ontan
2024
Their heads just did that.
I played a few Kirby titles growing up and this is one that I'd always heard was beloved but always ended up eluding me. I'm glad I finally decided to give it a shot because it's a lot of fun. Milky Way Wishes, Revenge of the King, Revenge of Meta Knight, and Meta Knightmare Ultra are my personal highlights here, though most of the games are pretty fun! I think the only ones I struggle to enjoy are the boss rushes, but that's because I'm not a fan of boss rushes in most titles. I'll cut them some slack there; they deserve a place in the game.
2022
Live A Live is here to do one thing: to shower the player in personality and love. Through homages to various genres of fiction and the tropes that they follow, Live A Live seeks to explore why it is that we care about characters and their journeys. For the most part, I think it is a success because the charm of how these stories and the overarching theme are both presented to the player is irresistibly sweet. Even at times when I find myself let down by gameplay elements, that charm itself is all Live A Live needs to make me glad I sat down and played.
There are some chapters here that I'd like to highlight without delving into spoiler territory...
The Wild West — The Wanderer alongside Present Day — The Strongest are both incredibly short chapters focusing on character interactions and the game's combat respectively, and I think that they are both really effective bite-sized chapters. I'm not even a fan of the genres that either follow, but I found myself invested in the Sundown Kid's short-lived relationship with the townsfolk and his rivalry with Mad Dog. The same being said for Masaru Takahara's goal and morals and the opponents he ends up facing.
The Near Future — The Outsider is easily my favorite of the presented 7 chapters as I am a huge sucker for this classic mecha anime vibe and the consequential tropes that it follows. I'm a massive Akira Tadokoro fan here.
Lastly, Imperial China — The Successor completely surprised me as I had played it while really tired and wanting to just get it out of the way since I never really cared for any story focusing on martial arts masters and their disciples. Despite that, I really like this one! I thought that although not explored at length, the initial impressions of the relationship between the Shifu and each of his disciples were effective for getting me to care about the chapter's story. I also think that the way that training your students pays off later is great. This is one of the moments of the story that I'm really glad I got to experience blind.
Like I said, I don't want to delve into any spoiler territory, so I'll just say that I love how this game ends up tying itself together for its final section and conclusion. The entire last stretch of this game helped elevate my appreciation for Live A Live as an entire package—including some sections that I didn't enjoy as much as others, namely The Distant Future — The Mechanical Heart and Twilight of Edo Japan — The Infiltrator.
There are some chapters here that I'd like to highlight without delving into spoiler territory...
The Wild West — The Wanderer alongside Present Day — The Strongest are both incredibly short chapters focusing on character interactions and the game's combat respectively, and I think that they are both really effective bite-sized chapters. I'm not even a fan of the genres that either follow, but I found myself invested in the Sundown Kid's short-lived relationship with the townsfolk and his rivalry with Mad Dog. The same being said for Masaru Takahara's goal and morals and the opponents he ends up facing.
The Near Future — The Outsider is easily my favorite of the presented 7 chapters as I am a huge sucker for this classic mecha anime vibe and the consequential tropes that it follows. I'm a massive Akira Tadokoro fan here.
Lastly, Imperial China — The Successor completely surprised me as I had played it while really tired and wanting to just get it out of the way since I never really cared for any story focusing on martial arts masters and their disciples. Despite that, I really like this one! I thought that although not explored at length, the initial impressions of the relationship between the Shifu and each of his disciples were effective for getting me to care about the chapter's story. I also think that the way that training your students pays off later is great. This is one of the moments of the story that I'm really glad I got to experience blind.
Like I said, I don't want to delve into any spoiler territory, so I'll just say that I love how this game ends up tying itself together for its final section and conclusion. The entire last stretch of this game helped elevate my appreciation for Live A Live as an entire package—including some sections that I didn't enjoy as much as others, namely The Distant Future — The Mechanical Heart and Twilight of Edo Japan — The Infiltrator.
Even in a series as apt with its messaging and fascinating with its characters and storylines, Metal Gear Solid 2 stands out to me as such an especially eccentric and beautiful gaming experience. I already believed the first Metal Gear Solid to have been such an impressive accomplishment as both a stealth-action game and a commentary on self-identity, but Metal Gear Solid 2 cranks the knobs on all of these facets to the absolute max and then some more.
The gameplay is improved to such a degree from its predecessor that I almost hardly believe how well it was honed in this title. Everything feels so much better. Stealth is so satisfying with the better controls and the options available to you. The boss fights, which were a weaker point of MGS1, are actually really fun here. I also find that both any instances of environmental puzzle-solving and backtracking is pretty great here as well! MGS2 is a satisfying game that aged incredibly well in every area that I feel like MGS1 may have disappointed some newer players with its own age.
