Atelier Rorona encapsulates many of the greatest aspect from the franchise. The alchemy is intriguing and makes you invest and experiment for hours in your laboratory; the characters are simple yet engaging in their daily life; the plot tells a simple tale about commitment and growth in a capitalistic society where you are asked to deliver what is basically your tax form to the central government every three months. I find this game very relatable.
The charm of the Atelier series has always been in its depiction of a quieter, more down to earth reality than the usual JRPGs focused on parties of heroes going on world adventures to defeat the raging evil that threatens the peace and ordinary life. The Atelier series focus exactly on that peace and ordinary life, showing the ordinary occurrences of people dealing with significant life events – as much as a fantasy world can prove relatable. All of this revolving around the titular character, Rorona, a young but dreamy girl – as per the series standard – caught in an unpleasant debacle, due to her unreliable master, with the local government trying to shut down the atelier she works in as an alchemist. Compared to the later iterations of the series, Rorona will have to struggle against a time limit to fulfil the periodical requests and keep the atelier in business, with the help of a delightful cast of side characters who will help Rorona in her growth from an insecure and apprehensive girl to a confident and capable alchemist.
The narrative is certainly not anything to call masterful or insightful, but it works nicely considering that the game is all about feeling the immersion of working as an alchemist, and that is why the world built around this concept has to grow cosy and comfortable to the players, so to think that it’s worth coming back to the city Arland, to help its people and find that quiet, daily respite. The endings are also influenced by the amount of care and commitment put to fulfil each major request, so if one were to grow attached to the characters and Rorona herself the game will reward that care by showing every possible finale related to each character’s scenario.
Unfortunately, another recurring standard for the series is having both the town and the world hugely uninspired and lacking interactivity or any deeper narrative to further strengthen that feeling of attachment and importance behind the role of alchemist. There is no interesting hidden flavour text like the Legend of Heroes series, nor quests that require your full attention and devotion to explore each nook and cranny of the map at large. There is Rorona, some good side characters with nice stories and colourful personalities – Gio, Cornelia, Lionela, Esty to name a few – but that’s about it, most of the town of Arland will always be filled with characters’ models that speak when prompted but don’t necessarily say anything to make you feel like they are fellow citizens.
The adventurer gameplay is also quite standard, even though, being the debut chapter on PlayStation 3, it revamped some old mechanics from the previous games in the series. The battle system is standard turn-based combat with combo attacks and defence, whilst gathering material is entirely based on which area you are exploring, regardless of the time of the day, the level of your characters and so on. Some side bonuses will raise the quality of items but by the endgame there will be some areas easily more compelling to use as gathering points than others.
Once again, the meat of the game lies in the alchemy system. Those familiar with the Fushigi trilogy will be probably disappointed by how bare the crafting is in this game, it doesn’t have any complex grid over the cauldron and the chance to get particular good traits solely depends on mixing the right components of high enough value. Yet, considering the sheer amount of effects and traits achievable and the vast quantity of items and equipment available for crafting, one will spend tens of hours experimenting between possible combinations to achieve that perfect healing item, that perfect bomb or that perfect armours and weapons.
Graphically the DX version also presents the improved characters models from the Plus edition of the game, rather than the more simplistic and meagre ones from the original PS3 release. The sprites are wonderfully expressive and beautifully drawn to show the best of the character designer, Kishida Mel, abilities. Alas, the world and the enemies lack a general care put into making them look diverse of interesting to look at, the dungeons are mostly linear with very few details and aesthetic values and many monsters are reskins from previous weaker mobs. The secret super bosses are somewhat interesting to look at and challenging, a lot of care will be put in crafting equipment just to defeat them, but there are very few of them and with the right set of items their fights will play as precise and uneventfully mechanical as a clockwork.
Atelier Rorona began a new era for its series, the era where, from being only renowned in Japan, the series went big on console in the west and became a niche product for the foreign audience. To have the whole trilogy at disposal on Steam, and also considering the numerous porting and remasters these particular titles received, is yet again a sign that proves how Koei Tecmo is fully aware of the huge popularity of the Arland games, particularly for nostalgic fans but also to make them accessible to newer players, who’d love to try a quieter approach to JRPGs.
The charm of the Atelier series has always been in its depiction of a quieter, more down to earth reality than the usual JRPGs focused on parties of heroes going on world adventures to defeat the raging evil that threatens the peace and ordinary life. The Atelier series focus exactly on that peace and ordinary life, showing the ordinary occurrences of people dealing with significant life events – as much as a fantasy world can prove relatable. All of this revolving around the titular character, Rorona, a young but dreamy girl – as per the series standard – caught in an unpleasant debacle, due to her unreliable master, with the local government trying to shut down the atelier she works in as an alchemist. Compared to the later iterations of the series, Rorona will have to struggle against a time limit to fulfil the periodical requests and keep the atelier in business, with the help of a delightful cast of side characters who will help Rorona in her growth from an insecure and apprehensive girl to a confident and capable alchemist.
The narrative is certainly not anything to call masterful or insightful, but it works nicely considering that the game is all about feeling the immersion of working as an alchemist, and that is why the world built around this concept has to grow cosy and comfortable to the players, so to think that it’s worth coming back to the city Arland, to help its people and find that quiet, daily respite. The endings are also influenced by the amount of care and commitment put to fulfil each major request, so if one were to grow attached to the characters and Rorona herself the game will reward that care by showing every possible finale related to each character’s scenario.
