shaniji93
106 Reviews liked by shaniji93
When Midway announced Mortal Kombat: Unchained for PSP Nintendo fans screamed that they wanted one as well. They got their wish with a port of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Puzzle Kombat from MK: Deception threw in. Here you have a perfect port of both with responsive controls and a useful bottom screen that shows finishing moves and special moves. All the characters from UMK3 are here plus some unlockables. There’s not much to say other than the controls work well and I could pull off fast combos online while dishing out Fatalities and Animalities left and right.
A couple of small gripes is that the -ality position isn’t listed on the bottom screen so you kind of need to experiment, and the time to pull off the fatality is like 4 seconds so you get one try. I also found the graphics slightly blurry due to the low resolution and small screen, but it’s only noticeable to people who played the classics a lot. I also found the Puzzle Kombat graphics were toned down a bit even more so than on the PSP. Overall this isn’t a huge package, but enough to satisfy fans and online play is the best way to go.
Being able to make the fight screen on the top or bottom is a nice feature, but the problems from UMK3 still exist like ridiculous AI, combos are hard to pull off and forget trying to beat Shao Kahn unless you cheat. I just wish there were some more modes that could have been thrown in or maybe a few more arcade ports, but what’s here works well and feels great to play and come back to.
A couple of small gripes is that the -ality position isn’t listed on the bottom screen so you kind of need to experiment, and the time to pull off the fatality is like 4 seconds so you get one try. I also found the graphics slightly blurry due to the low resolution and small screen, but it’s only noticeable to people who played the classics a lot. I also found the Puzzle Kombat graphics were toned down a bit even more so than on the PSP. Overall this isn’t a huge package, but enough to satisfy fans and online play is the best way to go.
Being able to make the fight screen on the top or bottom is a nice feature, but the problems from UMK3 still exist like ridiculous AI, combos are hard to pull off and forget trying to beat Shao Kahn unless you cheat. I just wish there were some more modes that could have been thrown in or maybe a few more arcade ports, but what’s here works well and feels great to play and come back to.
Congo's Caper
1992
The original Joe & Mac, while not necessarily the most creative or entertaining of arcade 2D platformers, was certainly still a good, charming platformer from Data East, and it did have some elements going for it that not too many other games at the time had to offer. So, now that we had one successful title on our hands, Data East decided that they needed to turn Joe & Mac into a franchise, but the next title in the series would be… confusing to say the least. Most people would probably assume that the game known as Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics would be the official sequel to the original game, but before that, there was another title that was NOT called Joe & Mac 2, but it would still be the direct sequel to Joe & Mac, and it would be presented as a completely separate game known as Congo’s Caper. To make things even more confusing, in Japan, the game was titled Fighting Caveman 2: Rookie’s Adventure, which makes sense over there, considering Joe & Mac was also called Fighting Caveman, so why… I don’t know, video game titles make absolutely zero sense.
So, despite not featuring Joe & Mac whatsoever, and not even mentioning them by name at all, this is the follow-up to that game, as it plays almost identically, except with a new art style, characters, and what have you. But don’t worry, because in case you did play the game not knowing it was a follow-up, you probably would’ve figured it out immediately, because it plays pretty much EXACTLY like the original game, with not too many noticeable differences in the gameplay, settings, or even the plot. With all that being said though, I would consider this game to be SLIGHTLY better then the original Joe & Mac, making the gameplay feel more fluid and controllable, while still retaining the charm of the original… somewhat. Yes, it is still very basic, but it was still fun enough to play through, and it thankfully doesn’t have that many problems that would drive people away.
The story is, once again, “guy saves girl”, except now it is just one girl instead of multiple, so I guess that somehow makes the plot different, the graphics are incredibly generic for SNES standards, but they are bright and colorful enough to where I didn’t hate looking at it, the music is very cheerful, bouncy, and fun to listen to, so it does its job well, even if the tracks themselves aren’t all that memorable either, the control is a little better than the original game, with it being generally the same, with the same awkward higher jump function, but HEY… there’s a run button now, so it is automatically better, and the gameplay is basically just if you took the original Joe & Mac, made it better… and that’s about it.
The game is your average 2D platformer, where you take control of Congo, go through plenty of different prehistoric levels through plenty of prehistoric environments, take out many different baddies that you will run into on your journey, gather plenty of gems and powerups along the way, while sometimes activating a slot machine to give you bonuses (I dunno), and take on familiar, yet new and formidable boss battles. What we have here is basically just more Joe & Mac, but with some of it removed, while other elements are added. For example, those multiple weapons that you could get and try out in the original game? Yeah, they are gone, but here, you can gather these pink orbs that, when you collect enough, gives you more speed and allows you to hit faster, while also making you glow, which is… fine, I guess. It’s not necessarily a preferable change, and it lacks variety, but I still found myself having enough fun with it.
If it wasn’t already connected with Joe & Mac, you could easily see this game as your typical shovelware SNES platformer. It really doesn’t do anything to make itself stand out from other titles on the system, and I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that it was one of those shovelware SNES platformers, because it REALLY feels like it. It is still fun, and I had a good enough time with it, but that is just because I am a big fan of old-school platformers in general. Not to mention, if you were afraid that this change of characters would result in the feel of Joe & Mac being stripped away too, well fear not, because aside from a few differences, it pretty much plays exactly like Joe & Mac, but in this case, I would say it is better then the original, despite not being as charming.
If I were to give some complaints about the game, it would be that it is pretty damn easy. Yes, the levels themselves can be pretty tricky, and there are certainly plenty of instances where you can die, but this game gives you gems and lives like they are fucking candy, to the point where you can easily max out your life count by the end of the game. That’s saying a lot, considering your life cap is at 99. Also, this may have just been a problem for me, but I did encounter a game-breaking glitch that made me restart the entire game. In one of the haunted levels of the game, whenever I would touch one of those lightbulb things, the game would just automatically reset itself, and no matter how much I reloaded that save state, it ALWAYS did this. This may not sound like that much of a big deal, but considering you HAVE to pass by one of these bulbs in order to beat the level they are in, I was pretty much caught in a dead game. Thankfully, when I got back to that level after replaying through the entire game, it didn’t do this anymore, so it may have just been a one-time thing, but the fact that a bug like that exists is still pretty bad, and is worth mentioning.
