venomsnake5891
1999
Finally played my first Silent Hill, and after the action-horror of RE Village it's pretty neat to play a pure horror game.
The biggest issue with me getting into classic horror games was the fact many of them use tank controls, so it took some getting used to here. I'm still not a huge fan of them, but I understand why they were a genre standard as a means to emphasize your characters' limited actions.
Everyone knows the atmosphere is the biggest factor in SH's brand of horrror, and here it was amazingly effective. I was actually having a hard time keeping on playing at times, because the atmosphere was so consuming and nauseating at times, also thanks in part to the incredible soundtrack. Both sewer sequences had me super tense and yeling "run" in my head, and the monsters' moaning being mixed with the BGM had me completely unnerved.
Even on easy mode (I have no shame in playing on this mode for now, as I was intent on enjoying the story) the gameplay tries to steer you to avoid unnecessary encounters. Getting chased in the late game by some of the stronger monsters adds quite a bit to the tension. The puzzles are well done for the most part, although a few of them definitely needed a guide because of how overly layered they were (especially during the final dungeon).
The soundtrack is definitely a huge part of what makes the atmosphere and emotions that more intense. My favorite scene is easily Lisa's final moment, it got to me emotionally far more than I expected and I almost got teary-eyed afterwards, thanks in part to her theme. One of the most beautiful scenes in all of gaming.
I got the Good+ ending, which definitely feels like the most satsifying and canon ending (although apparently the second Good ending is what most people gravitate to), and I might go another round at some point for one of those endings. This is definitely a game and series I want to take my time with, I feel marathoning them might diminish the experience. Still was good to break from recent games to throw back to a classic horror title, especially one I've been wanting to play forever.
9/10
The biggest issue with me getting into classic horror games was the fact many of them use tank controls, so it took some getting used to here. I'm still not a huge fan of them, but I understand why they were a genre standard as a means to emphasize your characters' limited actions.
Everyone knows the atmosphere is the biggest factor in SH's brand of horrror, and here it was amazingly effective. I was actually having a hard time keeping on playing at times, because the atmosphere was so consuming and nauseating at times, also thanks in part to the incredible soundtrack. Both sewer sequences had me super tense and yeling "run" in my head, and the monsters' moaning being mixed with the BGM had me completely unnerved.
Even on easy mode (I have no shame in playing on this mode for now, as I was intent on enjoying the story) the gameplay tries to steer you to avoid unnecessary encounters. Getting chased in the late game by some of the stronger monsters adds quite a bit to the tension. The puzzles are well done for the most part, although a few of them definitely needed a guide because of how overly layered they were (especially during the final dungeon).
The soundtrack is definitely a huge part of what makes the atmosphere and emotions that more intense. My favorite scene is easily Lisa's final moment, it got to me emotionally far more than I expected and I almost got teary-eyed afterwards, thanks in part to her theme. One of the most beautiful scenes in all of gaming.
I got the Good+ ending, which definitely feels like the most satsifying and canon ending (although apparently the second Good ending is what most people gravitate to), and I might go another round at some point for one of those endings. This is definitely a game and series I want to take my time with, I feel marathoning them might diminish the experience. Still was good to break from recent games to throw back to a classic horror title, especially one I've been wanting to play forever.
9/10
After 6 playthroughs, including a VoS run, I feel like I've played enough of this game to give my thoughts.
I thought RE7 was pretty great and genuinely scary, but its gameplay didn't give much for replay value aside from trophy hunting. I still enjoyed its presentation very much, but it's clear the experience of the story was the main focus.
RE Village goes in the other direction, where it isn't quite as scary (for the most part) as 7 but it's more action-focused similar to RE4 (which Capcom have said was a big influence on this game's development). While 4 is a masterpiece of gaming, this game isn't any slouch either. Its inspiration from 4 is abundantly clear (the duke here even makes a passing reference to 4's iconic merchant), and at its best the combat isn't too far off from 4's great story beats.
There is still lots to love with the horror elements. Lady D, memes aside, is easily the most memorable villain (sans possibly Heisenberg) and her castle is likely most people's favorite part, myself included. It becomes pretty scary when she starts stalking you, and on VoS mode she's much faster and will likely slash you before you find cover.
House Beneviento is likely the most infamous "dungeon" in the game, due to its atmosphere, themes, and imagery being very much like Silent Hill (another series I need to play ASAP). I've seen plenty complain over the lack of weapons and combat here, but I loved the extended puzzle sequence. Then there's the infamous monster chase that happens there, it is easily one of the scariest moments I've experienced in gaming (maybe second only to the invisible water monster from Amnesia: The Dark Descent) and left my heart pounding harder and harder, it gave me an almost primal form of fear.
The horror aspect feels a little less emphasized with the rest of the game, but the Moreau chase sequence is extremely thrilling and a clear nod to Del Lago from 4.
I think the gameplay takes a dive at Heisenberg's Factory, the enemies are HUGE damage sponges that shred your ammo. The lycan stronghold has similar problems (more of too many enemies as opposed to too tanky enemies), but I feel the factory is my least favorite area to go through even if it gets easier on repeats (better than 7's boat, at least). The mutated Heisenberg fight is cool at least (not on VoS mode though).
The story here continues from the Mia ending in 7, while I'm not a story guy when it comes to RE, I did like the characters that were introduced here. Plus the ending got to me and almost teared me up.
Other things that tickled my fancy:
-I played my first run with earbuds in, and I loved the sound design. I especially love how bassy Moreau's mutated form's roar is.
-The "Knives Out" playthrough is one of the dumbest things I've done in a game but one of the funniest and most fun. Having mutated villains giving monologues mid-fight, only to get murked by a knife-punch is hilariously entertaining.
This might be a little messy and jumbled, but this is what I think of the game. I did a little bit of mercenaries mode and it has its fun, I'm not big into its roguelike nature and will probably come back to platinum it another time since I'm a little worn on the combat.
Despite its flaws, I loved this game and really need to get to the RE remakes (have 2, 3, and 4) and the OG games too. Loved this game, will definitely come back to it in the future.
9/10
I thought RE7 was pretty great and genuinely scary, but its gameplay didn't give much for replay value aside from trophy hunting. I still enjoyed its presentation very much, but it's clear the experience of the story was the main focus.
RE Village goes in the other direction, where it isn't quite as scary (for the most part) as 7 but it's more action-focused similar to RE4 (which Capcom have said was a big influence on this game's development). While 4 is a masterpiece of gaming, this game isn't any slouch either. Its inspiration from 4 is abundantly clear (the duke here even makes a passing reference to 4's iconic merchant), and at its best the combat isn't too far off from 4's great story beats.