Unfortunately, another recurring standard for the series is having both the town and the world hugely uninspired and lacking interactivity or any deeper narrative to further strengthen that feeling of attachment and importance behind the role of alchemist. There is no interesting hidden flavour text like the Legend of Heroes series, nor quests that require your full attention and devotion to explore each nook and cranny of the map at large. There is Rorona, some good side characters with nice stories and colourful personalities – Gio, Cornelia, Lionela, Esty to name a few – but that’s about it, most of the town of Arland will always be filled with characters’ models that speak when prompted but don’t necessarily say anything to make you feel like they are fellow citizens.
The adventurer gameplay is also quite standard, even though, being the debut chapter on PlayStation 3, it revamped some old mechanics from the previous games in the series. The battle system is standard turn-based combat with combo attacks and defence, whilst gathering material is entirely based on which area you are exploring, regardless of the time of the day, the level of your characters and so on. Some side bonuses will raise the quality of items but by the endgame there will be some areas easily more compelling to use as gathering points than others.
Once again, the meat of the game lies in the alchemy system. Those familiar with the Fushigi trilogy will be probably disappointed by how bare the crafting is in this game, it doesn’t have any complex grid over the cauldron and the chance to get particular good traits solely depends on mixing the right components of high enough value. Yet, considering the sheer amount of effects and traits achievable and the vast quantity of items and equipment available for crafting, one will spend tens of hours experimenting between possible combinations to achieve that perfect healing item, that perfect bomb or that perfect armours and weapons.
Graphically the DX version also presents the improved characters models from the Plus edition of the game, rather than the more simplistic and meagre ones from the original PS3 release. The sprites are wonderfully expressive and beautifully drawn to show the best of the character designer, Kishida Mel, abilities. Alas, the world and the enemies lack a general care put into making them look diverse of interesting to look at, the dungeons are mostly linear with very few details and aesthetic values and many monsters are reskins from previous weaker mobs. The secret super bosses are somewhat interesting to look at and challenging, a lot of care will be put in crafting equipment just to defeat them, but there are very few of them and with the right set of items their fights will play as precise and uneventfully mechanical as a clockwork.
Atelier Rorona began a new era for its series, the era where, from being only renowned in Japan, the series went big on console in the west and became a niche product for the foreign audience. To have the whole trilogy at disposal on Steam, and also considering the numerous porting and remasters these particular titles received, is yet again a sign that proves how Koei Tecmo is fully aware of the huge popularity of the Arland games, particularly for nostalgic fans but also to make them accessible to newer players, who’d love to try a quieter approach to JRPGs.
2000
I am helplessly biased toward this game. It was one of the first games I was shown on the PlayStation from a dear friend of mine, it opened me to the concept of games so huge – for the time – that they could sprawl over four discs. Its first opening hours are still some of the most variegated – for all its contents, secrets and minigames – and narratively engaging a JRPGs has ever conceived. The cast of characters is diverse, huge, memorable, sympathetic, lovable, funny, miserable. The narrative is something few games have topped to this day – Nier and its sequel come to mind – as it deals with the usual grand adventure of saving the world from the great evil but with the more subtle themes of existentialism, of finding one’s own purpose in life and accepting when you can’t, of dealing with the inevitability of death, of losing those dears to you, of the importance of the future but to always cherish your roots for they have made you the person you are today, for better or worse. Final Fantasy IX taught me to love steampunk, a genre which is basically dead aside from video games and some Japanese comics. Forever, willingly or not, this will be my benchmark for fantasy narrative in games and so on.
Final Fantasy IX was the return to a more classic approach to the series fantastical and magical roots after the more sci-fi oriented ones that preceded it – the ones so popular they are still referenced in Kingdom Hearts – and it is a grandiose return. Sakaguchi Hironobu created what he would later call his favourite game of the series, what encapsulates the most the concept behind the words ‘Final Fantasy’ and its roots as a series based on Medieval Europe and its mythology. The result is a product clearly influenced by Northern European and Norse myths but still quintessentially Japanese in how it plays out and blends sci-fi and fantasy to craft something inherently new and idiosyncratic, for its time at least.
The gameplay was streamlined from the previous iteration but the simplicity didn’t make it any less enjoyable and cunning. Levelling up is as easy as it was in the first games of the series, whilst abilities are tied to equipment and can be permanently learnt the more fights one characters wins with a particular item equipped. Some abilities are secretly tied to in-game mechanic, such as how many dragons have the party defeated, how many ores and minerals are in the inventory and how many steals were successfully achieved during battles. The trance mechanic could use some improvement, especially in the remaster, if not for the option, always felt needed, to activate it at any given time instead of automatically triggering whenever the corresponding bar is full. Still, as the combat is rewarding and presents many possible approaches to defeat particular enemies, after many hours no one will care if they can’t activate the trance during a precise phase of a difficult super boss. Also, the eidolons are as pleasant to summon as ever, they pack a megaton punch and are accompanied by some of the most inspired and impressive cutscene available during the PSX era.
Nevertheless, what it really matters, the soundtrack, is still as beautiful and outstanding as it has always been. Uematsu Nobuo is one of the greatest masters for video games music and this chapter of Final Fantasy has proved itself to be another badge of pride in his curriculum. The tunes are nostalgic, adventurous, romantic and melancholic at the same time. There are multiple versions of Melodies of life that plays at different times, each one perfectly in tune with the mood of the scene. The Place I'll Return to Someday is striking as the opening menu theme and all the more once put into context for what its title mean, both during the various events in the game and during its final climax. There could be many things to say about each track and how well put into the environment they are, but it’d take a whole review on the music alone.
Final Fantasy IX is a trip back to a time of nostalgia and discover, when young kids found themselves engaged by a thrilling fantasy adventure and had to deal with the first realization that in life many things more than simply games and story have to end. Today the script might be cheesy and simplistic at times, but the importance and value of its moral, as well as the passion its developers put into the realization of this game, are something that, alas, we rarely get to see in the industry.
