The game's... not entirely terrible. I actually enjoyed playing it for the most part. The movement kept me hooked and i really enjoyed the dash to kill mechanic as I found it satisfying to keep the chain going dashing through enemies. The levels and bosses however don't compliment the mechanics that well. Most range from not very interesting to straight up concentrated human malice. Final level in particular is... lmao. Referencing the Yellow Devil of all things for the final boss sure was a choice. Call is kind of cute too, I would take a sequel with just her in it

Once you get past the fact that this game is... not a very good sequel to the first AITSF, it still has the same strengths at its core. The characters are extremely entertaining, the dialogue is funny, and of course the mystery part is always thrilling. AINI takes its concepts further than the first game at the cost of, at least for me, being a whole lot more difficult to follow as well, but once it finally clicks it goes BALLISTIC. I still prefer the first AITSF for being an overall more digestible narrative but considering I have both at 5 stars it's not by a significant margin.

I went in knowing pretty much every piece of the game's story (it's almost 20 years old) and still came out of it sitting in complete silence through the whole credits. Not because I was sad that it was over, or even indifferent because I already knew what was coming, but because I was beyond satisfied with the 70 hours I put into the game and I can say it's my favorite Persona for sure. The game is very tight with its theming and nearly everything in it ties back to its main message which is something I appreciate a lot considering it's something every single person has to come to terms with. However, despite being a remake it's still fundamentally Persona 3 which is a double edged sword at times. Even with the shiny new coat of paint you can clearly tell it was still their first time using the modern Persona formula. With that being said, my gripes are so minor compared to how much fun I had playing the game regardless. Overall I'm pleasantly surprised at how much this game was able to touch me even if I went in knowing everything about it. Reload is an amazing standalone game and an even better remake.



Also Elizabeth is perfection

Went into this one with more tempered expectations especially because a lot of fans of the first Kuro no Kiseki agreed that this one had REAL issues. And 65 hours later, I can say I am pleasantly surprised with Kuro 2! It's definitely an unfortunate victim of Falcom's annual release schedule and some parts of the game are a little ??? because of it, but for the most part I'd say for what it is it's a great game. The gameplay is definitively the best in the series (even if I miss brave orders) and I could play it for hours. In terms of the story, it's not focused on being a grand follow-up to the first game but rather a sort of "Kuro no Kiseki 1.5", giving even more time to its characters and setting up even more mysteries for the arc's finale in Kai. Act 3 is definitely the weakest part of the game and I think that's where you can really feel the fact that this game didn't have enough time to have a properly paced story, but it's like a 6/10 segment of a game that otherwise has generational peaks. I think Kuro 2 is not that far behind the first game and comfortably top 5 in my series ranking.

A year ago, I played this game in the coming weeks before the release of Xenoblade 3. I enjoyed my time with the game and the series, but I didn't really get to fully digest it since I was in a rush to also play Xenogears before XC3 at the time. I initially left the game at an 8/10 score due to this. After replaying it without any rush to beat it as quickly as possible, I can say I owe this game an apology. Xenosaga 3 is, if anything, an achievement. It's common knowledge that Xenosaga as a series was unfortunately cut short and had to end early at 3, but the fact that the devs and writers were able to salvage that and still deliver a satisfying and hopeful conclusion to the story is downright impressive. It's by no means a "perfect" game due to its circumstances, but the good so severely outweighs the bad that I think it has earned the new rating of 10/10.

I played this game in a Discord call with the self imposed challenge of "Refund%" - beat the game in under 2 hours and get my money back. I did in fact my money back that day. If I didn't, I don't know if I could continue living knowing I lost 10 dollars and the shame of having Sonic Forces in my Steam library. The game doesn't have any gameplay for a majority of it and when it does have gameplay, it controls terribly. You are actively fighting the game in order to do platforming, which the game does in fact make you do with its awful physics. I can't say I didn't enjoy my time playing it, but it sure as hell wasn't because of the game itself.

I went into this game without having played a Star Ocean game before and thus didn't know what to expect from one. After finishing it, what I got was a truly unique experience and my personal pick for 2023 Game of the Year. This is one of the few JRPGs I've played that feels like a real "role playing" game. Nearly every choice you make in the game has an impact, even down to which characters you choose to recruit and how you interact with them. Couple that with the robust skill/specialty systems and the game really allows you to make your playthrough your own. There's some bizarre abilities that you don't find in any other JRPG, like being able to publish books and collect money from royalties. The game just oozes charm throughout. The characters add to the charm as well through the Private Actions, where you get to see them interact with your protagonist or with each other and it's really fun. The story is pretty solid with some really nice reveals and twists and though it admittedly drops a little bit during the final act due to having really weak antagonists, the relationships between Claude, Rena, and the party still kept me invested. I chose Claude as my protagonist, and I do plan on replaying it as Rena to experience all the unique stuff to her.

In the words of Claude C. Kenny, "I'd say that's worth... 10 out of 10!"

This game is actual soul. Really makes you wonder just what the hell Nintendo has been doing with the Mario IP for the last decade when they had ideas like the ones in this game sitting there waiting to be used. Every level brings something new to the table and it keeps the game constantly fresh. Unfortunately the boss fights are the part of the game most starved of creativity. They got rid of the (admittedly stale) Koopalings and then replaced them with just Bowser Jr fights? Lame. Otherwise this game has been a blast and I do plan on coming back to 100%

It was very difficult playing this game and not expecting the series' absolute best after hearing endless talk about how Kuro no Kiseki is the best one by far. And after 85 hours of thoroughly playing the game, I can say with confidence that I do not think this is the best game or even close to my favorite in the series. Do I say this to discredit Kuro? HELL no. This game is one of, if not THE most consistently good games in the series from start to finish. The combat was fun and the characters were great, which are staples of the series and are still done just as well here. The story was also surprisingly ambitious considering it's only the first game in the Calvard arc. I feel like Kuro's slightly overhyped since it's the "shiny new thing" after 5 games of Cold Steel content (which is perfectly understandable) but I still think it's among the best Kiseki games. It's just top 4 for me instead of top 1 like everyone else.