real gamer. Hoshi wo Miru Hito earned the title of "densetsu no kusoge" which translates to "Legendary shitty game". This game is an agglomeration of the worst things that plagued the old era of games, cryptic level design (the villages aren't shown on the map, you have to guess it yourself), invisible dungeons that are random which boots you up back to the beginning of the game if you go out of them and to top it all, it re-randomizes all of the dungeons so if you step on one of them again and your current objective was 10 miles away, tough luck buddy! Oh yeah, the game will sometime decide to make you fight level 100 demon gods at the beginning of the game when you're just level 1. Like your first encounter can be against a giant dragon of death which deals 1.000.000 damages, is invincible and you can't even flee from the fight because those developers forgot to add that ability for battles that are lost in advance.
Terrible game, recommend it if you wanna laugh at some of the worst design decisions ever made.

Wanted: Dead is a great game and I'll die on that hill, it's just super fun and entertaining above all else. I won't pretend the game isn't rough around the edges and the gameplay isn't pretty janky because it is for sure and there's no denying that, but many miss the fact that is also kinda the point considering the game is trying to emulate the sixth gen of consoles (in every way, even the ones most would consider outdated) where a lot of the games were exactly that, rough around the edges and janky though there's also so much creativity, charm and passion put into every inch of the product that it is simply impossible for me to not love it.

I will tolerate no slander or hate against the devs and especially the creative director and writer Sergei Kolobashkin because he never lied nor did he ever give false promises and the game is exactly what he said it would be. A passionate love letter to the sixth gen of consoles back when devs weren't afraid to do different and unique things and put out games that simply weren't going to be for everyone and wouldn't get critical praise, but they put these games out because they had a vision and they wanted to make it a reality. That's exactly what Wanted: Dead is for better or for worse because I have never played anything else quite like Wanted: Dead which reminds me heavily of many things like Deadly Premonition, Ninja Gaiden, Yakuza, Metal Gear Rising and basically anything with Suda51's name attached to it all rolled into one insane hybrid fever dream of a game.

Wanted: Dead is unapologetic about its influences down to its core and everything from the unique blend of gory, flashy melee hack and slash and 3rd person cover shooter combat (Which just gets better the more you play as you unlock more skills and abilities) to the over-the-top and slightly convoluted B-movie plot about a group of former war-criminal inmates who get a second chance at freedom and become an elite team of police officers that also happen to get tangled up into a corporate conspiracy complete with eccentric archetypal characters (Like the loose canon katana wielding badass cop who plays by her own rules Hannah Stone, the awkward pop culture referencing, cat loving genius gunsmith Viviane or the ramen connoisseur and ladies man Herzog) and influenced by Hong Kong action cinema and 80s/90s Cyberpunk anime like Ghost in the Shell or the purposefully amateurish voice acting done by the devs themselves, the awkwardly lip-synched cut-scenes, self-aware goofy dialogue, weird mini-games and especially the linear to a fault level design and punishing difficulty with checkpoints few and far between (I would go as far to say that your enjoyment of the game could hinge upon how good you are at action games with nuanced controls) was all deliberately added to further fully encapsulate that PS2 era charm in every way possible.

Wanted: Dead feels like a long-lost classic PS2 game in the best (and some of the worst) ways possible and while that isn't going to be for everyone, hell it won't even be for most people, but I personally adore it and respect the creator for sticking entirely to their creative vision and simply putting out a game for no other reason than it was something they were passionate about and wanted to release for the ones who will enjoy and truly "get" it and for the ones that do "get" it, you'll get an incredible retro throwback to a time when games weren't afraid to just be weird and fun.

P.S. I can already tell that much like games such as Deadly Premonition, NieR, God Hand, Killer7 or Killer is Dead this is the epitome of a truly misunderstood gem of a game that will be heralded as a cult classic 5 or 10 years from now, but for now it has already reached that status for me.

looks at the avg. rating, steam reviews, general reception of this game

this is why we can't have nice things anymore, genuine good games like this one will be treated at best like they're "so bad it's good!" and never get the recognition they deserve for their incredible game design.

Replayed on the latest (1.13) update with combat overhaul on Japanese Hard difficulty. While i'm at it, I'm not a huge fan of this update (it makes the game easier in some ways and favors a more rushdown approach especially on some encounters and boss fights). Still it's a good pretext to revisit the game, and definitely still a very enjoyable experience.

Rage 2 is so devoid of anything interesting, that I actually feel frustrated about it. Just a giant nothing burger of a game- an "open world" that nails the "post-apocalyptic" thing a bit too hard because there is seemingly no life whatsoever. Long sequences of driving, broken up by copy-pasted bandit camps that give you some ammo pick-ups and currency. I found the Borderlands 2 Circle of Slaughter rip-off especially bad. Fighting a grand total of 3 enemy types over and over, in small rooms, with your reward just being the opportunity to buy more ammo. What a snorefest.