Final Fantasy IX was the return to a more classic approach to the series fantastical and magical roots after the more sci-fi oriented ones that preceded it – the ones so popular they are still referenced in Kingdom Hearts – and it is a grandiose return. Sakaguchi Hironobu created what he would later call his favourite game of the series, what encapsulates the most the concept behind the words ‘Final Fantasy’ and its roots as a series based on Medieval Europe and its mythology. The result is a product clearly influenced by Northern European and Norse myths but still quintessentially Japanese in how it plays out and blends sci-fi and fantasy to craft something inherently new and idiosyncratic, for its time at least.
The gameplay was streamlined from the previous iteration but the simplicity didn’t make it any less enjoyable and cunning. Levelling up is as easy as it was in the first games of the series, whilst abilities are tied to equipment and can be permanently learnt the more fights one characters wins with a particular item equipped. Some abilities are secretly tied to in-game mechanic, such as how many dragons have the party defeated, how many ores and minerals are in the inventory and how many steals were successfully achieved during battles. The trance mechanic could use some improvement, especially in the remaster, if not for the option, always felt needed, to activate it at any given time instead of automatically triggering whenever the corresponding bar is full. Still, as the combat is rewarding and presents many possible approaches to defeat particular enemies, after many hours no one will care if they can’t activate the trance during a precise phase of a difficult super boss. Also, the eidolons are as pleasant to summon as ever, they pack a megaton punch and are accompanied by some of the most inspired and impressive cutscene available during the PSX era.
Nevertheless, what it really matters, the soundtrack, is still as beautiful and outstanding as it has always been. Uematsu Nobuo is one of the greatest masters for video games music and this chapter of Final Fantasy has proved itself to be another badge of pride in his curriculum. The tunes are nostalgic, adventurous, romantic and melancholic at the same time. There are multiple versions of Melodies of life that plays at different times, each one perfectly in tune with the mood of the scene. The Place I'll Return to Someday is striking as the opening menu theme and all the more once put into context for what its title mean, both during the various events in the game and during its final climax. There could be many things to say about each track and how well put into the environment they are, but it’d take a whole review on the music alone.
Final Fantasy IX is a trip back to a time of nostalgia and discover, when young kids found themselves engaged by a thrilling fantasy adventure and had to deal with the first realization that in life many things more than simply games and story have to end. Today the script might be cheesy and simplistic at times, but the importance and value of its moral, as well as the passion its developers put into the realization of this game, are something that, alas, we rarely get to see in the industry.
2015
A license game that plays it safe and somehow manages to succeed even without putting anything new to the table. Mad Max isn’t an easy game to recommend, it doesn’t do anything of note and those who would love it are probably two distinct categories: the fan of its setting, especially of the latest film – Fury Road, – and those who indiscriminately like open world sandboxes with nothing much to do except repeat the same chores and find the same meaningless collectibles over and over again. If you are familiar with any recent UbiSoft titles, that’s basically it.
This time tho you get a sick sport car and also the option to pimp it as you see fit. That is quite fun.
No really, the best part of the game is in its car. You can modify basically every part of it, it rides magnificently and sounds even better. You feel invested in upgrading it and it is a pure joy to ride it everywhere, inside sandstorms, on empty roads, during battles and as a battering ram during sieges on enemy bases. The world is a huge barren wasteland that perfectly reflects the setting of the original movies, but both the characters and the plot lack the insightful mind of the original author, George Miller, and the enjoyable and trash punchline of the 80s. Players are going to do quests and side quests more for the heck of it and a urge to complete everything rather than for any sort of attachment to the titular main character – a huge downgrade both from Mel Gibson and Tom Hardy tbh – or any other character for that matter.
Nevertheless, the game is engaging if played in small doses so not to feel loaded by its monotony and sameness. Avalanche studio certainly made it looks beautiful and it is significantly optimised for PC performances. If you just like strolling around in your ride and punch the everliving sh-t out of mobs with a combat system akin to the Batman Arkham series – because that was the combat system which was ‘in’ at the time – then this game will provide tens of hours of pure enjoyment and thrill.
This time tho you get a sick sport car and also the option to pimp it as you see fit. That is quite fun.
No really, the best part of the game is in its car. You can modify basically every part of it, it rides magnificently and sounds even better. You feel invested in upgrading it and it is a pure joy to ride it everywhere, inside sandstorms, on empty roads, during battles and as a battering ram during sieges on enemy bases. The world is a huge barren wasteland that perfectly reflects the setting of the original movies, but both the characters and the plot lack the insightful mind of the original author, George Miller, and the enjoyable and trash punchline of the 80s. Players are going to do quests and side quests more for the heck of it and a urge to complete everything rather than for any sort of attachment to the titular main character – a huge downgrade both from Mel Gibson and Tom Hardy tbh – or any other character for that matter.
Nevertheless, the game is engaging if played in small doses so not to feel loaded by its monotony and sameness. Avalanche studio certainly made it looks beautiful and it is significantly optimised for PC performances. If you just like strolling around in your ride and punch the everliving sh-t out of mobs with a combat system akin to the Batman Arkham series – because that was the combat system which was ‘in’ at the time – then this game will provide tens of hours of pure enjoyment and thrill.
2019
Spawned from the depth of a convent full of dead brothers, armed with a sword which impaled a guilty god-fearing woman, set out to crash the Church ruling over Cvstodia by dismembering its minions in graphically brutal ways, so the Penitent One rises and begins his blasphemous crusade.