Overall, despite the gameplay not being changed around that much, the life whoring, and the game-breaking bug, Congo’s Caper was still a pretty enjoyable time, and I would definitely consider it an improvement over the original Joe & Mac, despite not seeming like there is much more to it that would be worth playing. I would recommend it for those who were fans of the original game, as well as fans of the series in general, but for everyone else, there are definitely better platformers out there. But hey, at least now that we got through this game, the confusion with the titles will probably stop now, right? Oh, who am i kidding, it’ll never stop.
Game #320
So, despite not featuring Joe & Mac whatsoever, and not even mentioning them by name at all, this is the follow-up to that game, as it plays almost identically, except with a new art style, characters, and what have you. But don’t worry, because in case you did play the game not knowing it was a follow-up, you probably would’ve figured it out immediately, because it plays pretty much EXACTLY like the original game, with not too many noticeable differences in the gameplay, settings, or even the plot. With all that being said though, I would consider this game to be SLIGHTLY better then the original Joe & Mac, making the gameplay feel more fluid and controllable, while still retaining the charm of the original… somewhat. Yes, it is still very basic, but it was still fun enough to play through, and it thankfully doesn’t have that many problems that would drive people away.
The story is, once again, “guy saves girl”, except now it is just one girl instead of multiple, so I guess that somehow makes the plot different, the graphics are incredibly generic for SNES standards, but they are bright and colorful enough to where I didn’t hate looking at it, the music is very cheerful, bouncy, and fun to listen to, so it does its job well, even if the tracks themselves aren’t all that memorable either, the control is a little better than the original game, with it being generally the same, with the same awkward higher jump function, but HEY… there’s a run button now, so it is automatically better, and the gameplay is basically just if you took the original Joe & Mac, made it better… and that’s about it.
The game is your average 2D platformer, where you take control of Congo, go through plenty of different prehistoric levels through plenty of prehistoric environments, take out many different baddies that you will run into on your journey, gather plenty of gems and powerups along the way, while sometimes activating a slot machine to give you bonuses (I dunno), and take on familiar, yet new and formidable boss battles. What we have here is basically just more Joe & Mac, but with some of it removed, while other elements are added. For example, those multiple weapons that you could get and try out in the original game? Yeah, they are gone, but here, you can gather these pink orbs that, when you collect enough, gives you more speed and allows you to hit faster, while also making you glow, which is… fine, I guess. It’s not necessarily a preferable change, and it lacks variety, but I still found myself having enough fun with it.
If it wasn’t already connected with Joe & Mac, you could easily see this game as your typical shovelware SNES platformer. It really doesn’t do anything to make itself stand out from other titles on the system, and I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that it was one of those shovelware SNES platformers, because it REALLY feels like it. It is still fun, and I had a good enough time with it, but that is just because I am a big fan of old-school platformers in general. Not to mention, if you were afraid that this change of characters would result in the feel of Joe & Mac being stripped away too, well fear not, because aside from a few differences, it pretty much plays exactly like Joe & Mac, but in this case, I would say it is better then the original, despite not being as charming.
If I were to give some complaints about the game, it would be that it is pretty damn easy. Yes, the levels themselves can be pretty tricky, and there are certainly plenty of instances where you can die, but this game gives you gems and lives like they are fucking candy, to the point where you can easily max out your life count by the end of the game. That’s saying a lot, considering your life cap is at 99. Also, this may have just been a problem for me, but I did encounter a game-breaking glitch that made me restart the entire game. In one of the haunted levels of the game, whenever I would touch one of those lightbulb things, the game would just automatically reset itself, and no matter how much I reloaded that save state, it ALWAYS did this. This may not sound like that much of a big deal, but considering you HAVE to pass by one of these bulbs in order to beat the level they are in, I was pretty much caught in a dead game. Thankfully, when I got back to that level after replaying through the entire game, it didn’t do this anymore, so it may have just been a one-time thing, but the fact that a bug like that exists is still pretty bad, and is worth mentioning.
Overall, despite the gameplay not being changed around that much, the life whoring, and the game-breaking bug, Congo’s Caper was still a pretty enjoyable time, and I would definitely consider it an improvement over the original Joe & Mac, despite not seeming like there is much more to it that would be worth playing. I would recommend it for those who were fans of the original game, as well as fans of the series in general, but for everyone else, there are definitely better platformers out there. But hey, at least now that we got through this game, the confusion with the titles will probably stop now, right? Oh, who am i kidding, it’ll never stop.
Game #320
Street Fighter
1987
Believe it or not, whenever people think about Street Fighter, they're memory usually only goes back to Street Fighter II and no where further than that, and there is a reason for that. That's because the original Street Fighter, despite being the beginning of the series, and one of the earliest games in the fighting genre, has aged HORRIBLY. Now, I wouldn't say the game is absolutely god awful, but for christ sake, I don't know how anyone can go back to this game compared to what we have now.
The story pretty much doesn't exist, except for "beat up people", which is all good for me, the graphics are pretty good for the time, the music is definitely music, the control/movement is pretty weird, and it does take time to get used to, but nothing too bad, the gameplay is your basic fighting game, so nothing to really comment on their, and I will give the game credit, it did introduce a lot to the genre, such as special moves, blocking, a six button control scheme, and other stuff.
Despite all of that, it all comes crumbling down when it comes to actually fighting your opponents. Not only is the fighting itself already pretty awkward to execute, but also, matches can end in literal SECONDS upon starting, given how fast your health can be drained, which is great if you can take advantage of this. However, most of the time, the computer will kick your ass, at least for me, and you can barely get a hit in.
Now, I will fully admit, I'm not that good at fighting games that aren't Smash Bros., but I can hold my own and do a decent job in Street Fighter II and any other game beyond that, but here, it takes save states for me to even have a chance at winning against most fights.
Aside from that, the game just isn't that good due to the aspect of time. We have had many different fighting games since this one came out, each bringing something new to the table to bring a new, satisfying execution of the genre, making going back to this game basically impossible unless you have morbid curiosity, which I wouldn't recommend you try to satiate. I could also criticize other aspects of the game, like the lack of multiple characters, but then again, it is one of the earliest games in the genre, so I can't criticize it for that.
