tokumei
2019
Had potential but really undercooked, especially with some threads completely not finished at all.
Probably the best part is that everyone is lgbtq+ likely. Although that's barely delved into. And the character designs are really fun. Combat was fun for me mostly because it was different from what I usually play. Maybe I should play more puzzle combat games.
Glad I picked it up on the cheap, it was fun enough but really hard to recommend putting it in front of other games in your backlog.
Probably the best part is that everyone is lgbtq+ likely. Although that's barely delved into. And the character designs are really fun. Combat was fun for me mostly because it was different from what I usually play. Maybe I should play more puzzle combat games.
Glad I picked it up on the cheap, it was fun enough but really hard to recommend putting it in front of other games in your backlog.
Unfortunately I did not get into the characters in this game and I think the story pacing is awful. I can see a lot of the good aspects mostly in the battle system, quests, and lore. I think it requires to be completely invested in it to get the most out of it, and unfortunately I did not have the time to do so while other games with their more compelling characters took my attention instead.
So this might one of the nicest 3.5 stars I give a game but I'm trying not to be too negative when probably the bigger problem with my experience is that I replayed Xenogears right before it lol.
So this might one of the nicest 3.5 stars I give a game but I'm trying not to be too negative when probably the bigger problem with my experience is that I replayed Xenogears right before it lol.
2009
This review contains spoilers
I think I played this game at the right time for me. If that's why I'm giving it 4.5 stars I don't think it's a problem at all. I like being a positive person.
Which is funny because most of this game is not a positive place, in terms of atmosphere or mood. It's characters, very human characters, struggling against a messed-up system and world, fighting each other, fighting themselves. And yet finding each other, supporting each other, surviving.
It's perfect with the roles and the battle system. I love this battle system so much. I think I see some shades of FF12's gambit in here, but switching paradigms on the fly is such a cool way to do job classes with limited characters in a party. The battles can be real strategic and I love the incentive of getting more stars the faster you beat them. Although it didn't stop me from just using poison to kill the second to last boss lol.
Anyway, I feel like the linearity of the game makes complete sense in terms of the story that is being told, the emphasis on how it serves the story more than it serves the player. I think there are nice parallels in the narrow and linear paths they can see because these characters have lived in a "cocoon". They have been taught so little and so much that is false, that is narrow-minded, that is just one way. Their worldview doesn't expand for so long until very late in the game, which funny enough is also when the game gives you the one open-world area. Although I was too hooked by reaching the goal to want to explore it myself. But it does come at the right point story-wise, when the cover has been blown off their eyes and they know there is so much more to the world than what they've "known" for so long. And also, funnily enough, when there really is no rush for them to do anything because ultimately they've been played and the Fal'Cie are just waiting, toying...
But for me the standout of this game was the realness of the characters. I think a lot of times I find games in this genre are rather too optimistic about how people deal with loss, trauma, fear, despair. I think every character having a moment where they "look bad" is much more real and meaningful than a happy, smooth-sailing, save the world. I see myself being Lightning in some rough situations, Vanille in others, when my employee was like Hope, or like Snow. I truly connected with the moments the characters clashed, or when characters are misunderstood, or when characters had to put on a brave face. I think these were the moments that really stood out to me more than the beginning or the ending.
I also love how much depth the creators put into this world, its lore and story. I know there are complaints about needing a dictionary for all the terms but like, why would these characters be defining things that are as natural as us knowing the concepts of a president or a republic? The game focuses on characters truly living in this world, and on their emotional ups and downs, albeit with some gratuitous cool fight scenes. It's really worth taking your time to read the data logs if you want to learn about the world.
I know there are 2 more games in this trilogy and I am looking forward to seeing what they do. I know there will be ups and downs but I think the best thing is to learn something from it, like I certainly did from playing this game!
Which is funny because most of this game is not a positive place, in terms of atmosphere or mood. It's characters, very human characters, struggling against a messed-up system and world, fighting each other, fighting themselves. And yet finding each other, supporting each other, surviving.
It's perfect with the roles and the battle system. I love this battle system so much. I think I see some shades of FF12's gambit in here, but switching paradigms on the fly is such a cool way to do job classes with limited characters in a party. The battles can be real strategic and I love the incentive of getting more stars the faster you beat them. Although it didn't stop me from just using poison to kill the second to last boss lol.
Anyway, I feel like the linearity of the game makes complete sense in terms of the story that is being told, the emphasis on how it serves the story more than it serves the player. I think there are nice parallels in the narrow and linear paths they can see because these characters have lived in a "cocoon". They have been taught so little and so much that is false, that is narrow-minded, that is just one way. Their worldview doesn't expand for so long until very late in the game, which funny enough is also when the game gives you the one open-world area. Although I was too hooked by reaching the goal to want to explore it myself. But it does come at the right point story-wise, when the cover has been blown off their eyes and they know there is so much more to the world than what they've "known" for so long. And also, funnily enough, when there really is no rush for them to do anything because ultimately they've been played and the Fal'Cie are just waiting, toying...
But for me the standout of this game was the realness of the characters. I think a lot of times I find games in this genre are rather too optimistic about how people deal with loss, trauma, fear, despair. I think every character having a moment where they "look bad" is much more real and meaningful than a happy, smooth-sailing, save the world. I see myself being Lightning in some rough situations, Vanille in others, when my employee was like Hope, or like Snow. I truly connected with the moments the characters clashed, or when characters are misunderstood, or when characters had to put on a brave face. I think these were the moments that really stood out to me more than the beginning or the ending.
I also love how much depth the creators put into this world, its lore and story. I know there are complaints about needing a dictionary for all the terms but like, why would these characters be defining things that are as natural as us knowing the concepts of a president or a republic? The game focuses on characters truly living in this world, and on their emotional ups and downs, albeit with some gratuitous cool fight scenes. It's really worth taking your time to read the data logs if you want to learn about the world.
I know there are 2 more games in this trilogy and I am looking forward to seeing what they do. I know there will be ups and downs but I think the best thing is to learn something from it, like I certainly did from playing this game!