Produced by the Spanish team of The Game Kitchen, Blasphemous was developed utilizing all of the studio’s knowledge about their historical heritage, from the catholic domination and the holy inquisition to recreate a game that would feel as grim, corrupted and uncomfortable as living during the medieval times of witch hunts and executions might have felt. Relics, equipment and collectibles depict with their lore a frightening picture of a world where religion has taken over not only people lives but also their minds, in the name of a faith that should give hope but at what price. All around the game map people are living in penance and fear of God, seeking atonement for their sins, whichever they might be, and being punished both by the environment and by themselves.
Even enemies and bosses are curiously shown to use flog and other torture instruments both on the player’s character and on themselves, so the theme runs deeply within the game. As per why they do this, the plot is complex and multi-layered but simple on the surface: stylistically it heavily borrows its narrative from the tradition of games more interested in building a setting and letting its characters, item descriptions and visual clues to do the narration, rather than having a clear cut and linear narrative. There is no need to spoil anything, as the general premise of the game as well as its synopsis are enough to know what to expect. Everything else, from the symbolism to the themes of the game, is better to discover for themselves.
Another huge inspiration for the game is obvious, the old school metroidvania style of interconnected areas with secrets, mobs, recurring enemies, checkpoints and impressive bosses that block the players path. A huge difference, coming instead from the souls-like inspirations of the game, is how there is no linear path to follow, nor areas blocked by a lack of abilities, keys or requirements. At any given time, since the beginning of the game, the map would sprawl to multiple areas, some arguably easier than others, but each identically opened to the players’ decision as per where to explore.
Technically speaking, Blasphemous is very impressive in its depiction of a fantastical and eerie medieval European setting. The pixel art is detailed and charming to look at, there are many details both in the platforming areas, in the enemies and the backgrounds to look at, so to discern what their story and lore are. Aside from a few non-game breaking glitches and rare hitboxes fault it also plays very responsively to the players inputs. The soundtrack also relies on music fitting for the Spanish and religious environment, with sacred choirs, classic guitars and other tunes to accompany a horrific journey toward a paradise that looks more like a hell.
Produced by the Spanish team of The Game Kitchen, Blasphemous was developed utilizing all of the studio’s knowledge about their historical heritage, from the catholic domination and the holy inquisition to recreate a game that would feel as grim, corrupted and uncomfortable as living during the medieval times of witch hunts and executions might have felt. Relics, equipment and collectibles depict with their lore a frightening picture of a world where religion has taken over not only people lives but also their minds, in the name of a faith that should give hope but at what price. All around the game map people are living in penance and fear of God, seeking atonement for their sins, whichever they might be, and being punished both by the environment and by themselves.
Even enemies and bosses are curiously shown to use flog and other torture instruments both on the player’s character and on themselves, so the theme runs deeply within the game. As per why they do this, the plot is complex and multi-layered but simple on the surface: stylistically it heavily borrows its narrative from the tradition of games more interested in building a setting and letting its characters, item descriptions and visual clues to do the narration, rather than having a clear cut and linear narrative. There is no need to spoil anything, as the general premise of the game as well as its synopsis are enough to know what to expect. Everything else, from the symbolism to the themes of the game, is better to discover for themselves.
Another huge inspiration for the game is obvious, the old school metroidvania style of interconnected areas with secrets, mobs, recurring enemies, checkpoints and impressive bosses that block the players path. A huge difference, coming instead from the souls-like inspirations of the game, is how there is no linear path to follow, nor areas blocked by a lack of abilities, keys or requirements. At any given time, since the beginning of the game, the map would sprawl to multiple areas, some arguably easier than others, but each identically opened to the players’ decision as per where to explore.
Technically speaking, Blasphemous is very impressive in its depiction of a fantastical and eerie medieval European setting. The pixel art is detailed and charming to look at, there are many details both in the platforming areas, in the enemies and the backgrounds to look at, so to discern what their story and lore are. Aside from a few non-game breaking glitches and rare hitboxes fault it also plays very responsively to the players inputs. The soundtrack also relies on music fitting for the Spanish and religious environment, with sacred choirs, classic guitars and other tunes to accompany a horrific journey toward a paradise that looks more like a hell.
2014
The big one, the video game that defined them all, the magnus opus that created a standard still used today and inspired almost every good survival horror to come. The controls, the setting, the atmosphere, the annoying but carefully placed jump scares. It wasn’t the first of its genre but the original Resident Evil implemented what every horror game had to show at the time – from previous Capcom titles such as Sweet Home to the western Alone in the Dark – along with the movie culture from the 80s, from Shining to Romero’s movies. All of these inspirations combined created a frightful journey of horror but with an over-the-top plot worthy of the worst, best American B-movie. Despite the low budget, they utilized whichever mean they had to craft the most immersive experience as possible, the pre-rendered backgrounds and the doors opening that create tension but are ultimately there to hide the loading times are two examples of this.
What came was a revolutionary game that set the bar and defined its medium, and still today this HD iteration, an upgrade over the Nintendo Gamecube remake of the game, of the first Resident Evil still holds as solid as ever. The tank controls might be unfamiliar for some but it is a deliberate and necessary choice to truly delve into the narrow and unsettling hallways of the mansion, where at every corner a disturbing sound or a tough enemy could be in wait to eat the players’ necks and immediate response is required without feeling confused over where to turn. The fixed camera all the more reinforces this feeling of dread and helplessness because, despite being fully armed and distant from the enemies, there will be many times where the players won’t be able to immediately see the zombies, nor realise how far and safe they are from danger.