Overall, while it did introduce plenty of staples into the genre, I can't recommend anyone trying to go back to the original Street Fighter unless you wanna see the origins of the series, and even then, it's not really that worth it.
Game #34
The story pretty much doesn't exist, except for "beat up people", which is all good for me, the graphics are pretty good for the time, the music is definitely music, the control/movement is pretty weird, and it does take time to get used to, but nothing too bad, the gameplay is your basic fighting game, so nothing to really comment on their, and I will give the game credit, it did introduce a lot to the genre, such as special moves, blocking, a six button control scheme, and other stuff.
Despite all of that, it all comes crumbling down when it comes to actually fighting your opponents. Not only is the fighting itself already pretty awkward to execute, but also, matches can end in literal SECONDS upon starting, given how fast your health can be drained, which is great if you can take advantage of this. However, most of the time, the computer will kick your ass, at least for me, and you can barely get a hit in.
Now, I will fully admit, I'm not that good at fighting games that aren't Smash Bros., but I can hold my own and do a decent job in Street Fighter II and any other game beyond that, but here, it takes save states for me to even have a chance at winning against most fights.
Aside from that, the game just isn't that good due to the aspect of time. We have had many different fighting games since this one came out, each bringing something new to the table to bring a new, satisfying execution of the genre, making going back to this game basically impossible unless you have morbid curiosity, which I wouldn't recommend you try to satiate. I could also criticize other aspects of the game, like the lack of multiple characters, but then again, it is one of the earliest games in the genre, so I can't criticize it for that.
Overall, while it did introduce plenty of staples into the genre, I can't recommend anyone trying to go back to the original Street Fighter unless you wanna see the origins of the series, and even then, it's not really that worth it.
Game #34
Street Fighter
1987
Went from a half-star to one and a half stars once I found out how the special moves actually work in this game. You just gotta do them over and over really fast.
That made it an awkward spam-fest, but I was able to beat it fairly quickly. I’m curious to try out the pressure-sensitive buttons of the deluxe arcade release, but for now this isn’t the “worst game ever” I was expecting, but it’s still a little confusing and not that fun.
That made it an awkward spam-fest, but I was able to beat it fairly quickly. I’m curious to try out the pressure-sensitive buttons of the deluxe arcade release, but for now this isn’t the “worst game ever” I was expecting, but it’s still a little confusing and not that fun.
Resident Evil 4
2023
Now this is a REmake. Beautiful ass game, makes every possible thing from the original more modern and just better. Runs so smooth on the ps5 and just a great ass game. Tank controls are completely refined. Gunplay is best in the series. They make every gun feel great to use. The classic collectibles are there, complete with the combinations. The same, over the top, goofy story you know and love is intact. It’s just such a good game, I can imagine someone not even realizing it’s a remake. Some of the open exploration parts dragged on a little more than I wished. Only missing a few of my favorite voice lines too, otherwise it’d be a 5/5.
Resident Evil 4
2023
After subsequent playthroughs and essentially completing the new Mercenaries mode, this still rules. Haven’t played a game back-to-back this many times this quickly since I bought Resident Evil 2 remastered and kickstarted my love affair with this franchise.
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My baby (son) is due this week!!! So either I will be playing and reviewing absolutely nothing in the next few months, or my baby will be lulled to sleep by the dulcet tones of ganados yelling “detras de tí, imbécil” and the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster soundtracks. Should I embarrass my wife by taking one of those Reddit™ pictures where I’m playing the switch in the hospital? Wholesome 100 Keanu gamer moment
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My baby (son) is due this week!!! So either I will be playing and reviewing absolutely nothing in the next few months, or my baby will be lulled to sleep by the dulcet tones of ganados yelling “detras de tí, imbécil” and the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster soundtracks. Should I embarrass my wife by taking one of those Reddit™ pictures where I’m playing the switch in the hospital? Wholesome 100 Keanu gamer moment
Undertale
2015
So I got this game in 2021 after I decided I needed to start playing indie games…and I decided to start on undertale and oh man…what a game…what a powerful little indie game made by a guy named Toby fox…and no…this game isn’t just “ooo look funny skeleton man” this game is more then that, this game is…undertale, a game where you are judged for what you do and get the ending you have created…just wow…
Undertale
2015
Undertale has something that a lot of publishers lost over the years: HEART. I started this review not trying to make a joke with the heart mechanic on battles but now I have to start with it. =)
The battles are unique. It's not a classic RPG but the game has some elements of it... It's really hard to describe how the battles work but I can garantiee that's different and really fun. You have your regular attacks, items or you can talk with the enemy on your turns. On enemies' turn, you can dodge their attacks controlling a small heart in a box. It doesn't sound fun but it really is. Every battle is different and you have a lot of options to end it.
The story is simple but AMAZING and UNFORGETTABLE. It's incredible how a small developer could add alternative endings. Every battle will be important to your end. I can't say much to avoid spoilers but you are a kid that fell on a underground world full of monsters and trying to escape.
One thing that I have to say it's that you can see how much this project was important to its developer. I was playing Gears 5 at the same time I was playing Undertale and I could see the difference between something made only to make money and a game that tried to give a journey.
Please, give Undertale a chance. I hope that this review makes you full of DETERMINATION!
The battles are unique. It's not a classic RPG but the game has some elements of it... It's really hard to describe how the battles work but I can garantiee that's different and really fun. You have your regular attacks, items or you can talk with the enemy on your turns. On enemies' turn, you can dodge their attacks controlling a small heart in a box. It doesn't sound fun but it really is. Every battle is different and you have a lot of options to end it.
The story is simple but AMAZING and UNFORGETTABLE. It's incredible how a small developer could add alternative endings. Every battle will be important to your end. I can't say much to avoid spoilers but you are a kid that fell on a underground world full of monsters and trying to escape.
One thing that I have to say it's that you can see how much this project was important to its developer. I was playing Gears 5 at the same time I was playing Undertale and I could see the difference between something made only to make money and a game that tried to give a journey.
Please, give Undertale a chance. I hope that this review makes you full of DETERMINATION!
Fine realistic mech 5v5/6v6 mecha game . Better than most multiplayer games nowadays .