There is still lots to love with the horror elements. Lady D, memes aside, is easily the most memorable villain (sans possibly Heisenberg) and her castle is likely most people's favorite part, myself included. It becomes pretty scary when she starts stalking you, and on VoS mode she's much faster and will likely slash you before you find cover.
House Beneviento is likely the most infamous "dungeon" in the game, due to its atmosphere, themes, and imagery being very much like Silent Hill (another series I need to play ASAP). I've seen plenty complain over the lack of weapons and combat here, but I loved the extended puzzle sequence. Then there's the infamous monster chase that happens there, it is easily one of the scariest moments I've experienced in gaming (maybe second only to the invisible water monster from Amnesia: The Dark Descent) and left my heart pounding harder and harder, it gave me an almost primal form of fear.
The horror aspect feels a little less emphasized with the rest of the game, but the Moreau chase sequence is extremely thrilling and a clear nod to Del Lago from 4.
I think the gameplay takes a dive at Heisenberg's Factory, the enemies are HUGE damage sponges that shred your ammo. The lycan stronghold has similar problems (more of too many enemies as opposed to too tanky enemies), but I feel the factory is my least favorite area to go through even if it gets easier on repeats (better than 7's boat, at least). The mutated Heisenberg fight is cool at least (not on VoS mode though).
The story here continues from the Mia ending in 7, while I'm not a story guy when it comes to RE, I did like the characters that were introduced here. Plus the ending got to me and almost teared me up.
Other things that tickled my fancy:
-I played my first run with earbuds in, and I loved the sound design. I especially love how bassy Moreau's mutated form's roar is.
-The "Knives Out" playthrough is one of the dumbest things I've done in a game but one of the funniest and most fun. Having mutated villains giving monologues mid-fight, only to get murked by a knife-punch is hilariously entertaining.
This might be a little messy and jumbled, but this is what I think of the game. I did a little bit of mercenaries mode and it has its fun, I'm not big into its roguelike nature and will probably come back to platinum it another time since I'm a little worn on the combat.
Despite its flaws, I loved this game and really need to get to the RE remakes (have 2, 3, and 4) and the OG games too. Loved this game, will definitely come back to it in the future.
9/10
I'm a casual RE fan, having only finished OG 4 and 5 beforehand. Been finally going through my backlog and got around to this one and it's good.
The biggest trouble I had with this game was getting used to the playstyle. My experience with horror games is minimal, so the generally limited options were a bit of a shock to the system (the first attic boss almost made me ragequit, looking back it's pretty silly now).
I've read this is the scariest game in the series, and I will likely agree when I complete the series. I had my headphones plugged in and it is genuinely one of the most tense experiences I've had playing a game and it was genuinely scary. Also love the nods to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Blair Witch Project, Evil Dead, and Saw, among others. The vibe and atmosphere is engrossing, and the resource management makes decisions matter so much more than other types of games. Most of the combat encounters can actually be skipped, which saves you ammo and other important resources (and you can also be cheeky and force despawns). The gradually unfolding story gets better as it goes along, which makes both endings worth it.
The forced combat that there was, however, definitely feels rough and not in the intended survival horror way. Most of the bosses are huge damage sponges, even on easy mode. Plus the story starts to diminish by the last quarter, when you enter the haunted ship. Then there's the final boss, which was pretty unsatisfying to finish.
Still, it does a lot more right than it does wrong and it's worthwhile for anyone interested in horror games. I don't think I'll platinum this one (madhouse difficulty and its save limitations can eat my entire ass), but that first playthrough was very memorable for me.
8/10
The biggest trouble I had with this game was getting used to the playstyle. My experience with horror games is minimal, so the generally limited options were a bit of a shock to the system (the first attic boss almost made me ragequit, looking back it's pretty silly now).
I've read this is the scariest game in the series, and I will likely agree when I complete the series. I had my headphones plugged in and it is genuinely one of the most tense experiences I've had playing a game and it was genuinely scary. Also love the nods to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Blair Witch Project, Evil Dead, and Saw, among others. The vibe and atmosphere is engrossing, and the resource management makes decisions matter so much more than other types of games. Most of the combat encounters can actually be skipped, which saves you ammo and other important resources (and you can also be cheeky and force despawns). The gradually unfolding story gets better as it goes along, which makes both endings worth it.
The forced combat that there was, however, definitely feels rough and not in the intended survival horror way. Most of the bosses are huge damage sponges, even on easy mode. Plus the story starts to diminish by the last quarter, when you enter the haunted ship. Then there's the final boss, which was pretty unsatisfying to finish.
Still, it does a lot more right than it does wrong and it's worthwhile for anyone interested in horror games. I don't think I'll platinum this one (madhouse difficulty and its save limitations can eat my entire ass), but that first playthrough was very memorable for me.
8/10
I'm going to break my trend by reviewing this game before I finish all optional content, I'll explain later.
Gameplay wise, this feels like FF7-gone-Kingdom Hearts (apparently it's kinda close to Birth By Sleep, but I haven't played that one so I can't say personally), it is pretty fun in short bursts, especially if you get decent equipment.
The story is fine but most of what happens really doesn't feel like something you couldn't just infer after playing FF7. It's cool seeing how Cloud came to look upto Zack, how Zack did the same for Angeal, and so on, but it really doesn't feel super essential for the experience. The end, at the very least, is genuinely emotional and my favorite part. Also the battle theme goes really hard.
What's stopping me from going for the platinum trophy is how the side content ruined the game for me. They're very repetitive, have the same enemies and area layouts, and have huge difficulty spikes where you're forced to grind XP. I really don't want to use AFK methods because in my eyes, if the best way to power through a game is to not play it then that's a fundamentally broken way to [not] play it. The fact that lots of essential items are held hostage by these huge one-shot difficulty spikes means you'll have to do EVEN MORE grinding. It ended up breaking me, and I just finished the story and will move on to another game.
It's a bit disappointing, after everything is said and done, it works as a decent spinoff to add more context to FF7's story, even if it's ultimately not vital.
I might come back to this in a long while to give it another try at completion, but for now I had my fun and want to move on. I've completed much harder games, but this requires more patience than I am willing to give.
6/10
Gameplay wise, this feels like FF7-gone-Kingdom Hearts (apparently it's kinda close to Birth By Sleep, but I haven't played that one so I can't say personally), it is pretty fun in short bursts, especially if you get decent equipment.
The story is fine but most of what happens really doesn't feel like something you couldn't just infer after playing FF7. It's cool seeing how Cloud came to look upto Zack, how Zack did the same for Angeal, and so on, but it really doesn't feel super essential for the experience. The end, at the very least, is genuinely emotional and my favorite part. Also the battle theme goes really hard.