The enemies’ placement, the puzzles and the difficulty spikes are all still highly accessible and rewarding to overcome today as they were over 20 years ago, the game has only ever improved and it still plays beautifully on every system blessed enough to have a port of its own. The series might have had its ups and downs and many old fans might be only pleased with the second remake of the series now since it’s the only game in years that tried to replicate the original feeling instead of fully committing to action set pieces, camp entertainment or the reboot RE7 tried to do, but this first chapter is still a milestone under every department, and it won’t yield its throne anytime soon.
What came was a revolutionary game that set the bar and defined its medium, and still today this HD iteration, an upgrade over the Nintendo Gamecube remake of the game, of the first Resident Evil still holds as solid as ever. The tank controls might be unfamiliar for some but it is a deliberate and necessary choice to truly delve into the narrow and unsettling hallways of the mansion, where at every corner a disturbing sound or a tough enemy could be in wait to eat the players’ necks and immediate response is required without feeling confused over where to turn. The fixed camera all the more reinforces this feeling of dread and helplessness because, despite being fully armed and distant from the enemies, there will be many times where the players won’t be able to immediately see the zombies, nor realise how far and safe they are from danger.
The enemies’ placement, the puzzles and the difficulty spikes are all still highly accessible and rewarding to overcome today as they were over 20 years ago, the game has only ever improved and it still plays beautifully on every system blessed enough to have a port of its own. The series might have had its ups and downs and many old fans might be only pleased with the second remake of the series now since it’s the only game in years that tried to replicate the original feeling instead of fully committing to action set pieces, camp entertainment or the reboot RE7 tried to do, but this first chapter is still a milestone under every department, and it won’t yield its throne anytime soon.
Uchikoshi Koutarou is a weird author: he has a knack for writing some engaging character driven dialogues and a vast knowledge about physics and philosophy that he loves to implement in his games, although he tends to recycle a good deal of its own ideas and tropes. And by that, I mean all of them. Always.
Yet it is rare to found an author with a knowledge so vast and so little clue as to what to use it for.
The Zero Escape series is probably one of the better examples of this duality.
As for the gameplay, each one plays like a classic point and click adventure with minigames, investigation and logic to be used to solve progressively challenging rooms to find clues to solve the immediate puzzles and the overall mystery. Be aware though Monkey Island it is not, and every enigma in each game will prove less challenging the more the players are proficient at remembering easy details and checking the in-game encyclopaedia. It feels rewarding solving these puzzle rooms on your own but the challenge bar is set very low and accessible for everyone who doesn’t like being stuck thinking too much.
What really buggers these games although is the absurdity extremes to which the plot and the characters are being constantly driven to, often writing themselves into a corner that progressively gets narrower at each game. The premise isn’t even that bad, without spoiling anything the first title, 9 Hours 9 People 9 Doors, is very engaging, the outset might be silly and cliched – group of people trapped in a death or life situation and restrained in a close environment surrounded by the sea, the Infinity series is calling and wants their synopsis back – but still it presents a serious life or death situations with different colourful and charismatic characters. They are memorable and the banter is great between some of them, you are invested and want to discover what they hide under the surface: why they were kidnapped and brought here?, how come they know so much about complex scientific and philosophical topics?, is one of them secretly helping the mastermind villain and if so why?, what are the ultimate motives to bring some apparently unrelated people together and constantly try to murder them but always leaving a fair chance to escape unscathed? The finale is silly but it revolves around these same characters the players have grown attached to, so even if the story leaves some holes, unfinished plotlines, weird narratives and cliff-hangers, there isn’t any real feel that any of these questions need to be answered to feel a proper closure.
Then Virtue’s Last Reward happens. It seemingly starts in a very similar vein to 999 but despite some more challenging puzzles and complex multi-layered plot structure, it goes where the story shouldn’t have never gone: focusing on the sci-fi mumbo jumbos rather than the likable characters. There is still some hilarious banter and relatable moments thorough the story but, rather than with the purpose of escaping and survive, everything is now done for the sake of playing with a straight face through absurd plot twists and world-threatening menaces that never feel real or immediate, as the characters are still trapped in a locked environment with only newspapers and some scattered info about what has happened outside, far from them.
The recurring characters are underused or completely different from what they were in 999, most of the cast is either expendable or plain useless to the story, being there just for the sake of being there, and the unlikeable ♥♥♥♥ that looks like the villain since the beginning of the game is, in fact, the villain. At a certain point it is clear that all seemingly importance given to the characters is being replaced by the exaggerated need to surprise the players but the punchline is akin to having someone set up a surprise birthday party so meticulous and contrived that they eventually get the date wrong.
Moreover, VLR also throws away a great deal of the charm from 999 by replacing simple but detailed 2D sprites with horrendous 3D models with comically hilarious and stiff expressions and stock movements that resemble more underproduced robots than animated characters. You can turn off the voice acting, which is amazing in both games, but you can’t turn off those models from showing at every turn and being still in idle animations with an unconcerned face about their death or life situation.
I still recommend both games because the immersion is equally strong in both of them – until the latter stages of Virtue’s Last Reward at least – and, even if it doesn’t mean much as a compliment, in no part of that game they will sunk as low as in the third instalment, Zero Time Dilemma.
Yet it is rare to found an author with a knowledge so vast and so little clue as to what to use it for.
The Zero Escape series is probably one of the better examples of this duality.
As for the gameplay, each one plays like a classic point and click adventure with minigames, investigation and logic to be used to solve progressively challenging rooms to find clues to solve the immediate puzzles and the overall mystery. Be aware though Monkey Island it is not, and every enigma in each game will prove less challenging the more the players are proficient at remembering easy details and checking the in-game encyclopaedia. It feels rewarding solving these puzzle rooms on your own but the challenge bar is set very low and accessible for everyone who doesn’t like being stuck thinking too much.