I love this game. It gets plenty of hate for the matchmaking issues on PC (valid), Gacha mechanics (valid), and the slower, heavier movement. As far as the issues with the PC port versus the PS4 release, I've played on PC recently and they do seem to be working on them. Hopefully they make some good progress and the backlash doesn't kill the game. The Gacha mechanics could definitely be a cash drain for the impatient but I didn't mind it as the free drops are frequent and everything can be earned through playing the game. As far as the heavy, slower feel of the game, I think it adds a tremendous sense weight that feels more realistic than many of the Gundam games I've played before and since. This, coupled with the ability to exit the Mobile Suit, distract opponents using extra stage vehicles, plant a bomb at the enemy base, or even steal an opponent's Mobile Suit when the opportunity arises, adds a sense of scale and a lot of exciting strategy and intensity to the game.
Give it a try before you write it off as a failure. It's not for everyone but it's one of my favorite online games. They did something different in a time when the typical Battle Royale and FPS game formulas have stopped being fun for me.
Give it a try before you write it off as a failure. It's not for everyone but it's one of my favorite online games. They did something different in a time when the typical Battle Royale and FPS game formulas have stopped being fun for me.
As I initially set off to finish the last of the remaining dungeons, I round a corner and a stray thought occurs: “Can I dogfight dragons in this game?” After an evening spent on that instead, it turns out that I can both do that and send it tumbling down a cliff in the process. Another thought follows: “This is probably the coolest game I’ve ever played.”
This reflects a strength that’s been carried forward from Breath of the Wild and part of what separated that game from standard open world fare: the “triangle rule.” It includes shaping environmental geometry in such a way that landmarks and other notable sights were deliberately obscured from angles players were most likely to view them from, creating a visual chain of interest as they orient themselves around it. It’s impressive that Tears of the Kingdom retains this considering just how much Hyrule has been reshuffled and expanded upon, but where it particularly excels in this regard is in terms of new additions, namely its tripling down on verticality.
Diving into a well or tree stump, winding up in a complex cave system, finding treasure behind a waterfall or at the top of a hidden shaft and using Ascend to pop out the other end in parts unknown is the exact kind of storybook-like experience that this new formula needed, like meat added to the bones of the sense of adventure BOTW was otherwise so successful at selling. Caves seem a deceptively simple inclusion on a conceptual level – goodness knows open world fantasy games’re no stranger to them – but one reason you couldn’t just plop TOTK’s into some other game is because of how their design’s informed by Link’s traversal options. Just finding them often resembles a scene out of Katsuya Terada’s art for the first few Zelda games, steep climbs into hidden entryways and all, often in a way that foreshadows the challenges inside. Slippery walls, boulders you have to smash your way through, confined spaces and other hazards combine to form the other reason, which is the contrast these environmentally constrained puzzle boxes create with the rest of the game’s freedom.
Shrines and temples alike exemplify this, as much as or more than the spectacle of diving from a sky island straight into the Depths in what’s a sensation I haven’t felt since Gravity Rush 2. Getting goofy with a combination of Ultrahand and Recall or whatever other powers you prefer to circumvent obstacles brings to mind an anecdote I have about a level in Thief 2 called Casing the Joint – years now after first playing that level, I still couldn’t tell you the “proper” way to beat it, because I’d always drag boxes from the opposite end of the level and use them to scramble onto titular joint’s roof before smashing a window that would leave every guard permanently alerted. Scuffed a method as it may sound, the important thing is that the game says “yes” to the player regardless, and the same’s largely true of TOTK; although, as with BOTW, some of its quest design shows that it isn’t fully designed in accordance with these sorts of open-ended solutions (Calip’s omniscient fence in Kakariko comes to mind), this isn’t necessarily so much a flaw as just an indicator that it’s not quite the same type of game. Where limitations like these do exist, they rarely feel so arbitrary as to outweigh the feeling of thinking like an adventurer that comes with nonlinear problem solving through Link’s new, more multifaceted powers.
Fuse is a favourite of mine not just for how it turns any item you come across into a potential tool, but also because this by extension encourages thinking about your equipment more than BOTW required. A bokoblin reaper may share the same animations as a horriblin hammer, but only one of them’s getting used for smashing enemies’ armour, clearing boulders out of caverns or searching for ore among other things. It’s understandable why some players may initially be upset at the apparent lack of any new weapon types compared to BOTW, but considering how many different functionalities are covered thanks to this one power, I wouldn’t be surprised if the devs considered and rejected the idea based on potential new ones being redundant. It feels weird to say so about a game that isn’t by any means hurting for recognition, but this is just one example of how it (and its predecessor) probably deserves more credit for achieving more with less.
This extends to its enemy design. We have a tendency to think of “enemy variety” in terms of the quantity of different enemy types, but what gets lost in that sort of discourse is the mechanical variety between those types. Even in BOTW, bokoblins have more dynamic behaviours than the combined enemy rosters of some other games, and that was without boss bokoblins, aerocudas and Zonai constructs for them to interact with. While TOTK having a higher amount of different and region-specific enemy types is appreciated nonetheless, I’m glad that fleshing out these behaviours amongst a relatively condensed roster still seems to have been a priority.
Flux Constructs are a standout in both that respect and why we ought to also apply this sort of lateral thinking to TOTK’s combat as well – in a game in which you can remove a golem’s hands to prevent him from being able to punch you, shoot dragons out of the sky with a DIY plane or suspend yourself in air with a foot-mounted flamethrower, it seems myopic to judge it based on how many ways Link can swing a weapon. Between using Recall on a certain attack of theirs to fling myself to places I couldn’t otherwise reach, darkness that’s actually dark and which requires resources to dispel, plus summonable AI companions, it becomes apparent that the sceptics were wrong – this isn’t BOTW DLC, but rather a Dragon’s Dogma 2 closed beta.
I’m only being slightly facetious, because much of what makes Dragon’s Dogma and its mutual point of influence, i.e. Skyrim, special as adventure games is present here too. If those two games could each be distilled into one key characteristic, I’d say they’re respectively dynamism and player-directed experiences. TOTK takes both and melds them with a largely honoured commitment to unrestricted problem solving that – in my view – has always felt like the most natural direction for Zelda to go in, forming a superlative package which I think sits at the top of its franchise, its console and potentially open world games in general.
