the best game of all time doesnt begin to describe how fucking incredible this game is.

i originally played the switch version about 10 months ago, gave it a 9/10 and moved on. but in the coming months, i just couldnt stop thinking about it. it became my favorite game of all time, after i dwelled on it in those months.

fast forward to, november and i buy a ds copy and borrow my friend's 3ds, so that i can try the original gameplay. i started playing it in early january.

admittedly, i wasn't too fond of the combat system in the beginning. i thought it was needlessly complex, messy, and just way too much to handle. but as i played through the game i started to realize that was intentional. i thought it was a stupid statement to say that a game's combat system "reinforces its themes." but now, here i am. saying the exact same thing. about mid game i started having a blast wih the combat. and it all clicked with that joshua quote. everything i described about the combat system above is the exact same with people. it really does reinforce the games themes. by late game, i was having the time of my life, feeling the exact same things i felt a year ago. the only complaints i have with the partner system is that most of the time it boils down to mashing the left or right, with an occasional up or down. but i havent grasped the complexity of it in that sense, then. (just like people!!!)

trust your partner. i found myself repeating that phrase, time and time again throughout the game's combat. you really do have to trust your partner. when you look at the bottom screen, you need to have faith that everything wont go to shit on the top. when you look at the top screen, you need to have enough trust in yourself that youre in a good enough position to look at the top screen for a while. its an endless juggle of trust, just like people

yknow i was quite cautious when i decided to play this game again. it was my favorite game of all time, and i was terrified that it wouldnt live up to this pristine, fond image i had of it. i found myself doubting that it was that good at multiple times in the early game. as i played tho, with my more analytical approach this time, boy am i glad to say it lives up to that pristine image, even more so than i had thought originally, with the added complexity and reinforcement of the gameplay. there were way more profound quotes in this game than i originally remembered. it does an even better job with its themes than i remembered, too. especially with the segment after the final boss. it puts everything neku has learned to the test, and i didnt realize that the first time around. maybe, just maybe because i hadn't expanded my world yet.

this can't be a fookin twewy review without mention to the banging ost. i still prefer final remix's ost, but who wouldnt? i also like a lot of the final mix versions of the ost more as well(save for long dream and a few others i dont care to mention). but we live in 2022, so i just put things like transformation on during [that boss fight] or long dream 1980s in [that boss fight]. hell, even then most of this was played without sound on as i played it on the bus 75 % of the time. at the end of the day tho its still the twewy ost, the core is still there and we wouldnt have any of the banging remixes or rearranges without this.

conclusion: every one from the ages of 13-17 needs to play this epic formative game.(just like p5!) very epic, thank you twewy. i like this one more than switch version now.