What really buggers these games although is the absurdity extremes to which the plot and the characters are being constantly driven to, often writing themselves into a corner that progressively gets narrower at each game. The premise isn’t even that bad, without spoiling anything the first title, 9 Hours 9 People 9 Doors, is very engaging, the outset might be silly and cliched – group of people trapped in a death or life situation and restrained in a close environment surrounded by the sea, the Infinity series is calling and wants their synopsis back – but still it presents a serious life or death situations with different colourful and charismatic characters. They are memorable and the banter is great between some of them, you are invested and want to discover what they hide under the surface: why they were kidnapped and brought here?, how come they know so much about complex scientific and philosophical topics?, is one of them secretly helping the mastermind villain and if so why?, what are the ultimate motives to bring some apparently unrelated people together and constantly try to murder them but always leaving a fair chance to escape unscathed? The finale is silly but it revolves around these same characters the players have grown attached to, so even if the story leaves some holes, unfinished plotlines, weird narratives and cliff-hangers, there isn’t any real feel that any of these questions need to be answered to feel a proper closure.
Then Virtue’s Last Reward happens. It seemingly starts in a very similar vein to 999 but despite some more challenging puzzles and complex multi-layered plot structure, it goes where the story shouldn’t have never gone: focusing on the sci-fi mumbo jumbos rather than the likable characters. There is still some hilarious banter and relatable moments thorough the story but, rather than with the purpose of escaping and survive, everything is now done for the sake of playing with a straight face through absurd plot twists and world-threatening menaces that never feel real or immediate, as the characters are still trapped in a locked environment with only newspapers and some scattered info about what has happened outside, far from them.
The recurring characters are underused or completely different from what they were in 999, most of the cast is either expendable or plain useless to the story, being there just for the sake of being there, and the unlikeable ♥♥♥♥ that looks like the villain since the beginning of the game is, in fact, the villain. At a certain point it is clear that all seemingly importance given to the characters is being replaced by the exaggerated need to surprise the players but the punchline is akin to having someone set up a surprise birthday party so meticulous and contrived that they eventually get the date wrong.
Moreover, VLR also throws away a great deal of the charm from 999 by replacing simple but detailed 2D sprites with horrendous 3D models with comically hilarious and stiff expressions and stock movements that resemble more underproduced robots than animated characters. You can turn off the voice acting, which is amazing in both games, but you can’t turn off those models from showing at every turn and being still in idle animations with an unconcerned face about their death or life situation.
I still recommend both games because the immersion is equally strong in both of them – until the latter stages of Virtue’s Last Reward at least – and, even if it doesn’t mean much as a compliment, in no part of that game they will sunk as low as in the third instalment, Zero Time Dilemma.
The long awaited third chapter to the Zero Escape series, which for a long time almost didn’t exist if it wasn’t for the continuous support of a devoted and invested fanbase. Zero Time Dilemma is many things: it’s the overarching conclusion to a cult sci-fi thriller series, it’s an attempt to square every thread left unwind during the previous games, it is an experiment of how far will people passively accept faux-science in lieu of common sense; it’s a thriller devoid of real suspense, a conspiracy story where the conspirators never show up, a sci-fi with so much fiction and so little science, a character driven drama where the characters are almost non-existent and lack any sort of humanity and coherent development. Zero Time Dilemma is many things, hardly any of them is good, well developed or new to the general audience.
The story itself won’t require many spoilers as it is more of a giant meme than a serious narrative by this point. Uchikoshi Koutarou came back and decided to strip everything that made previous game enjoyable and memorable – the style, the characters, the mystery, the sci-fi implications – and instead decided to bring everything the players had previously know from the series to a climax consisting solely of SNAILS, of ANCIENT ALIENS and COMPLEX MOTIVES.
Characters still are probably the worst offenders of this game, even more so than the dumbed down puzzles and idiotic narrative: new characters are either disconnected completely from the plot or have one very specific role that is either fix the holes in the narrative or being a hole in the narrative; old characters are unrecognizable from their former selves and probably fit into the story even worse than their new counterparts. You would’ve loved to see some of your favourite come back with their wits and humour to spice things up and get their deserved good ending? Too bad, instead everyone is now a massive unlikeable c-nt and they will gladly leave the centre stage to some lame bugger, like the kid with Yoko Taro’s mask or Carlos.
The graphics are also at their lowest ever. The rigid models in Virtue’s Last Reward were an offense to the eye but at least they stayed put and pretended to be sprites, now instead someone woke up and decided to try a full-fledged cinematographic approach by adding camera movements and panning over the models, probably just to show off their immense ugliness. The facial expressions are more comically rigid than ever, movements just robotically stiff and there is an impossible amount of time lost between unskippable idle animations during replays.
More often than not the game actively punishes you for thinking ahead about the possible solutions, as the most predictable and inconsequential answers will almost always be the correct ones, leaving one without the feeling of reward for actively solving the mystery but more like an accomplice to the huge joke that is the storytelling in this game.
Do you feel the unsurmountable urge to complete each and everything you ever begin, have a fetish for train wrecks and C O M P L E X M O T I V E S, or generally like to enjoy your own anger? By all mean, this game was made with you in mind as the target audience.
The story itself won’t require many spoilers as it is more of a giant meme than a serious narrative by this point. Uchikoshi Koutarou came back and decided to strip everything that made previous game enjoyable and memorable – the style, the characters, the mystery, the sci-fi implications – and instead decided to bring everything the players had previously know from the series to a climax consisting solely of SNAILS, of ANCIENT ALIENS and COMPLEX MOTIVES.