All this and somehow I still feel as if I’ve only scratched the surface of all there is to appreciate here. As many words could be written about the atmosphere invoked during a sunset with the Dragon Head Island theme playing, the extent to which Ganondorf’s phase 2 transition has been living in my head rent free or the fact that, if you think about it, Link himself has become the legend of Zelda. I might play another 100 hours and still be finding new things to wrap my head around. Such a game.
This reflects a strength that’s been carried forward from Breath of the Wild and part of what separated that game from standard open world fare: the “triangle rule.” It includes shaping environmental geometry in such a way that landmarks and other notable sights were deliberately obscured from angles players were most likely to view them from, creating a visual chain of interest as they orient themselves around it. It’s impressive that Tears of the Kingdom retains this considering just how much Hyrule has been reshuffled and expanded upon, but where it particularly excels in this regard is in terms of new additions, namely its tripling down on verticality.
Diving into a well or tree stump, winding up in a complex cave system, finding treasure behind a waterfall or at the top of a hidden shaft and using Ascend to pop out the other end in parts unknown is the exact kind of storybook-like experience that this new formula needed, like meat added to the bones of the sense of adventure BOTW was otherwise so successful at selling. Caves seem a deceptively simple inclusion on a conceptual level – goodness knows open world fantasy games’re no stranger to them – but one reason you couldn’t just plop TOTK’s into some other game is because of how their design’s informed by Link’s traversal options. Just finding them often resembles a scene out of Katsuya Terada’s art for the first few Zelda games, steep climbs into hidden entryways and all, often in a way that foreshadows the challenges inside. Slippery walls, boulders you have to smash your way through, confined spaces and other hazards combine to form the other reason, which is the contrast these environmentally constrained puzzle boxes create with the rest of the game’s freedom.
Shrines and temples alike exemplify this, as much as or more than the spectacle of diving from a sky island straight into the Depths in what’s a sensation I haven’t felt since Gravity Rush 2. Getting goofy with a combination of Ultrahand and Recall or whatever other powers you prefer to circumvent obstacles brings to mind an anecdote I have about a level in Thief 2 called Casing the Joint – years now after first playing that level, I still couldn’t tell you the “proper” way to beat it, because I’d always drag boxes from the opposite end of the level and use them to scramble onto titular joint’s roof before smashing a window that would leave every guard permanently alerted. Scuffed a method as it may sound, the important thing is that the game says “yes” to the player regardless, and the same’s largely true of TOTK; although, as with BOTW, some of its quest design shows that it isn’t fully designed in accordance with these sorts of open-ended solutions (Calip’s omniscient fence in Kakariko comes to mind), this isn’t necessarily so much a flaw as just an indicator that it’s not quite the same type of game. Where limitations like these do exist, they rarely feel so arbitrary as to outweigh the feeling of thinking like an adventurer that comes with nonlinear problem solving through Link’s new, more multifaceted powers.
Fuse is a favourite of mine not just for how it turns any item you come across into a potential tool, but also because this by extension encourages thinking about your equipment more than BOTW required. A bokoblin reaper may share the same animations as a horriblin hammer, but only one of them’s getting used for smashing enemies’ armour, clearing boulders out of caverns or searching for ore among other things. It’s understandable why some players may initially be upset at the apparent lack of any new weapon types compared to BOTW, but considering how many different functionalities are covered thanks to this one power, I wouldn’t be surprised if the devs considered and rejected the idea based on potential new ones being redundant. It feels weird to say so about a game that isn’t by any means hurting for recognition, but this is just one example of how it (and its predecessor) probably deserves more credit for achieving more with less.
This extends to its enemy design. We have a tendency to think of “enemy variety” in terms of the quantity of different enemy types, but what gets lost in that sort of discourse is the mechanical variety between those types. Even in BOTW, bokoblins have more dynamic behaviours than the combined enemy rosters of some other games, and that was without boss bokoblins, aerocudas and Zonai constructs for them to interact with. While TOTK having a higher amount of different and region-specific enemy types is appreciated nonetheless, I’m glad that fleshing out these behaviours amongst a relatively condensed roster still seems to have been a priority.
Flux Constructs are a standout in both that respect and why we ought to also apply this sort of lateral thinking to TOTK’s combat as well – in a game in which you can remove a golem’s hands to prevent him from being able to punch you, shoot dragons out of the sky with a DIY plane or suspend yourself in air with a foot-mounted flamethrower, it seems myopic to judge it based on how many ways Link can swing a weapon. Between using Recall on a certain attack of theirs to fling myself to places I couldn’t otherwise reach, darkness that’s actually dark and which requires resources to dispel, plus summonable AI companions, it becomes apparent that the sceptics were wrong – this isn’t BOTW DLC, but rather a Dragon’s Dogma 2 closed beta.
I’m only being slightly facetious, because much of what makes Dragon’s Dogma and its mutual point of influence, i.e. Skyrim, special as adventure games is present here too. If those two games could each be distilled into one key characteristic, I’d say they’re respectively dynamism and player-directed experiences. TOTK takes both and melds them with a largely honoured commitment to unrestricted problem solving that – in my view – has always felt like the most natural direction for Zelda to go in, forming a superlative package which I think sits at the top of its franchise, its console and potentially open world games in general.
All this and somehow I still feel as if I’ve only scratched the surface of all there is to appreciate here. As many words could be written about the atmosphere invoked during a sunset with the Dragon Head Island theme playing, the extent to which Ganondorf’s phase 2 transition has been living in my head rent free or the fact that, if you think about it, Link himself has become the legend of Zelda. I might play another 100 hours and still be finding new things to wrap my head around. Such a game.
Final Fantasy VIII
1999
This review contains spoilers
My final log on FF8 I promise. I had to do one more please understand.
Now that I've beaten it I feel comfortable waxing poetic about it. I don't feel bad about it either! I see you out here writing 1000 words about Kirby and Homestuck, I'm writing an essay on FF8!! I safely feel like I've played the absolute shit out of it, I spent 50 hours on it and I loved every second of it. But, to be honest, I have delayed my FF9 play through just to play MORE of this game. It scratches such a particular itch that I didn't know I had.