What's stopping me from going for the platinum trophy is how the side content ruined the game for me. They're very repetitive, have the same enemies and area layouts, and have huge difficulty spikes where you're forced to grind XP. I really don't want to use AFK methods because in my eyes, if the best way to power through a game is to not play it then that's a fundamentally broken way to [not] play it. The fact that lots of essential items are held hostage by these huge one-shot difficulty spikes means you'll have to do EVEN MORE grinding. It ended up breaking me, and I just finished the story and will move on to another game.
It's a bit disappointing, after everything is said and done, it works as a decent spinoff to add more context to FF7's story, even if it's ultimately not vital.
I might come back to this in a long while to give it another try at completion, but for now I had my fun and want to move on. I've completed much harder games, but this requires more patience than I am willing to give.
6/10
After procrastination (and the PS4 version having a gamebreaking bug in the first chapter that made me get my first PS5 upgrade on a game), got another platinum.
The best part of this game is definitely the story, which you can slightly influence with dialogue choices throughout the game. They can range from amusing banter to having access to collectibles you need for 100% completion. Plus, the character dynamics (which combines aspects from both the comics and MCU movies) are genuinely funny and super charming and endearing, and by the final chapters I was actually super invested in these characters. I think I prefer these versions of the characters to the MCU's version.
Gameplay is serviceable, and when you unlock perks and blaster effects can be very fun. You can command the rest of the team to perform cooldown abilities to stun or severely damage enemies. It's not a very deep system, but it is flashy enough to keep you going through the story.
I don't really have all that much to say here, it's a fun and good game that I might do another playthrough in the future, and would definitely like a sequel if it builds on this game's foundations. Glad to finally complete this one.
7/10
[AlsoMantisIsBestGirl]
The best part of this game is definitely the story, which you can slightly influence with dialogue choices throughout the game. They can range from amusing banter to having access to collectibles you need for 100% completion. Plus, the character dynamics (which combines aspects from both the comics and MCU movies) are genuinely funny and super charming and endearing, and by the final chapters I was actually super invested in these characters. I think I prefer these versions of the characters to the MCU's version.
Gameplay is serviceable, and when you unlock perks and blaster effects can be very fun. You can command the rest of the team to perform cooldown abilities to stun or severely damage enemies. It's not a very deep system, but it is flashy enough to keep you going through the story.
I don't really have all that much to say here, it's a fun and good game that I might do another playthrough in the future, and would definitely like a sequel if it builds on this game's foundations. Glad to finally complete this one.
7/10
[AlsoMantisIsBestGirl]
2023
After the platinum trophy and three playthroughs I think it's time to drop my thoughts.
This is a pretty stellar game, definitely among the apex of soulslike games and likely the best of its style outside of FromSoftware. It's obvious the aesthetic and regain system (basically rally, with some tweaks) are Bloodborne inspired, and the combat a mix of BB and Sekiro's parrying but there is enough of an X factor to give it its own flavor and make it stand out on its own terms.
First, what I wasn't a fan of:
The weight system really brings it down, if you want to give yourself some survivability while you learn the enemies' attack patterns you'll likely be given the mid-roll which feels really enough to use against the faster-than-Bloodborne enemies. A few bosses were demanding to learn even by souls standards, it's possible that this game might be the hardest game in the genre (except outside of Elden Ring's more infamous bosses).
With that out of the way, some things I liked, in my particular order:
The game introduces a mechanical arm system that gives the combat a really nice flavor. I mostly used the Puppet String grappling hook (I want to mess around with the others in a future playthrough), it's a great gap-closer and the maxed out version has an attack with high stun capability. The parry system, known here as Perfect Guard, has a much tighter window than Sekiro does so it really demands you get better (generally speaking, it's super hard on a first playthrough to find gear to overpower everything).
Many people have lauded the weapon assembly system, where the handle of a weapon can be used to give a moveset to another weapon's blade/edge/tip. Obviously the match damage types will work better than mismatched ones, and while I didn't really mess around with it I already have a few weapons I wanna try (the greataxe's head on a dagger's handle is hilarious, and still effective). The boss weapons were more my speed, my personal favorite being the Puppet Ripper scythe (not quite as magical as BB's Burial Blade, but still had my NG+ playthrough be tons of fun).
There is a decent amount of enemy variety, ranging mostly between puppets, mechs, and humanoid abominations. Most are fun to learn, and there are enough variations between the enemy classes throughout the game that it never gets old. I do think the final chapter of the game does go a little overboard by having mobs of super tough enemies in succession, but it's not gamebreakingly annoting.
Bosses mostly delivered, after three playthroughs I feel I have a decent feel for them but definitely want to continue to get better. The gank fights are definitely my least favorite, the first version being not too bad since there's one additional add at a time, but the rematch is kind of bad and I honestly might get get the specter next playthrough. My favorite fights are chapter 8, 7, and the final boss, all of them test your parry and dodge timings in different ways (final boss especially checks your parry skills).
I was surprisingly invested in the story. The true ending got an emotional reaction out of me I didn't expect, and that ending with the extra context in NG+ really makes the story feel that much more lively. Refraining from potential spoilers, you'll likely know when you get there.
One type of collectible are records, which you can listen in the hotel, and listening to them in full boosts humanity. The track "Feel" was genuinely so beautiful it gave me pause. I tend not to be super attentive to music in most games, but this game's soundtrack had some incredible pieces.
While the game is not perfect, it certainly shows lots of potential from Neowiz. If they take the lessons from this game to heart and make more soulslikes, we could be in store for something truly special that would make From blush. I'll probably level up some more on NG++ before I wait for the DLC (if they do what FS does, it'll like an endgame area that's much harder than the main game, and I don't want to make myself TOO miserable going through it first time). Definitely a must for souls fans, even if you feel tired of the genre's style you might find just enough here to sink your teeth in.
9/10
This is a pretty stellar game, definitely among the apex of soulslike games and likely the best of its style outside of FromSoftware. It's obvious the aesthetic and regain system (basically rally, with some tweaks) are Bloodborne inspired, and the combat a mix of BB and Sekiro's parrying but there is enough of an X factor to give it its own flavor and make it stand out on its own terms.
First, what I wasn't a fan of:
The weight system really brings it down, if you want to give yourself some survivability while you learn the enemies' attack patterns you'll likely be given the mid-roll which feels really enough to use against the faster-than-Bloodborne enemies. A few bosses were demanding to learn even by souls standards, it's possible that this game might be the hardest game in the genre (except outside of Elden Ring's more infamous bosses).
With that out of the way, some things I liked, in my particular order:
The game introduces a mechanical arm system that gives the combat a really nice flavor. I mostly used the Puppet String grappling hook (I want to mess around with the others in a future playthrough), it's a great gap-closer and the maxed out version has an attack with high stun capability. The parry system, known here as Perfect Guard, has a much tighter window than Sekiro does so it really demands you get better (generally speaking, it's super hard on a first playthrough to find gear to overpower everything).