Characters still are probably the worst offenders of this game, even more so than the dumbed down puzzles and idiotic narrative: new characters are either disconnected completely from the plot or have one very specific role that is either fix the holes in the narrative or being a hole in the narrative; old characters are unrecognizable from their former selves and probably fit into the story even worse than their new counterparts. You would’ve loved to see some of your favourite come back with their wits and humour to spice things up and get their deserved good ending? Too bad, instead everyone is now a massive unlikeable c-nt and they will gladly leave the centre stage to some lame bugger, like the kid with Yoko Taro’s mask or Carlos.
The graphics are also at their lowest ever. The rigid models in Virtue’s Last Reward were an offense to the eye but at least they stayed put and pretended to be sprites, now instead someone woke up and decided to try a full-fledged cinematographic approach by adding camera movements and panning over the models, probably just to show off their immense ugliness. The facial expressions are more comically rigid than ever, movements just robotically stiff and there is an impossible amount of time lost between unskippable idle animations during replays.
More often than not the game actively punishes you for thinking ahead about the possible solutions, as the most predictable and inconsequential answers will almost always be the correct ones, leaving one without the feeling of reward for actively solving the mystery but more like an accomplice to the huge joke that is the storytelling in this game.
Do you feel the unsurmountable urge to complete each and everything you ever begin, have a fetish for train wrecks and C O M P L E X M O T I V E S, or generally like to enjoy your own anger? By all mean, this game was made with you in mind as the target audience.
A game where a guild self-regulates the colonization of new lands, whilst both promoting scientific development and managing environmental balance as an independent, economic entity. Truly the capitalistic dream fully realized. Also, you whack dinosaurs with a big f- sword, or hammer or whatever.
What I appreciate the most about Monster Hunter World is that it is perfectly adequate to satisfy my every moods whenever I want to play: if I want an adrenaline rush through hunts and varied gameplay mechanics I can put myself against a Savage Deviljho and curse its’ and the Lord’s name; if I just want to progress I can almost always count on online help to dump– cough to carry me during harder fights; if I need to relax I can walk around the main hubs and talk to colourful, funny characters, or doing expeditions to fetch rare materials, discover rare or unique interactions in the wildlife (the sexual habits of lynians are so fascinating and they don’t even mind you recording every second of it), or simply walk around and soak in the beauty of the maps.
Of course, the vast majority of those who will play the game (and those who won’t the c•ckblocked by its godawful optimization and manage some workarounds, thanks nexusmod and steamforums) will mainly be interested in the ‘hunter’ part rather than the ‘world’ part, and it certainly does deliver. Every hunt is a glorious boss fight in and on itself. They are exciting, tense, fast paced, even strategic as you have to manage your resources, your positioning, the condition of your prey and the environments around you. Every new monster is a series of discoveries, to assimilate the monster moveset and work your reflexes on countermeasures, while also adjusting your playstyle to something that may very well be completely different from every fight you have had before. It is certainly difficult, yet the game does not gatekeep its progress, you can almost always find ways to ease the challenge by adequately equipping your palico companion (just give him paralysis or poison gear), other aids such as traps, lynians and minor monsters in the map, or calling for other players to join you. There are plenty of hunters out there always willing to lend a hand.
Crafting always offers new ways to play the game. Today you might see a particular weapon or armour and you will hunt the same monster multiple times, praying the random number god that it will drop the materials you need before the date of your wedding or of your grandchildren’s college diploma. There is a grand total of 14 different weapons to try out, I myself haven’t tried a couple of them yet, surely haven’t mastered more than two or three, and each play so differently it is like trying a new game every time you pick a different one. They all offer complex but accessible mechanics, various way to approach a challenge and a long list of moves and combo to learn. The game actively incentives to not button mash through your fights but carefully weight the timing and damage of each blow, the reaction times of the monsters and how best to utilize your knowledge to balance offence and defence. Of course, not that I am any good at it myself, I keep panicking and just spam heavy blows many times. The best suggestion one could receive upon beginning the game is to play it as a turn-based action game, rather than a real-time one.
Minor grips with the game, aside from the status of the actual PC port, include: 1. the time limit on missions, it sure adds tension but come on, despite having plenty of time to kill the same monster thrice I’d still like to not have a mental pressure if I want to explore the map a little during a hunt; 2. after every faint your stats reverse back to before you ate to gain the bonuses, which means if you have real troubles with a particular monster you’d have to wait every ten minute mark to buff again or waste a lot of consumables to regain those buffs (ancient potions are expensive to make, bloody hell); 3. as much as it is fun to witness monsters fighting each other (and it sure simplifies some of the hunts as they bite hundreds if not thousands of HP out of each other), some monsters such as the bazelgeuse could get a clue and stop intruding every second, attacking your prey but also, always, unavoidably hitting your character as well; 4. the monsters have presence, they sure feel like living dinosaurs walking around, and oftentimes they are so big the camera will commit seppuku altogether and a monster will occupy the full screen, while you won’t be able to figure out for many seconds where you are or what (or if) you are hitting; 5. hitboxes are not, uh, perfect: sometimes, many monsters are clearly coded so that the air they move around can still halve you HP while others can move around and, as long as you aren’t precisely where they are targeting, you won’t get hit. This last one may very well be intentional, but if it is so then it’s a weird design choice to artificially inflate difficulty, in a game that otherwise teaches you to value every space you and the monsters occupy.