What really shines about MGS2 is its story. Metal Gear is already a series that has messaging extremely special to me and a unique approach to a dramatic action story across most of its titles. but the eccentricities of MGS2 are what have made this game stand out in my mind for years. I won't detail the messaging of the game myself as that's already been done by plenty of people, but I feel it was tackled beautifully. I love Raiden and I think that the character arc he has to go through, especially near the ending, is one of my favorites in media. I find myself getting incredibly emotional in his conversations with Rose especially. This is just such a beautiful game that continues to be relevant and special to me. I love the conversations this brings up about the dictation of self-identity through our pasts and the information around us, and these are conversations still worth having today and in the far future.
It's perfect, one of my favorite gaming experiences ever. Love it. Love Kojima.
The gameplay is improved to such a degree from its predecessor that I almost hardly believe how well it was honed in this title. Everything feels so much better. Stealth is so satisfying with the better controls and the options available to you. The boss fights, which were a weaker point of MGS1, are actually really fun here. I also find that both any instances of environmental puzzle-solving and backtracking is pretty great here as well! MGS2 is a satisfying game that aged incredibly well in every area that I feel like MGS1 may have disappointed some newer players with its own age.
What really shines about MGS2 is its story. Metal Gear is already a series that has messaging extremely special to me and a unique approach to a dramatic action story across most of its titles. but the eccentricities of MGS2 are what have made this game stand out in my mind for years. I won't detail the messaging of the game myself as that's already been done by plenty of people, but I feel it was tackled beautifully. I love Raiden and I think that the character arc he has to go through, especially near the ending, is one of my favorites in media. I find myself getting incredibly emotional in his conversations with Rose especially. This is just such a beautiful game that continues to be relevant and special to me. I love the conversations this brings up about the dictation of self-identity through our pasts and the information around us, and these are conversations still worth having today and in the far future.
It's perfect, one of my favorite gaming experiences ever. Love it. Love Kojima.
1998
I'm willing to admit that, like many games on PSX, the controls have not aged very well. There are moments that continue to incredibly annoy me, but these are much more fewer and further between than impression would give off. I think it only became a problem during select boss fights that aren't that long in the first place. Otherwise, the game continues to immerse you in a vulnerable state that forces you to approach the game stealthily as you work your way through the plot that's aged pretty well and contains meaning and intent that decades later remains a relevant message regarding war and fate.
MGS has a lot of really nice approaches to particularly its boss fights. Not all of them are good boss fights, but a majority of them do feel satisfying to work out and beat almost in the sense of being a puzzle while making you feel squishy and vulnerable. A lot of other games would make you feel way too badass through making you a hard-hitting tank, MGS makes Solid Snake a badass by forcing the player to be more strategic in a way that mostly pays off well. I really like the approach in this game and others that take it.
It's an all-time classic stealth action game and it will continue to be one. I still very much enjoy and respect this game even years after my first playthrough. Anyone interested in either Metal Gear or just the legacy and evolution of gaming in general should play it.
MGS has a lot of really nice approaches to particularly its boss fights. Not all of them are good boss fights, but a majority of them do feel satisfying to work out and beat almost in the sense of being a puzzle while making you feel squishy and vulnerable. A lot of other games would make you feel way too badass through making you a hard-hitting tank, MGS makes Solid Snake a badass by forcing the player to be more strategic in a way that mostly pays off well. I really like the approach in this game and others that take it.
It's an all-time classic stealth action game and it will continue to be one. I still very much enjoy and respect this game even years after my first playthrough. Anyone interested in either Metal Gear or just the legacy and evolution of gaming in general should play it.
This review contains spoilers
From a gameplay standpoint—especially with bias coming into this from NieR: Automata—NieR Replicant ver.1.22 is repetitive and jank. If I were to look at this in the context of being a game where I turn my brain off and simply enjoy the slashing of enemies and the action-adventure focus, I'd probably hate it. I think, however, that the jankiness of Replicant is full of personality that, while sometimes frustrating, perfectly compliments the art behind what Yoko Taro accomplished with this game.
I do prefer Automata from both a gameplay and philosophical standpoint, but Replicant is no disappointment at all in my eyes. This game has such a beautiful deconstruction of adventure games and the idea of the hero's journey. The fact that this world its characters exist within is so hopelessly tragic is perfectly contrasted by the love these characters have for one another and the comfort they bring each other at the very end once you lead them through multiple hopeless and tragic playthroughs.