Many people have lauded the weapon assembly system, where the handle of a weapon can be used to give a moveset to another weapon's blade/edge/tip. Obviously the match damage types will work better than mismatched ones, and while I didn't really mess around with it I already have a few weapons I wanna try (the greataxe's head on a dagger's handle is hilarious, and still effective). The boss weapons were more my speed, my personal favorite being the Puppet Ripper scythe (not quite as magical as BB's Burial Blade, but still had my NG+ playthrough be tons of fun).
There is a decent amount of enemy variety, ranging mostly between puppets, mechs, and humanoid abominations. Most are fun to learn, and there are enough variations between the enemy classes throughout the game that it never gets old. I do think the final chapter of the game does go a little overboard by having mobs of super tough enemies in succession, but it's not gamebreakingly annoting.
Bosses mostly delivered, after three playthroughs I feel I have a decent feel for them but definitely want to continue to get better. The gank fights are definitely my least favorite, the first version being not too bad since there's one additional add at a time, but the rematch is kind of bad and I honestly might get get the specter next playthrough. My favorite fights are chapter 8, 7, and the final boss, all of them test your parry and dodge timings in different ways (final boss especially checks your parry skills).
I was surprisingly invested in the story. The true ending got an emotional reaction out of me I didn't expect, and that ending with the extra context in NG+ really makes the story feel that much more lively. Refraining from potential spoilers, you'll likely know when you get there.
One type of collectible are records, which you can listen in the hotel, and listening to them in full boosts humanity. The track "Feel" was genuinely so beautiful it gave me pause. I tend not to be super attentive to music in most games, but this game's soundtrack had some incredible pieces.
While the game is not perfect, it certainly shows lots of potential from Neowiz. If they take the lessons from this game to heart and make more soulslikes, we could be in store for something truly special that would make From blush. I'll probably level up some more on NG++ before I wait for the DLC (if they do what FS does, it'll like an endgame area that's much harder than the main game, and I don't want to make myself TOO miserable going through it first time). Definitely a must for souls fans, even if you feel tired of the genre's style you might find just enough here to sink your teeth in.
9/10
2012
After three attempts, I finally completed one of the most iconic games of all time.
Full disclosure, I ended up using the cheat options because I was most interested in the story above everything else. I plan on doing another run without the cheats because I did end up getting super invested in this game.
Anyone who plays games knows of this game and its legacy, even if they're not into Final Fantasy. Being the first 3D game in the series means it also was the first at many things, including minigames. I appreciate that they were common in many titles at the time for variety's sake, some aged well (the motorcycle game is fun once you adjust to the controls), a few not so much (the submarine game felt undercooked and it was over before I realized it). I think FF6 had the better turn-based combat in comparison to this one, but the materia mechanic means you have tons of options for every party member. Another factor in wanting to replay is experiment with a lot more spells to see what works for me.
The characters are obviously the most popular in the series, even as a late-comer I found myself loving the entire cast. Tifa is my favorite character here, and even knowing Aerith's fate through video game cultural osmosis left me feeling sad. Cid's another runner up (also with 16 being my first, I read all of his dialogue in Ralph Ineson's voice). Generally again, I prefer 6's cast in general, but everyone here played off each other so well.
The story has been discussed many times, including its themes of coporate greed and environmentalism. I found myself pretty hooked on the story early on, but I did NOT expect it to be as twisty and WTF-inducing at times similarly to Metal Gear Solid (I really wish I played this as a kid, it would have had a huge impact on me then). The ending especially worked for me, as I was realizing in realtime how invested I was in everyone.
For platinum trophy completion, it was pretty straightforward but I followed a guide carefully to not miss any of the limit breaks and additional characters. Emerald Weapon wasn't too bad a superboss, but Ruby Weapon took careful planning even with cheats, easily the hardest part of the game.
While being a new fan of this series means I don't have the sentimental history many do, I can still appreciate and enjoy this game for everything it does. The characters, story, gameplay, and even graphics hold up well (while the PS4 version is a port of the PC, it's easy to see how its graphics translate to the OG PlayStation and it definitely was ahead of most games at the time). While it's not a top tier FF for me, I still loved this game a great deal and can see it grow on me further. Definitely excited to tackle Crisis Core and the new Remake series.
Strong 8/10
Full disclosure, I ended up using the cheat options because I was most interested in the story above everything else. I plan on doing another run without the cheats because I did end up getting super invested in this game.
Anyone who plays games knows of this game and its legacy, even if they're not into Final Fantasy. Being the first 3D game in the series means it also was the first at many things, including minigames. I appreciate that they were common in many titles at the time for variety's sake, some aged well (the motorcycle game is fun once you adjust to the controls), a few not so much (the submarine game felt undercooked and it was over before I realized it). I think FF6 had the better turn-based combat in comparison to this one, but the materia mechanic means you have tons of options for every party member. Another factor in wanting to replay is experiment with a lot more spells to see what works for me.
The characters are obviously the most popular in the series, even as a late-comer I found myself loving the entire cast. Tifa is my favorite character here, and even knowing Aerith's fate through video game cultural osmosis left me feeling sad. Cid's another runner up (also with 16 being my first, I read all of his dialogue in Ralph Ineson's voice). Generally again, I prefer 6's cast in general, but everyone here played off each other so well.
The story has been discussed many times, including its themes of coporate greed and environmentalism. I found myself pretty hooked on the story early on, but I did NOT expect it to be as twisty and WTF-inducing at times similarly to Metal Gear Solid (I really wish I played this as a kid, it would have had a huge impact on me then). The ending especially worked for me, as I was realizing in realtime how invested I was in everyone.
For platinum trophy completion, it was pretty straightforward but I followed a guide carefully to not miss any of the limit breaks and additional characters. Emerald Weapon wasn't too bad a superboss, but Ruby Weapon took careful planning even with cheats, easily the hardest part of the game.
While being a new fan of this series means I don't have the sentimental history many do, I can still appreciate and enjoy this game for everything it does. The characters, story, gameplay, and even graphics hold up well (while the PS4 version is a port of the PC, it's easy to see how its graphics translate to the OG PlayStation and it definitely was ahead of most games at the time). While it's not a top tier FF for me, I still loved this game a great deal and can see it grow on me further. Definitely excited to tackle Crisis Core and the new Remake series.
Strong 8/10
Another Platinum for the books.