MHW looks and sounds beautifully. Just like games such as the witcher 3, the souls series, MGSV and so on, there is an almost surreal and gripping ambience in every map, an absurd amount of secrets, trails and areas to discover, a rich palette of colours. It is just so satisfying to walk around, crawling in caves and climbing rock walls, and end up in a place where flying glowing jellyfishes abound, surrounded by rainbow-tinted corals, and you’d just be there for minutes and stare at this fantastically magnificent atmosphere, while immersing in the sounds of nature.
All in all, MHW is an experience I thoroughly recommend, as long as your computer specs allow it and it doesn’t systematically burn your CPU like, as I understand it, was a clear intentional joke on the behalf of capcom, undoubtedly in cahoots with the CPU manufactures industry. There is potentially endless fun to be had in the game, one of the best modern-day multiplayer experience to have with friends or newly met strangers online (just don’t accept any cough herbal remedy candy they offer you) and certainly a landmark for future looting-based action games. (Editor’s note: it’s been almost three years since MHW released and almost no game learned a thing from it. Game industry, what is wrong with you, you absolute fuc–
What I appreciate the most about Monster Hunter World is that it is perfectly adequate to satisfy my every moods whenever I want to play: if I want an adrenaline rush through hunts and varied gameplay mechanics I can put myself against a Savage Deviljho and curse its’ and the Lord’s name; if I just want to progress I can almost always count on online help to dump– cough to carry me during harder fights; if I need to relax I can walk around the main hubs and talk to colourful, funny characters, or doing expeditions to fetch rare materials, discover rare or unique interactions in the wildlife (the sexual habits of lynians are so fascinating and they don’t even mind you recording every second of it), or simply walk around and soak in the beauty of the maps.
Of course, the vast majority of those who will play the game (and those who won’t the c•ckblocked by its godawful optimization and manage some workarounds, thanks nexusmod and steamforums) will mainly be interested in the ‘hunter’ part rather than the ‘world’ part, and it certainly does deliver. Every hunt is a glorious boss fight in and on itself. They are exciting, tense, fast paced, even strategic as you have to manage your resources, your positioning, the condition of your prey and the environments around you. Every new monster is a series of discoveries, to assimilate the monster moveset and work your reflexes on countermeasures, while also adjusting your playstyle to something that may very well be completely different from every fight you have had before. It is certainly difficult, yet the game does not gatekeep its progress, you can almost always find ways to ease the challenge by adequately equipping your palico companion (just give him paralysis or poison gear), other aids such as traps, lynians and minor monsters in the map, or calling for other players to join you. There are plenty of hunters out there always willing to lend a hand.
Crafting always offers new ways to play the game. Today you might see a particular weapon or armour and you will hunt the same monster multiple times, praying the random number god that it will drop the materials you need before the date of your wedding or of your grandchildren’s college diploma. There is a grand total of 14 different weapons to try out, I myself haven’t tried a couple of them yet, surely haven’t mastered more than two or three, and each play so differently it is like trying a new game every time you pick a different one. They all offer complex but accessible mechanics, various way to approach a challenge and a long list of moves and combo to learn. The game actively incentives to not button mash through your fights but carefully weight the timing and damage of each blow, the reaction times of the monsters and how best to utilize your knowledge to balance offence and defence. Of course, not that I am any good at it myself, I keep panicking and just spam heavy blows many times. The best suggestion one could receive upon beginning the game is to play it as a turn-based action game, rather than a real-time one.
Minor grips with the game, aside from the status of the actual PC port, include: 1. the time limit on missions, it sure adds tension but come on, despite having plenty of time to kill the same monster thrice I’d still like to not have a mental pressure if I want to explore the map a little during a hunt; 2. after every faint your stats reverse back to before you ate to gain the bonuses, which means if you have real troubles with a particular monster you’d have to wait every ten minute mark to buff again or waste a lot of consumables to regain those buffs (ancient potions are expensive to make, bloody hell); 3. as much as it is fun to witness monsters fighting each other (and it sure simplifies some of the hunts as they bite hundreds if not thousands of HP out of each other), some monsters such as the bazelgeuse could get a clue and stop intruding every second, attacking your prey but also, always, unavoidably hitting your character as well; 4. the monsters have presence, they sure feel like living dinosaurs walking around, and oftentimes they are so big the camera will commit seppuku altogether and a monster will occupy the full screen, while you won’t be able to figure out for many seconds where you are or what (or if) you are hitting; 5. hitboxes are not, uh, perfect: sometimes, many monsters are clearly coded so that the air they move around can still halve you HP while others can move around and, as long as you aren’t precisely where they are targeting, you won’t get hit. This last one may very well be intentional, but if it is so then it’s a weird design choice to artificially inflate difficulty, in a game that otherwise teaches you to value every space you and the monsters occupy.
MHW looks and sounds beautifully. Just like games such as the witcher 3, the souls series, MGSV and so on, there is an almost surreal and gripping ambience in every map, an absurd amount of secrets, trails and areas to discover, a rich palette of colours. It is just so satisfying to walk around, crawling in caves and climbing rock walls, and end up in a place where flying glowing jellyfishes abound, surrounded by rainbow-tinted corals, and you’d just be there for minutes and stare at this fantastically magnificent atmosphere, while immersing in the sounds of nature.
All in all, MHW is an experience I thoroughly recommend, as long as your computer specs allow it and it doesn’t systematically burn your CPU like, as I understand it, was a clear intentional joke on the behalf of capcom, undoubtedly in cahoots with the CPU manufactures industry. There is potentially endless fun to be had in the game, one of the best modern-day multiplayer experience to have with friends or newly met strangers online (just don’t accept any cough herbal remedy candy they offer you) and certainly a landmark for future looting-based action games. (Editor’s note: it’s been almost three years since MHW released and almost no game learned a thing from it. Game industry, what is wrong with you, you absolute fuc–