tdstr
2016
I didn't want to look up much prior to beating the game but FYI: solstice ending is kind of required. without it this game is maybe a 5/10? gameplay isn't compelling and the base story is a tad interesting but solstice ending really ties it all together. would recommend even if I didn't get as much out of this game as it seems some people did
as a successor to vlr this fails on nearly every front but damn is this shit funny. jarvis pull up the junpei walking out of the casino room gif
great game but no one plays it so i can't really recommend this one unless you got a bunch of friends to get it too
2018
way too short for its own good
2019
very fun game but why cant i use the shotgun as claire
2006
really really fucking good buut the pacing can get pretty sketchy later on and its probably 5 or 10 hours longer than it needed to be. but for me a 10/10 doesnt mean its flawless just that its like one of my favorites of all time and aside from those stupid minor nitpicks yes this game is definitely like one of the best experiences ive had with a game like ever
2015
majima funny
edit: ok this review sucks now but im not changing it, tldr story is cool but it sucks ass to play, if they remake it with the new engine it's probably like an 8 or 9/10 but as it stands don't bother
Buckle up, this is gonna be a long one.
This game makes me sad. The story can reach narrative peaks as high as the Explorers games (and arguably does some things even better than them), but I don't think I can recommend this one due to how terrible the actual experience of playing it is. Nearly every aspect of gameplay was made worse from previous games in the series, and it just kind of makes me upset how so great a story is blocked behind a game that is unfathomably painful to get through. I know a lot of want an Explorers DX, but I think this game could benefit from a remake far more. So many of the issues in this game could honestly be fixed with a damn rom hack, and a remake could easily skyrocket this game up to one of my favorites of all time.
If these things were remedied, this game would be a 9/10:
- Text speed is WAY too low. You think it's not a problem until you have to sit through 5 seconds of spamming A anytime a single person in your party levels up, and navigating shop menus quickly becomes a sluggish hell.
- Constructing shops and stuff in Paradise? Get rid of it, or make it so that the buildings can actually do something useful. Literally the only one I used consistently was the Oran Berry field, and even then, 2 in game days to get 2-3 Oran Berries???
- Let me take more than one job request at a time. Why was this even changed?
- Expand the starter selection. I'm not usually one to care too much about this kind of thing, but really? You have to pick 2 choices out of 5, and one of the 5 is Pikachu?
- Some of the music choices are... bizarre, to say the least. I'm not saying that none of the music in this game is good, all I'm saying is that some of the ost really falters in comparison to its predecessors. I recall there being a part in the game where an area that, tonally, was supposed to be very tense was accompanied by something that sounded exactly like circus music.
- Ditch gold bars as a concept. They drop way too rarely and are not nearly useful enough.
- Fix dungeon generation. This game generates a lot of long, windy, corridors that lead to a LOT of dead ends that make using the run button pretty terrible since you have to retrigger it every time you turn a corner or enter a room. Also, get rid of the random rocks in the middle of rooms that just get in the way.
I think if you're ok with suffering though 30+ hours of pain for a pretty good story then go ahead and play this, but I know I probably won't ever be picking this up again. And if you're new to the series, just play Explorers. It's a much more palatable game that still has the "Epic Good Story Moments."
Story - 9/10
Gameplay - 2/10
Buckle up, this is gonna be a long one.
This game makes me sad. The story can reach narrative peaks as high as the Explorers games (and arguably does some things even better than them), but I don't think I can recommend this one due to how terrible the actual experience of playing it is. Nearly every aspect of gameplay was made worse from previous games in the series, and it just kind of makes me upset how so great a story is blocked behind a game that is unfathomably painful to get through. I know a lot of want an Explorers DX, but I think this game could benefit from a remake far more. So many of the issues in this game could honestly be fixed with a damn rom hack, and a remake could easily skyrocket this game up to one of my favorites of all time.
If these things were remedied, this game would be a 9/10:
- Text speed is WAY too low. You think it's not a problem until you have to sit through 5 seconds of spamming A anytime a single person in your party levels up, and navigating shop menus quickly becomes a sluggish hell.
- Constructing shops and stuff in Paradise? Get rid of it, or make it so that the buildings can actually do something useful. Literally the only one I used consistently was the Oran Berry field, and even then, 2 in game days to get 2-3 Oran Berries???
- Let me take more than one job request at a time. Why was this even changed?
- Expand the starter selection. I'm not usually one to care too much about this kind of thing, but really? You have to pick 2 choices out of 5, and one of the 5 is Pikachu?
- Some of the music choices are... bizarre, to say the least. I'm not saying that none of the music in this game is good, all I'm saying is that some of the ost really falters in comparison to its predecessors. I recall there being a part in the game where an area that, tonally, was supposed to be very tense was accompanied by something that sounded exactly like circus music.
- Ditch gold bars as a concept. They drop way too rarely and are not nearly useful enough.
- Fix dungeon generation. This game generates a lot of long, windy, corridors that lead to a LOT of dead ends that make using the run button pretty terrible since you have to retrigger it every time you turn a corner or enter a room. Also, get rid of the random rocks in the middle of rooms that just get in the way.
I think if you're ok with suffering though 30+ hours of pain for a pretty good story then go ahead and play this, but I know I probably won't ever be picking this up again. And if you're new to the series, just play Explorers. It's a much more palatable game that still has the "Epic Good Story Moments."
Story - 9/10
Gameplay - 2/10
2011
why doesnt square enix ever touch this series in the west :(
1998
pretty fun but it probably wouldve sucked if the savestate hotkeys weren't there, i like it when games let me play like a fucking moron and pull off the dumbest shit if i try hard enough. also i have to mention that the game takes a bit to get going since your arsenal at the beginning is kinda dogshit
2006
occasionally funny for the wrong reasons but is pretty much just flat out unplayable due to the load times
boring as hell, especially looking back at the first game
2019
a time vampire in the best sense of the phrase. somehow i have dumped almost 200 hours into this and i don't even like card games. but i like this one
few games have set an atmosphere and fully immersed me in an experience for the entire runtime of the game. probably my favorite game; all killer, no filler
2nd playthrough edit: this game is absolutely replayable if you wait long enough (I waited a little under a year and a half but you could probably do shorter). of course you will remember some of the "main characters" but there will still be a large amount of people you can figure out again
2nd playthrough edit: this game is absolutely replayable if you wait long enough (I waited a little under a year and a half but you could probably do shorter). of course you will remember some of the "main characters" but there will still be a large amount of people you can figure out again
i think the amount of replay of this game is truly dreadful once you figure out you can just say "im going to stop terrorism" over and over again and win every election. admittedly good satire but doesn't make it less boring