I had a lot more fun with this game than its predecessor. The new stances, especially when maxed out, makes for super fun combat and the lightsaber bosses are pretty awesome (Rayvis is the best fight). Platforming is pretty fluid this time around (also happy you start with a double jump this time around), and it expands upon the predecessor's foundation to make traversing and puzzles very engaging (I actually loved about 90% of the puzzles this time around, a huge step up from the last game which inundated the playtime with mediocre puzzles). The side content is mostly good too, the bounties and legendary creatures function as optional boss fights so they're pretty fun, albeit mostly reskins of enemies in the main story. Building up Greeze's bar adds a layer of bringing life to the world that is endearing. The gambling mini-game was a bit too RNG for my enjoyment. The extended garden also adds more charm into customizing to your preference. I'm not super into Star Wars' stories, but this had me more invested in the cast than the last game.
The post-game collectible hunting was a bit grating on me, it was fun at first but it ended up becoming super repetitive and almost had me burnt out. There is also a difficulty spike after the Vader fight (spoiler I guess, but it's Star Wars. Who doesn't expect Vader or Luke at this point?) where the game sends mobs of enemies at you that show the weakpoints in the combat (admittedly I didn't have my force abilities up much so it might improve on NG+). Personally I think the "souls" inspiration on the combat should be replaced with a proper action game system (still holding out on my dream game of PlatinumGames' The Force Unleashed 3). That said I do enjoy parrying and countering during the saber duels, at its best it's almost a baby's Sekiro.
I enjoyed this game and great deal and definitely want to do a NG+ to take on the bosses again, even if my enjoyment comes with strings attached. Despite my gripes, it's still a fun combat system and I had a good time.
8/10
I had a lot more fun with this game than its predecessor. The new stances, especially when maxed out, makes for super fun combat and the lightsaber bosses are pretty awesome (Rayvis is the best fight). Platforming is pretty fluid this time around (also happy you start with a double jump this time around), and it expands upon the predecessor's foundation to make traversing and puzzles very engaging (I actually loved about 90% of the puzzles this time around, a huge step up from the last game which inundated the playtime with mediocre puzzles). The side content is mostly good too, the bounties and legendary creatures function as optional boss fights so they're pretty fun, albeit mostly reskins of enemies in the main story. Building up Greeze's bar adds a layer of bringing life to the world that is endearing. The gambling mini-game was a bit too RNG for my enjoyment. The extended garden also adds more charm into customizing to your preference. I'm not super into Star Wars' stories, but this had me more invested in the cast than the last game.
The post-game collectible hunting was a bit grating on me, it was fun at first but it ended up becoming super repetitive and almost had me burnt out. There is also a difficulty spike after the Vader fight (spoiler I guess, but it's Star Wars. Who doesn't expect Vader or Luke at this point?) where the game sends mobs of enemies at you that show the weakpoints in the combat (admittedly I didn't have my force abilities up much so it might improve on NG+). Personally I think the "souls" inspiration on the combat should be replaced with a proper action game system (still holding out on my dream game of PlatinumGames' The Force Unleashed 3). That said I do enjoy parrying and countering during the saber duels, at its best it's almost a baby's Sekiro.
I enjoyed this game and great deal and definitely want to do a NG+ to take on the bosses again, even if my enjoyment comes with strings attached. Despite my gripes, it's still a fun combat system and I had a good time.
8/10
2022
Just got the Platinum after around 47 hours and 5 playthroughs, I guess it's time to drop my thoughts. I was originally interested in this because I'm a massive simp for Stefanie Joosten and wanted to see what she was doing after MGS, and it delivered in many ways and not so much in others.
First some negatives: I'm aware these are common criticisms and I don't want to sound like I'm just repeating what others say, but I agree with a lot of them. The pacing of levels, ESPECIALLY on a first time through, is very inconsistent. A few missions definitely could have been trimmed down, particularly during the second third of the game. While the game does take place in one castle/city within one night, there still could have been more of a variety in the visuals (hopefully this gets improved in a future sequel). The lock-on felt VERY inconsistent, much of the time it locks onto the nearest enemy, but other times it targeted random mook #2109 instead of elite enemy that I actually wanted to lock onto, and flicking between targets sometimes felt inconsistent as well. On higher difficulties, the remixed enemy setups don't feel like the DMC standard it aims for, many of the layouts lack synergy (extremely ironic since synergy attacks are a central part of combat, lol). I don't feel this is a huge downside, but enemy encounter variety could have used a few more unique types as well. The camera being an homage to DMC1's fixed camera wasn't too bad during traversal segments, outside of a handful of moments, but the camera can be rough if you're cornered by a bunch of big enemies.
As for what I liked? The combat, once you unlock everything, is EXTREMELY fun and satisfying and scratches the DMC itch. It's been compared to the DmC reboot and I feel it does things better than the reboot did, namely the color-coded enemies don't forced you into using specific weapons. The weapons flow pretty seemlessly into each other during combo branching points, there's even cool stuff you can do that isn't explicitly explained, like cancelling a full pause combo into rapture state. While enemy weaknesses to certain weapons didn't play as big a part as I expected outside of a few specific enemy types, but I didn't mind since I was having fun styling on them.
The aesthetic and art style of the game is pretty neat, it feel edgy in a throwback-to-00s-action-games way so it appealed to me. The story wasn't particularly unique, but it was interesting enough to keep me watching. Stefanie Joosten voicing both Briar and Lute deserves a special mention, since it shows her doing distinct voices for the two of them. The score was another great part of the game, it combines the standard orchestral sounds you'd hear in action games with dubstep-oriented synthesizers and drums.
The bosses are more good than bad. A few end up coming back as stronger enemies, but none of them are particularly bad. The major transcended bosses are great though. Donovan makes for a cool Vergil-esque mirror match, Jared and Jadon taking the form of a giant head is pretty creative, transcended Donovan is my favorite fight in the game (he reminds me tons of Urizen in DMC5). The final boss was kind of a bummer my first time through, then I learned a way to melt her lifebar and enjoyed it thoroughly.
I might be rating the game too much here, but I can't help that I had so much fun here. One of my personal favorite games of the last few years, and knowing that Reply Games aspires to make action games like Platinum is really endearing. Whether they follow up with Soulstice 2 or a new game altogether, I hope they take the lessons from here and work on the fixing the downsides to make something super cool. I'm aware this game won't be for everyone and the flaws might bother others a lot more than it did me, but I had a blast with this.
8/10
First some negatives: I'm aware these are common criticisms and I don't want to sound like I'm just repeating what others say, but I agree with a lot of them. The pacing of levels, ESPECIALLY on a first time through, is very inconsistent. A few missions definitely could have been trimmed down, particularly during the second third of the game. While the game does take place in one castle/city within one night, there still could have been more of a variety in the visuals (hopefully this gets improved in a future sequel). The lock-on felt VERY inconsistent, much of the time it locks onto the nearest enemy, but other times it targeted random mook #2109 instead of elite enemy that I actually wanted to lock onto, and flicking between targets sometimes felt inconsistent as well. On higher difficulties, the remixed enemy setups don't feel like the DMC standard it aims for, many of the layouts lack synergy (extremely ironic since synergy attacks are a central part of combat, lol). I don't feel this is a huge downside, but enemy encounter variety could have used a few more unique types as well. The camera being an homage to DMC1's fixed camera wasn't too bad during traversal segments, outside of a handful of moments, but the camera can be rough if you're cornered by a bunch of big enemies.