The junction system, maligned by many, is one that I personally just sunk into, I loved finding creatures with rare spells I could put to sleep and just wring them dry of them, it makes what should feel like an exploit feel like gaming the system in my favor. FF8 is really a game that encourages you to use any opportunity you can find, it rewards a player who can get their party so fucked up that they one-hit a monster the second they spot them. Coming up with a party configuration to annihilate the Marlboros is one of those satisfactions that doesn't come very often in a game. This and FF7 have turned me into a turn-based combat die hard. Give me the menus!! I fucking LOVE MENUS!!
This game does do a really bad job at onboarding you for the junction system though, which I will not deny even a little bit. This game even has way more tutorials than FF7 ever did and it still took me many, many hours of trial and error before I really understood what I was doing.
It actually lead to a funny scenario. I went on vacation last month, and my save file for FF8 was on my PS3. While I was gone I was still itching to play FF8 so I said "Ah fuck it" and played the Remastered version that I still think looks fugly. Well, at that point I had become so much more knowledgeable on junctioning and triple triad that my party was swole as fuck, and when I returned home my PS1 party was completely underpowered compared to them. It creates a very interesting game where you're able to modify the difficulty very gradually, knowing it so well you can make it really hard or easy on yourself. I personally chose to junction sleep to Squall and silence to Zell, so I could basically just bully an Iron Giant into submission. After some of the shit I went through in FF7 this was vindicating.
Also the FMVs? God damn. I am going to deeply regret when voice acting is introduced, because the things they do with non-verbal communication and body language here is to die for. The dance sequence between Rinoa and Squall was the moment I was IN, the character dynamics already so delightful to see in action, and the call-back to it in the ending...damn who is cutting onions in here??
I also love these limit breaks, it is insane how strong they are. Squall can do the izuna drop, Zell does God Hand shit, Selphie damns enemies to Hell, Irvine just fucking shoots the shit out of people, and Quistis sends people to the shadow realm. It's all the completely over-the-top spectacle that has captivated me with Final Fantasy. Why just hit someone with a sword? Why not hit them 10 times in an aerial combo? Why just summon a guy to attack? Why not summon a guy to collapse the universe around a single enemy? While this shit definitely needs a skip button, I still find it funny when people rail on Final Fantasy for spectacle. Like, fuck are these epic internet gaming fucks capable of having some fun in their goddamn life.
Speaking of Epic Internet Gaming Bros who Smell, ProJared hates this game so I'm just letting you all know it's not too late to hear me out on this game.
The plot has been very much reclaimed over the years, as the geriatric gamer crowd who hated it so much have been flushed down the toilet of obscurity where they fucking belong. Spoony was wrong about Phantasmagoria 2 and this game!! He was never an effective media critic or comedian! The confusion surrounding the plot does absolutely baffle me though, are people not paying attention? Are they being daft on purpose? The game is explicitly clear what it's about. People are desperate to CHANGE THE PAST, people lament the TIME THEY LOST with loved ones, the main villain is ulTIMEcia. When time compression is first introduced Squall can't even focus on it as he is distracted thinking of Rinoa, it could not be more obvious!! Yet people act like the plot is fucking Ulysses! The most stunning criticism I see is how Squall only starts worrying about Rinoa after she falls into a coma.
Yeah? Have you ever had a real life experience before? What the fuck. Of course only when it's too late do you realize what you have lost, that's the ENTIRE FUCKING POINT OF THE GAME!!! FUCK!!! Sorry I'm getting really mad at a strawman gamer I'm picturing in my head who uses phrases like "it's objectively trash" or "this game aged bad" and shadow boxing at him like Zell does. Hey speaking of Zell!!
I love these characters! After FF7 had the best cast of all time, I was wondering how they'd top it, and they did it with another best cast of all time. Interesting is how different all of them are even when they play into the same archetypes, as it feels like FF8 has gone to great lengths to give characters a duality to them that gives them a depth that took me off guard. Squall is cold, distant, and emotionally closed, but is so insecure of how people perceive him that he takes great pangs to control their perception. Zell is hot-headed and doesn't think before he speaks, but can be level-headed and knows a great deal about the world around him, even being really beloved in his hometown! Irvine puts on a front of a cool and lone sniper, but is secretly shocked and confused that people he grew up with simply don't remember him anymore, and Rinoa, fuckin' Rinoa, I love this character. Her interactions with Squall, fuck it, her interactions with anyone! She can be naive, childish, and bratty, but also very introspective, very world-weary, she can ask Squall very matter-of-factly if he's prepared to kill Seifer, and she can see the tragedy in a 17 year old so ready to make that decision.
FF8 captures the fact that teenagers aren't so cut-and-dry, they can make good decisions, bad decisions, they can sometimes make decisions that wouldn't make sense to anyone but them. Whenever I see characters taken down a peg for it, it strikes me as people being infected with a lethal case of TvTropes brain, making them think characters not behaving rationally 100% of the time is a ding against the game. Not just for the sake of FF8, but for the sake of art in general, you HAVE to get that line of thinking out of your head, it is the destroyer of art. Teens fuckup all the time, that's part of the coming-of-age narrative in FF8. When I was 16 I tried dropping out of high school, why? Late 20s me couldn't even fucking tell you! I'm glad I didn't! But that's one of those things where I was doing shit off of my gut, because I felt like I had to. Squall feels like he has to close people off, can't let anyone in, and when someone as stubborn as Rinoa tries to get in, he only fortifies those walls. Once she's gone though? Only then does he realize what her laugh, her smile, her voice meant to him.
That's not bad writing, that's not a contrivance, that's how people are. FF8 has characters I believe, I root for them, I love seeing their adventures, and I love seeing them come closer.
What's interesting though is that I think years of life experience has given me a lot from this game than I probably would have AT 17. When I was a teenager I was listening to nothing but Foetus and was deeply cynical about love, you know how kids are. A game about love? About time? Who needs love? I got all the time in the world!!
Well, I am now in my late 20s and I don't have all the time in the world, I have loved, I do have regrets about love and life, and sometimes I do wish I could have gone back and made better decisions. But FF8 argues in a way that I find emotionally very gripping in this time in my life, that the past is immovable, but you are able to shape things in the present. Squall choose to open up to Rinoa in the Ragnarok, he chooses to hold her and smell the roses, it's one of the most beautiful scenes I've seen in a game for how many little things it says.