It's so beautiful to me. It's a nearly perfect experience in my eyes, though definitely one that's not for everyone. It was worth sticking through because while Automata is definitely by far a much better designed game, I think that Replicant got too much hate for its repetitive playthroughs as the multiple playthroughs weren't as bad to get through as described elsewhere on the internet by players. There are just a few segments that I think aren't the most fun to have to play again which is what stops the game from being perfect in my eyes.
I do prefer Automata from both a gameplay and philosophical standpoint, but Replicant is no disappointment at all in my eyes. This game has such a beautiful deconstruction of adventure games and the idea of the hero's journey. The fact that this world its characters exist within is so hopelessly tragic is perfectly contrasted by the love these characters have for one another and the comfort they bring each other at the very end once you lead them through multiple hopeless and tragic playthroughs.
It's so beautiful to me. It's a nearly perfect experience in my eyes, though definitely one that's not for everyone. It was worth sticking through because while Automata is definitely by far a much better designed game, I think that Replicant got too much hate for its repetitive playthroughs as the multiple playthroughs weren't as bad to get through as described elsewhere on the internet by players. There are just a few segments that I think aren't the most fun to have to play again which is what stops the game from being perfect in my eyes.
2020
The game isn't all that good, but God Satan am I attracted to women
2014
LISA is, as its subtitle suggests, is one of the more emotionally painful experiences I've had with a game, and I mean that as a positive. This game's story puts Brad through so much torment that it almost feels like it hates the player themself at times. I don't want to go into the story beats at all because they're best experienced completely blindly, but just know that despite how damn funny the humor in this game is, its revenge narrative and main character are heartwrenching at times. It's difficult to progress in this game at times because of how fucked the next steps that Brad is going to take are. If you're familiar with how dark Mother 3 can get, this game has that same sort of feeling, but can obviously go so much further with it because it's not a Nintendo game.
I wish I could sing nothing BUT praises for this game, but it is an RPGMaker game. I love turn-based combat games, but LISA doesn't do too much to make its combat exciting. The encounters aren't annoying, just could've been less repetitive after you figure out what status effects do and how to execute dial combos. Also, the customization in this game doesn't really do it for me, it's just completely whatever.
Navigating the world can be a puzzle sometimes and it's pretty fun, not revolutionary, but it's hard to be bored on your way to your next destination.
Overall though, great experience that I have to recommend to anyone that enjoys RPGs in the style of the Mother series or Undertale, as much as I'm sure that comparison is such a beaten dead horse that it's just a pile of guts by now.
I wish I could sing nothing BUT praises for this game, but it is an RPGMaker game. I love turn-based combat games, but LISA doesn't do too much to make its combat exciting. The encounters aren't annoying, just could've been less repetitive after you figure out what status effects do and how to execute dial combos. Also, the customization in this game doesn't really do it for me, it's just completely whatever.
Navigating the world can be a puzzle sometimes and it's pretty fun, not revolutionary, but it's hard to be bored on your way to your next destination.
Overall though, great experience that I have to recommend to anyone that enjoys RPGs in the style of the Mother series or Undertale, as much as I'm sure that comparison is such a beaten dead horse that it's just a pile of guts by now.
The world of Disco Elysium is one that immediately fascinated me, and I'll never forget it. Almost everyone in this world honestly sucks in some kind of way. A lot of RPGs have these characters that act as some kind of standard for good morality, and you can see where everyone else lies in comparison. Disco Elysium is not the only game to not really have that, but it's one that, in recent memory, really sticks the landing. Everyone here sucks, people are morally grey at best, they're assholes, they're corrupt, they're greedy, they're in one way or another, pretty shitty, and I love it. It especially motivates me as a player to push the player character into being the one exception, the good guy who can want for things to be better, and it's really hard to be that guy. I've had moments during my playthrough where I sat for multiple minutes thinking of what option to take in dialogue or during an investigation, what would be the right choice. Sometimes, there isn't one, and that allows for the state of the world in this game to be extremely gripping. It's a post-revolution world in this city that's messed up to all hell with civil conflict knocking at its door. Of course there are going to be moments where there aren't right answers. You can also thrive in picking the worst answers, or being someone who's indifferent and just wants to finish his work. You can make the player character go down many moral and personality paths even though he does have his own mostly-established character. This is a beautiful game with a beautiful world and characters so messed up that I can't help but care about the world they live in. I look forward to playing it again and seeing what else I can get out of it.
Twilight Princess is the peak of linear Zelda, and for me, the series as a whole. I do a full 100% replay of this game annually as a tradition out of love for this game. TP's dungeons, characters, and story are all so striking and memorable. The stakes here really matter in a way that hasn't really resonated with me in other Zelda games aside from Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time. It's my favorite game of all time. I can completely sink into this version of Hyrule and all that inhabits it. The Twili and Midna are such a special addition that I wish we could see again as well. This game is just amazing.