As for what I liked? The combat, once you unlock everything, is EXTREMELY fun and satisfying and scratches the DMC itch. It's been compared to the DmC reboot and I feel it does things better than the reboot did, namely the color-coded enemies don't forced you into using specific weapons. The weapons flow pretty seemlessly into each other during combo branching points, there's even cool stuff you can do that isn't explicitly explained, like cancelling a full pause combo into rapture state. While enemy weaknesses to certain weapons didn't play as big a part as I expected outside of a few specific enemy types, but I didn't mind since I was having fun styling on them.
The aesthetic and art style of the game is pretty neat, it feel edgy in a throwback-to-00s-action-games way so it appealed to me. The story wasn't particularly unique, but it was interesting enough to keep me watching. Stefanie Joosten voicing both Briar and Lute deserves a special mention, since it shows her doing distinct voices for the two of them. The score was another great part of the game, it combines the standard orchestral sounds you'd hear in action games with dubstep-oriented synthesizers and drums.
The bosses are more good than bad. A few end up coming back as stronger enemies, but none of them are particularly bad. The major transcended bosses are great though. Donovan makes for a cool Vergil-esque mirror match, Jared and Jadon taking the form of a giant head is pretty creative, transcended Donovan is my favorite fight in the game (he reminds me tons of Urizen in DMC5). The final boss was kind of a bummer my first time through, then I learned a way to melt her lifebar and enjoyed it thoroughly.
I might be rating the game too much here, but I can't help that I had so much fun here. One of my personal favorite games of the last few years, and knowing that Reply Games aspires to make action games like Platinum is really endearing. Whether they follow up with Soulstice 2 or a new game altogether, I hope they take the lessons from here and work on the fixing the downsides to make something super cool. I'm aware this game won't be for everyone and the flaws might bother others a lot more than it did me, but I had a blast with this.
8/10
Just finished my NG+ playthrough (it's surprisingly short when you know what to do), so just a few thoughts:
-Combat is MUCH better when you're maxed out, lots of fights that tore me apart my first time where lots of fun. For some reason I was able to do tons of parries on Toshi, which was funny but kinda made the fight too short. Lol.
-The samurai enemy ambushes that are added really keeps you on your toes, and when you least expect it they pop up. Fun enemy (until it ruins one of the best late game bosses when it spawns 4 for no reason. I would have prefered a new moveset).
-The flying Hunter fight still sucks.
-Taro is still my favorite fight.
I still have quite a few things to unlock, I have tons of trials to finish and lots of costumes and hats to hunt for. I'll definitely be coming back to this for the foreseeable future, it's lots of fun and grew on me so much.
Still an 8/10.
-Combat is MUCH better when you're maxed out, lots of fights that tore me apart my first time where lots of fun. For some reason I was able to do tons of parries on Toshi, which was funny but kinda made the fight too short. Lol.
-The samurai enemy ambushes that are added really keeps you on your toes, and when you least expect it they pop up. Fun enemy (until it ruins one of the best late game bosses when it spawns 4 for no reason. I would have prefered a new moveset).
-The flying Hunter fight still sucks.
-Taro is still my favorite fight.
I still have quite a few things to unlock, I have tons of trials to finish and lots of costumes and hats to hunt for. I'll definitely be coming back to this for the foreseeable future, it's lots of fun and grew on me so much.
Still an 8/10.
I think I can speak for most people playing this when I consider this to be a pleasant surprise in many ways. Lots of people have already said how it feels like a love letter to the PS2 era of action-adventure/platform collectathons, but it's true. In an era where games aim for a more cinematic and "epic" experience, it's very refreshing to return to basics and it ends up being all the more memorable for it. This is Ember Lab's first game, and they have a very promising future as a dev.
The gameplay loop is simple but very effective. You'll nagivate yourself in a semi-open area where you'll do puzzle-platforming and melee combat sections. The puzzles are pretty clever and often require creative thinking to figure out, but when you figure them out it's unbelievably satisfying. The combat takes cues from other modern action-adventure titles, with using a staff for melee and a bow for ranged, and you'll find yourself using both in tons of combat scenarios. I'm not usually a fan of using ranged in a melee-focused game, but it feels very rewarding to use both so it managed to work for me. The bosses and enemies have been compared to Dark Souls' difficulty, which I disagree with. While both games have basic similarities (both refuse to hold your hand and give you a lot of credit and respect), most of Kena's enemies are faster paced (although I'll admit the major story wolf boss reminds me of Bloodborne's Abhorrent Beast) and demand the more focused playstyle. I think the game's difficulty is actually a negative, normal difficulty gave me a harder time than most recent games (it also feels the enemies were designed for a more combat-heavy action game and Kena's moveset feels compromised). But knowledge (and a fully unlocked moveset) will give you an edge on repeat playthroughs.
The game's visual style has been compared to Pixar many times, which seems appropriate at first but if anything, the end of the game feels more in line with Studio Ghibli. But the cartoony look makes for a very stylized game, a lot of the characters and enemies look very creative. These visuals are further enhanced by the absolutely stunning soundtrack, which is very beautiful and atmospheric and easily comparable to Joe Hisaishi's Ghibli (and Kitano) catalog.
The characters and story are more on the understated side, which can lead to some to feel it's underdeveloped in that department. I personally don't mind this, as it makes for a less-is-more approach to focus on the world itself. That said, I can understand why this would be a negative to others, and it's something that could have made it even more well rounded.
As I finished the game and obtained my Platinum trophy, I was eager to finish so I can move on to other games (I've been itching to return to Elden Ring thanks to the upcoming DLC), but I ended up continuing a NG+ playthrough well into the second act and will finish this one out (also has tons of new enemies, definitely worth playing a second time). It's a super charming game that really worked for me, it has tons of heart and love put into it and it made me want more (a sequel with an improved combat system would be amazing). It scratched an itch I didn't realize I needed.
Now, if the official store can bring out some more plushes of the Rot, I'd be very happy...