The fact it takes place after battling aliens on a spaceship is why Final Fantasy is the GOAT in my eyes.
So I adore FF8, I'd even go as far to say that I am in love with this game. It's a game I could write thousands and thousands of words on. It's another FF7 case where I don't think it's perfect, but for how much scope and ambition is put into such an experimental, personal game is still hard to wrap my head around. Some modern AAA games feel like every plot point, every story beat, is carefully crafted to be crowd-pleasing, but FF7 and FF8 have felt like no one was telling them what to do, they had a story in their hearts and fuck they were GOING To tell it. I'm really glad they did.
Now that I've beaten it I feel comfortable waxing poetic about it. I don't feel bad about it either! I see you out here writing 1000 words about Kirby and Homestuck, I'm writing an essay on FF8!! I safely feel like I've played the absolute shit out of it, I spent 50 hours on it and I loved every second of it. But, to be honest, I have delayed my FF9 play through just to play MORE of this game. It scratches such a particular itch that I didn't know I had.
The junction system, maligned by many, is one that I personally just sunk into, I loved finding creatures with rare spells I could put to sleep and just wring them dry of them, it makes what should feel like an exploit feel like gaming the system in my favor. FF8 is really a game that encourages you to use any opportunity you can find, it rewards a player who can get their party so fucked up that they one-hit a monster the second they spot them. Coming up with a party configuration to annihilate the Marlboros is one of those satisfactions that doesn't come very often in a game. This and FF7 have turned me into a turn-based combat die hard. Give me the menus!! I fucking LOVE MENUS!!
This game does do a really bad job at onboarding you for the junction system though, which I will not deny even a little bit. This game even has way more tutorials than FF7 ever did and it still took me many, many hours of trial and error before I really understood what I was doing.
It actually lead to a funny scenario. I went on vacation last month, and my save file for FF8 was on my PS3. While I was gone I was still itching to play FF8 so I said "Ah fuck it" and played the Remastered version that I still think looks fugly. Well, at that point I had become so much more knowledgeable on junctioning and triple triad that my party was swole as fuck, and when I returned home my PS1 party was completely underpowered compared to them. It creates a very interesting game where you're able to modify the difficulty very gradually, knowing it so well you can make it really hard or easy on yourself. I personally chose to junction sleep to Squall and silence to Zell, so I could basically just bully an Iron Giant into submission. After some of the shit I went through in FF7 this was vindicating.
Also the FMVs? God damn. I am going to deeply regret when voice acting is introduced, because the things they do with non-verbal communication and body language here is to die for. The dance sequence between Rinoa and Squall was the moment I was IN, the character dynamics already so delightful to see in action, and the call-back to it in the ending...damn who is cutting onions in here??
I also love these limit breaks, it is insane how strong they are. Squall can do the izuna drop, Zell does God Hand shit, Selphie damns enemies to Hell, Irvine just fucking shoots the shit out of people, and Quistis sends people to the shadow realm. It's all the completely over-the-top spectacle that has captivated me with Final Fantasy. Why just hit someone with a sword? Why not hit them 10 times in an aerial combo? Why just summon a guy to attack? Why not summon a guy to collapse the universe around a single enemy? While this shit definitely needs a skip button, I still find it funny when people rail on Final Fantasy for spectacle. Like, fuck are these epic internet gaming fucks capable of having some fun in their goddamn life.
Speaking of Epic Internet Gaming Bros who Smell, ProJared hates this game so I'm just letting you all know it's not too late to hear me out on this game.
The plot has been very much reclaimed over the years, as the geriatric gamer crowd who hated it so much have been flushed down the toilet of obscurity where they fucking belong. Spoony was wrong about Phantasmagoria 2 and this game!! He was never an effective media critic or comedian! The confusion surrounding the plot does absolutely baffle me though, are people not paying attention? Are they being daft on purpose? The game is explicitly clear what it's about. People are desperate to CHANGE THE PAST, people lament the TIME THEY LOST with loved ones, the main villain is ulTIMEcia. When time compression is first introduced Squall can't even focus on it as he is distracted thinking of Rinoa, it could not be more obvious!! Yet people act like the plot is fucking Ulysses! The most stunning criticism I see is how Squall only starts worrying about Rinoa after she falls into a coma.
Yeah? Have you ever had a real life experience before? What the fuck. Of course only when it's too late do you realize what you have lost, that's the ENTIRE FUCKING POINT OF THE GAME!!! FUCK!!! Sorry I'm getting really mad at a strawman gamer I'm picturing in my head who uses phrases like "it's objectively trash" or "this game aged bad" and shadow boxing at him like Zell does. Hey speaking of Zell!!
I love these characters! After FF7 had the best cast of all time, I was wondering how they'd top it, and they did it with another best cast of all time. Interesting is how different all of them are even when they play into the same archetypes, as it feels like FF8 has gone to great lengths to give characters a duality to them that gives them a depth that took me off guard. Squall is cold, distant, and emotionally closed, but is so insecure of how people perceive him that he takes great pangs to control their perception. Zell is hot-headed and doesn't think before he speaks, but can be level-headed and knows a great deal about the world around him, even being really beloved in his hometown! Irvine puts on a front of a cool and lone sniper, but is secretly shocked and confused that people he grew up with simply don't remember him anymore, and Rinoa, fuckin' Rinoa, I love this character. Her interactions with Squall, fuck it, her interactions with anyone! She can be naive, childish, and bratty, but also very introspective, very world-weary, she can ask Squall very matter-of-factly if he's prepared to kill Seifer, and she can see the tragedy in a 17 year old so ready to make that decision.
FF8 captures the fact that teenagers aren't so cut-and-dry, they can make good decisions, bad decisions, they can sometimes make decisions that wouldn't make sense to anyone but them. Whenever I see characters taken down a peg for it, it strikes me as people being infected with a lethal case of TvTropes brain, making them think characters not behaving rationally 100% of the time is a ding against the game. Not just for the sake of FF8, but for the sake of art in general, you HAVE to get that line of thinking out of your head, it is the destroyer of art. Teens fuckup all the time, that's part of the coming-of-age narrative in FF8. When I was 16 I tried dropping out of high school, why? Late 20s me couldn't even fucking tell you! I'm glad I didn't! But that's one of those things where I was doing shit off of my gut, because I felt like I had to. Squall feels like he has to close people off, can't let anyone in, and when someone as stubborn as Rinoa tries to get in, he only fortifies those walls. Once she's gone though? Only then does he realize what her laugh, her smile, her voice meant to him.