An unwanted sequel to an already mediocre shooter, one of the more baffling AAA releases of recent years. The original Rage was as bland in its gameplay as its desert brown color palette but at least it was somewhat focused and fairly inoffensive compared to this. Rage 2 seemed like such a desperate concept since the initial reveal, from the "how do you do, fellow kids" level Twitter antics to the Andrew W.K. promo at E3 I just kept rolling my eyes at it all. That same lame, in-your-face attitude comes through in the game's writing as well - it's like a rotten mix of Borderlands and Mad Max. Pretty asinine stuff.

So, the narrative blows and the tone is off but surely the gameplay is where Rage 2 shines then? Well, yes and no. The gunplay can feel really good if everything goes just right in an explosive shootout but more often than not you'll just end up bumbling around, waiting for your ability cooldowns to recharge while an armored enemy in front of you refuses to die from the third shotgun blast. There's a bizarre feel of half-baked design lingering around a lot of the game, not so much just a lack of polish in one department. The open world does not add much, if you've played a Far Cry game after 2012, or Avalanche's bona fide Mad Max game... Mad Max, you've seen what Rage 2 has to offer as well. At least there's some variety in the different regions of the wasteland. Driving feels solid but it's not much more than a means to get from point A to point B. Vehicular combat on the other hand feels really cumbersome and it sucks that you can't repair most of the vehicles on the road.

This is at its best a serviceable podcast game, I couldn't even entertain the thought of actually paying attention to the plot or worse yet: reading the data pads. Imagine reading the data pads in Rage 2. Now that's insane!! Will never ever return to this one, thank you Xbox Game Pass.

Probably the most contentious game I've played so far in this series, and I can absolutely understand why. A lot of what it does undermines the original game so massively in both aesthetic and tone that I can't overlook it (seriously, the music choice during the beginning of chapter 12 and near the end of chapter 16 are honestly laughable). Kiwami 1 was a flawed remake for sure, but I can easily see why this is by far the most "you either love it or hate it" game I've seen in the series yet.
The Dragon Engine looks immaculate visually and the combat has a nice, free flow to it that I really dig, but it still feels like RGG's still in the early development phase with it. It's incredibly janky, not as mechanically rich as either 0 or Kiwami 1, and it can feel a bit too easy at times. I'm sure later Dragon Engine games (the Judgment series, essentially) will do this better, but it still feels like we've got a bit to go before it's truly ready.

That all being said, I still thoroughly loved my time with this game from start to finish. Call it brainrot, call it dickriding, call it stockholm syndrome, call it whatever the fuck you want, I can't help but love Yakuza, it's my new addiction, really.

The story of Yakuza 2 is preserved here in all (or most of) its glory. Kiryu is just as strong of a character as he's always been, and I love seeing his ideology being tested at every turn. It's great to see some pushback to his sense of honor, and watching him overcome all of that in the end and come out a stronger person will never not be heart-wrenchingly satisfying. Ryuji is the biggest contributor to this, as he's an amazing foil to Kiryu (probably the best in the series), boasting his own unique sense of honor that clashes perfectly with Kiryu's, as he's more vain and greedy, having yet to understand Kiryu's more pure and true sense of honor.

Also speaking of Ryuji, can I just say that he's honestly one of the most entertaining characters in this franchise. From his phenomenal voice performance, to his arrogant, RAW personality, every scene he showed up in had my full attention throughout. And I loved when the game blew past his arrogance and badassery and allowed me to genuinely sympathize with and understand him on a closer, more personal level, which only added to the INCREDIBLE finale this game contains (seriously, that final boss was insane).
I'm not sure if I prefer him or Yakuza 1's villain more yet, but I'm absolutely delighted that the series has failed to disappoint with its major villains so far, and I hope that continues.

Also really loved Sayama's character. Following her as she learned about her past and developed a genuinely touching, heartfelt bond with Kiryu served to be the surprising emotional core of this story, and I loved it. Her personality's got that signature Yakuza rawness with a feminine touch, but she was nuanced in her writing to where it felt like more than just flash without any substance (and fighting with her was always cool as hell), and her arc is just great.

And yeah, despite my grievances with the combat, what I said about the Dragon Engine's visuals is still totally true. The cutscenes and dynamic intros have never looked better, to be honest (final boss's dynamic intro and final QTE were especially phenomenal) and they always succeeded at getting me hype, or immersing me in the moment.

So overall, while I do absolutely understand why someone would find this remake to be vastly inferior to the original (I would probably end up agreeing with that notion myself if I ever do get to playing it), and disliking or even hating it as a result, I'm so glad that I finally played this game. It provided me with enormous joy as I experienced this story and saw these characters unravel once more. I look forward to what the rest of the series has to offer, but I can safely say that the Kiwami games, while not perfect by any means, helped continue my unwavering love for this series and I could not be more thankful for that.

I have a deep affection for the Way of the Samurai franchise ever since its inaugural release on the Playstation 2. The first entry holds a special place in my heart, while the second didn't quite capture me, and the third installment proved to be quite good. Way of the Samurai 3, which I played in 2017, allowed me to explore multiple endings, a hallmark of the series. Returning to this franchise always brings a sense of satisfaction. I'm hopeful that they will continue creating games for this series. It remains one of the best samurai game experiences available, and the original title will always hold the top spot in my genre favorites.