8/10
The gameplay loop is simple but very effective. You'll nagivate yourself in a semi-open area where you'll do puzzle-platforming and melee combat sections. The puzzles are pretty clever and often require creative thinking to figure out, but when you figure them out it's unbelievably satisfying. The combat takes cues from other modern action-adventure titles, with using a staff for melee and a bow for ranged, and you'll find yourself using both in tons of combat scenarios. I'm not usually a fan of using ranged in a melee-focused game, but it feels very rewarding to use both so it managed to work for me. The bosses and enemies have been compared to Dark Souls' difficulty, which I disagree with. While both games have basic similarities (both refuse to hold your hand and give you a lot of credit and respect), most of Kena's enemies are faster paced (although I'll admit the major story wolf boss reminds me of Bloodborne's Abhorrent Beast) and demand the more focused playstyle. I think the game's difficulty is actually a negative, normal difficulty gave me a harder time than most recent games (it also feels the enemies were designed for a more combat-heavy action game and Kena's moveset feels compromised). But knowledge (and a fully unlocked moveset) will give you an edge on repeat playthroughs.
The game's visual style has been compared to Pixar many times, which seems appropriate at first but if anything, the end of the game feels more in line with Studio Ghibli. But the cartoony look makes for a very stylized game, a lot of the characters and enemies look very creative. These visuals are further enhanced by the absolutely stunning soundtrack, which is very beautiful and atmospheric and easily comparable to Joe Hisaishi's Ghibli (and Kitano) catalog.
The characters and story are more on the understated side, which can lead to some to feel it's underdeveloped in that department. I personally don't mind this, as it makes for a less-is-more approach to focus on the world itself. That said, I can understand why this would be a negative to others, and it's something that could have made it even more well rounded.
As I finished the game and obtained my Platinum trophy, I was eager to finish so I can move on to other games (I've been itching to return to Elden Ring thanks to the upcoming DLC), but I ended up continuing a NG+ playthrough well into the second act and will finish this one out (also has tons of new enemies, definitely worth playing a second time). It's a super charming game that really worked for me, it has tons of heart and love put into it and it made me want more (a sequel with an improved combat system would be amazing). It scratched an itch I didn't realize I needed.
Now, if the official store can bring out some more plushes of the Rot, I'd be very happy...
8/10
Lots of mixed feelings here during the actual playthrough, but it ends up working out in the end.
First things first, play this on PS5 (I hear the PC version is screwed as well), I only played this on PS4 because I started it there and my stubborn ass wanted to finish it there. You do get used to the framerate issues but it really hurts the game when the bosses and enemies as a whole are acting as they should be and it feels like you're dropping inputs or getting stuck in weighty animations. It's possible to get used to the performance, but it's a pain in the ass when you're dealing with it at first.
The gameplay is obviously the highlight here, it's Team Ninja's current ARPG formula done for the Final Fantasy universe. It's a bit more streamlined than Nioh, your level is determined by your gear and your level-up limit is determined by jobs. My personal favorite weapon classes are greatsword and "katana" (heads up: it should be called "odachi" because it's on the slower and weightier side). There is a decent amount of depth here, the soul shield defensive mechanic has a lot of perks, like being able to steal one-time magic spells from enemies and being a dedicated counter (at the cost of stamina). There is a parry mechanic as well, and a proper parry blocks an attack without costing stamina (it also has an automatic counter attack with the fist weapons, it might have other uses with weapon classes but I haven't messed too much with them). The combat loop is pretty fun, I'd say it's a bit of a halfway point between Nioh and Dark Souls.
Enemy variety is a bit of a downside, there aren't too many unique types and they'll feel overdone by the last third of the game. It reminds me of Nioh 1, but thankfully it's a much shorter game so it isn't a complete deal breaker. Bosses are incredibly challenging but a definitely a highlight (in spite of the mentioned performance issues), thankfully you can unlock side missions to fight most of them 1 on 1 so it makes learning them super fun and viable.
The story is MUCH better than expected. Everybody knows the "kill Chaos lol" meme, but it ends up being much better written than I ever expected it to be. Jack is the star of the show, having a very no-BS attitude with every side character for 90% of the game and it is wildly entertaining. His dynamic with the rest of the characters, without spoiling too much, does open up by the end. Let's just say it's a treat for fans of FF1.
I'd normally go for this game's DLC, but apparently it's locked behind super hard difficulties. It also comes with a super easy mode to make them bareable if you don't have the skill, which really begs the question why they didn't just let you play it on any difficulty. Probably going to pass on this, sadly.
This game had a pretty bad first impression on me but it ended up growing on me a lot. I think I'll keep playing this for a little bit, but it has me itching to return to Nioh 2 (it's definitely tempting since I've been playing Final Fantasy for more than a straight month). It's definitely got its flaws, but if you can look passed them you'll be in for a fun ride.
8/10
First things first, play this on PS5 (I hear the PC version is screwed as well), I only played this on PS4 because I started it there and my stubborn ass wanted to finish it there. You do get used to the framerate issues but it really hurts the game when the bosses and enemies as a whole are acting as they should be and it feels like you're dropping inputs or getting stuck in weighty animations. It's possible to get used to the performance, but it's a pain in the ass when you're dealing with it at first.
The gameplay is obviously the highlight here, it's Team Ninja's current ARPG formula done for the Final Fantasy universe. It's a bit more streamlined than Nioh, your level is determined by your gear and your level-up limit is determined by jobs. My personal favorite weapon classes are greatsword and "katana" (heads up: it should be called "odachi" because it's on the slower and weightier side). There is a decent amount of depth here, the soul shield defensive mechanic has a lot of perks, like being able to steal one-time magic spells from enemies and being a dedicated counter (at the cost of stamina). There is a parry mechanic as well, and a proper parry blocks an attack without costing stamina (it also has an automatic counter attack with the fist weapons, it might have other uses with weapon classes but I haven't messed too much with them). The combat loop is pretty fun, I'd say it's a bit of a halfway point between Nioh and Dark Souls.
Enemy variety is a bit of a downside, there aren't too many unique types and they'll feel overdone by the last third of the game. It reminds me of Nioh 1, but thankfully it's a much shorter game so it isn't a complete deal breaker. Bosses are incredibly challenging but a definitely a highlight (in spite of the mentioned performance issues), thankfully you can unlock side missions to fight most of them 1 on 1 so it makes learning them super fun and viable.
The story is MUCH better than expected. Everybody knows the "kill Chaos lol" meme, but it ends up being much better written than I ever expected it to be. Jack is the star of the show, having a very no-BS attitude with every side character for 90% of the game and it is wildly entertaining. His dynamic with the rest of the characters, without spoiling too much, does open up by the end. Let's just say it's a treat for fans of FF1.
I'd normally go for this game's DLC, but apparently it's locked behind super hard difficulties. It also comes with a super easy mode to make them bareable if you don't have the skill, which really begs the question why they didn't just let you play it on any difficulty. Probably going to pass on this, sadly.
This game had a pretty bad first impression on me but it ended up growing on me a lot. I think I'll keep playing this for a little bit, but it has me itching to return to Nioh 2 (it's definitely tempting since I've been playing Final Fantasy for more than a straight month). It's definitely got its flaws, but if you can look passed them you'll be in for a fun ride.