That's not bad writing, that's not a contrivance, that's how people are. FF8 has characters I believe, I root for them, I love seeing their adventures, and I love seeing them come closer.
What's interesting though is that I think years of life experience has given me a lot from this game than I probably would have AT 17. When I was a teenager I was listening to nothing but Foetus and was deeply cynical about love, you know how kids are. A game about love? About time? Who needs love? I got all the time in the world!!
Well, I am now in my late 20s and I don't have all the time in the world, I have loved, I do have regrets about love and life, and sometimes I do wish I could have gone back and made better decisions. But FF8 argues in a way that I find emotionally very gripping in this time in my life, that the past is immovable, but you are able to shape things in the present. Squall choose to open up to Rinoa in the Ragnarok, he chooses to hold her and smell the roses, it's one of the most beautiful scenes I've seen in a game for how many little things it says.
The fact it takes place after battling aliens on a spaceship is why Final Fantasy is the GOAT in my eyes.
So I adore FF8, I'd even go as far to say that I am in love with this game. It's a game I could write thousands and thousands of words on. It's another FF7 case where I don't think it's perfect, but for how much scope and ambition is put into such an experimental, personal game is still hard to wrap my head around. Some modern AAA games feel like every plot point, every story beat, is carefully crafted to be crowd-pleasing, but FF7 and FF8 have felt like no one was telling them what to do, they had a story in their hearts and fuck they were GOING To tell it. I'm really glad they did.
Tomb Raider II
1997
Probably the Tomb Raider game I go back and forth on the most. Tomb Raider I is such a tight, beautifully crafted platforming game that it borders on perfection, and Tomb Raider III is more varied and eccentric while having some of the best setpieces in the entire series. Tomb Raider II has a lot of water levels and shooting guys, so much so it dilutes the parts of the game that are actually excellent!
The structure of the game is the biggest issue, as you spend half the fucking game not LOOKING for a key, but looking for where a key even IS. While not an uncommon adventure story trope, it doesn't take up half the adventure doing just that. The godforsaken boat levels on a first playthrough feel genuinely never-ending, like the game is prepared to randomly generate more of this boat on the fly, which is a shame because some of the boat levels are pretty fun! When you're not doing another box pushing puzzle they can have some great challenges and environments.
Its really a game that would benefit from having some brevity, which is interesting as Tomb Raider III's strength is in the quantity and breadth of ideas, but I digress. Some of the levels, like the Opera House, Diving Area, The Deck, and Catacombs of the Talion rate amongst my favorite Tomb Raider levels, half the game (ESPECIALLY the loathsome Tibetan Foothills) are just tremendous wastes of time.
By the end of the game things REALLY pick up in terms of variety and difficulty, but the slog getting there means repeat playthroughs of Tomb Raider 2 are an extremely hard sell, especially when EVERY OTHER GAME IN THE SERIES gets to the point so much quicker.
I am also not a fan of the shitty combat at all, and it's honestly head-scratching that anyone could be. Lara goes from killing 3 guys in Tomb Raider I to wiping out half the world's Henchman Population in this, as you shoot hundreds upon hundreds of goons who happen to be in the most hilarious of places, like a SHIPWRECK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. I'm not complaining about the absurdity, mind, as it is the lone positive these guys provide, as from a gameplay perspective I vastly prefer the Atlanteans from Tomb Raider 1 for how they tested movement more than how many health packs you had been storing.
Tomb Raider 2 is a very mixed bag to me, as in some regards the new gameplay additions are stellar, and some of the levels are peak Tomb Raider, but in others it definitely shows that it was rushed to get a sequel out. I can't condone people considering this the best one when Tomb Raider 1 and 3 are so much more compelling, but this is definitely worth playing IF you are into Tomb Raider.
The structure of the game is the biggest issue, as you spend half the fucking game not LOOKING for a key, but looking for where a key even IS. While not an uncommon adventure story trope, it doesn't take up half the adventure doing just that. The godforsaken boat levels on a first playthrough feel genuinely never-ending, like the game is prepared to randomly generate more of this boat on the fly, which is a shame because some of the boat levels are pretty fun! When you're not doing another box pushing puzzle they can have some great challenges and environments.
Its really a game that would benefit from having some brevity, which is interesting as Tomb Raider III's strength is in the quantity and breadth of ideas, but I digress. Some of the levels, like the Opera House, Diving Area, The Deck, and Catacombs of the Talion rate amongst my favorite Tomb Raider levels, half the game (ESPECIALLY the loathsome Tibetan Foothills) are just tremendous wastes of time.
By the end of the game things REALLY pick up in terms of variety and difficulty, but the slog getting there means repeat playthroughs of Tomb Raider 2 are an extremely hard sell, especially when EVERY OTHER GAME IN THE SERIES gets to the point so much quicker.
I am also not a fan of the shitty combat at all, and it's honestly head-scratching that anyone could be. Lara goes from killing 3 guys in Tomb Raider I to wiping out half the world's Henchman Population in this, as you shoot hundreds upon hundreds of goons who happen to be in the most hilarious of places, like a SHIPWRECK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. I'm not complaining about the absurdity, mind, as it is the lone positive these guys provide, as from a gameplay perspective I vastly prefer the Atlanteans from Tomb Raider 1 for how they tested movement more than how many health packs you had been storing.
Tomb Raider 2 is a very mixed bag to me, as in some regards the new gameplay additions are stellar, and some of the levels are peak Tomb Raider, but in others it definitely shows that it was rushed to get a sequel out. I can't condone people considering this the best one when Tomb Raider 1 and 3 are so much more compelling, but this is definitely worth playing IF you are into Tomb Raider.
TNT: Evilution
1996
Civvie wasn't lying, this do be fucking boring
Mega Man X4
1997
the game froze after beating the last Maverick and I'm so sad cause X4 is so peak