8/10
2022
And it's finally done.
My month of the Final Fantasy PR has come to an end with an absolute masterpiece. This is by FAR the best game in the series I've played, and [almost] everything about has earned itself a special place for me.
This has easily the best characters thus far, the more open nature of the story allows it to focus on individual backstories unlike the previous games. This made for a cast I became IMMENSELY emotionally invested in, I adored everyone in the main cast (aside from possibly Gogo and the yeti, that's more because they felt like optional side characters than anything else), especially Cyan and Shadow's backstories were particularly emotional, and Terra might be my favorite character in the series.
Kefka might be a little dated by today's standards of villain writing, but what makes him a great villain to me (maybe my favorite FF villain although Exdeath comes close) is that he does actually succeed in his goals (is that a spoiler at this point?), and he has an almost gleeful demeanor that amplifies how intimidating he came across.
The gameplay is the best possible version of the classic FF system, jobs have been replaced again with specialized characters, but you still have enough freedom to build your team any way you want thanks to the magicite system. Everyone has their special uses even if I don't personally use it (for example Gau is a great character, but I really dislike his Rage mechanic), and the wide range of them make me want to replay the game with a different team.
A few things I did not care for included the RNG-based nature of the coliseum (once I filled out trophy requirements I didn't bother with it anymore), the final dungeon had a noticeable difficulty spike (apparently level 40ish is recommended, I was over 50 and still struggled at a few points), and Setzer's infamous joker trophy was a nightmare in RNG (although I got it after changing my farming strategy really quick, maybe it's a coincidence IDK).
These are just nitpicks in the grand scheme of things, they do not detract from the monumental heights the game achieves. This is definitely a game I'll be coming back to and likely find more things to appreciate about it. It's become one of my favorite games ever, and my only regret is not playing it far sooner.
10/10
My month of the Final Fantasy PR has come to an end with an absolute masterpiece. This is by FAR the best game in the series I've played, and [almost] everything about has earned itself a special place for me.
This has easily the best characters thus far, the more open nature of the story allows it to focus on individual backstories unlike the previous games. This made for a cast I became IMMENSELY emotionally invested in, I adored everyone in the main cast (aside from possibly Gogo and the yeti, that's more because they felt like optional side characters than anything else), especially Cyan and Shadow's backstories were particularly emotional, and Terra might be my favorite character in the series.
Kefka might be a little dated by today's standards of villain writing, but what makes him a great villain to me (maybe my favorite FF villain although Exdeath comes close) is that he does actually succeed in his goals (is that a spoiler at this point?), and he has an almost gleeful demeanor that amplifies how intimidating he came across.
The gameplay is the best possible version of the classic FF system, jobs have been replaced again with specialized characters, but you still have enough freedom to build your team any way you want thanks to the magicite system. Everyone has their special uses even if I don't personally use it (for example Gau is a great character, but I really dislike his Rage mechanic), and the wide range of them make me want to replay the game with a different team.
A few things I did not care for included the RNG-based nature of the coliseum (once I filled out trophy requirements I didn't bother with it anymore), the final dungeon had a noticeable difficulty spike (apparently level 40ish is recommended, I was over 50 and still struggled at a few points), and Setzer's infamous joker trophy was a nightmare in RNG (although I got it after changing my farming strategy really quick, maybe it's a coincidence IDK).
These are just nitpicks in the grand scheme of things, they do not detract from the monumental heights the game achieves. This is definitely a game I'll be coming back to and likely find more things to appreciate about it. It's become one of my favorite games ever, and my only regret is not playing it far sooner.
10/10
2021
Easily the best of the pixel games I've played so far.
Gripes I want to get out of the way: while the gameplay is excellent, going for the Platinum meant some unfun grinding and some specific plays (to learn all the blue magic, a few spells require you to be a specific level, etc.). The superbosses can be trivialized with certain team builds, but the initial shock of getting instantly killed by them hit me like a train (I'm certain that was the intention).
That stuff aside, what did I think of the game? I adored it. My favorite cast of characters thus far, I absolutely loved the whole team (and I finally understood the "bad jokes will be PUNished" reference my old friend from high school referenced), Exdeath might be my favorite villain out of all the games I've played, he's sinister but felt actually intimidating. The story is also the best thus far, combining that with characters I felt emotionally invested in made it even better.
The job system is mostly great (aside from the superboss builds requiring some busywork), it takes time to max them out and get the perks, but it's honestly worth maxing out every job you get since it pays dividends by the endgame.
Second favorite FF so far (sorry, the action lover has it for 16).
9/10
And now it's time for what most consider to be the magnum opus of the series, 6.
Gripes I want to get out of the way: while the gameplay is excellent, going for the Platinum meant some unfun grinding and some specific plays (to learn all the blue magic, a few spells require you to be a specific level, etc.). The superbosses can be trivialized with certain team builds, but the initial shock of getting instantly killed by them hit me like a train (I'm certain that was the intention).
That stuff aside, what did I think of the game? I adored it. My favorite cast of characters thus far, I absolutely loved the whole team (and I finally understood the "bad jokes will be PUNished" reference my old friend from high school referenced), Exdeath might be my favorite villain out of all the games I've played, he's sinister but felt actually intimidating. The story is also the best thus far, combining that with characters I felt emotionally invested in made it even better.
The job system is mostly great (aside from the superboss builds requiring some busywork), it takes time to max them out and get the perks, but it's honestly worth maxing out every job you get since it pays dividends by the endgame.
Second favorite FF so far (sorry, the action lover has it for 16).
9/10
And now it's time for what most consider to be the magnum opus of the series, 6.
2021
Possibly the first truly great game in the series thus far.
I'll admit, a certain party member almost ruined the first half of the game for me, but everything else in the second half more than makes up for it. I was genuinely hooked on the story and it has the best cast if characters at this point in the series. There are LOTS of fakeout non-deaths (is that a spoiler at this point?), but I get why they happen from a gameplay perspective (it's more an excuse to swap your party members around). Has the best final boss out of the first four games, I was almost maxed out on my party members and still had to play carefully, then the ending got me surprisingly emotional (even better is the PR soundtrack). And apparently the last two of the pixel games are even better.
8/10
I'll admit, a certain party member almost ruined the first half of the game for me, but everything else in the second half more than makes up for it. I was genuinely hooked on the story and it has the best cast if characters at this point in the series. There are LOTS of fakeout non-deaths (is that a spoiler at this point?), but I get why they happen from a gameplay perspective (it's more an excuse to swap your party members around). Has the best final boss out of the first four games, I was almost maxed out on my party members and still had to play carefully, then the ending got me surprisingly emotional (even better is the PR soundtrack). And apparently the last two of the pixel games are even better.
8/10