Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake brings the first of the Erdrick trilogy to a modern audience, and it manages to do so with beautiful graphics and various nice quality-of-life improvements that make the ageless RPG yet again a must-play for newbies or even veterans to the Dragon Quest franchise.
Monospaced Lovers is a game with potential, but has some pain points, such as solutions to puzzles being rather obtuse, and some confusing game design decisions that may or may not worsen the experience, depending on the targeted audience.
The Foxy's Way Home is a game that definitely does what it says on the box, but only that. It's more of a bite-sized game that you can punch through in less than an hour, and offers surprisingly little for its high sticker price of $15,99. If you're into the market for a simple game that doesn't take much time to clear, perhaps it's better to just...look for something else.
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection bundles together two wonderful experiences following Miles Edgeworth. While the first game was available in the West, this is the first time that Prosecutor's Gambit has been localized. The new additions are welcomed, offering a pleasant visual upgrade and a solid gallery mode to experience the music, visuals, and more. Overall, Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is an easy recommendation for any fan of detective games or visual novels.
While Detective Pikachu Returns is undeniably enjoyable, its only standout feature is its somewhat decent storyline, which ties up loose ends from the original 3DS game and provides moments of laughter as Tim and Pikachu interact with each other. However, it suffers from several issues, such as somewhat dated graphics for this day and age, a short playtime, and very easy difficulty. Nevertheless, it’s a game I’d recommend during a potential sale, allowing you to comfortably unwind in bed while enjoying Pikachu and Tim’s misadventures in Ryme City.
Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos seems to be a step in the right direction for Natsume. The open-world approach distinguishes it as a game you can immerse yourself in, provided you can endure the lackluster prologue and the challenging early game. It stands well on its own, though I would caution against playing the Nintendo Switch version due to its poor optimization, which hampers the overall gaming experience.
Rune Factory 3 Special is a great way for both new and old fans of the series to experience this DS classic. Still, I wished it had gone a bit further with the remastered effort, as many of its systems haven’t aged well. The added features here don’t make up for the lack of quality-of-life improvements that would’ve done the title a big favor. It’s not unplayable by any means, but this remaster isn’t as “Special” as it claims.
Norn9: Last Era is a fandisk that nicely expands on the narrative. Still, if you did not enjoy Norn9: Var Commons, then you’ll find it very hard to enjoy Last Era, and it becomes clear that the targeted audience for this title is clearly those who have already consumed Norn9 in some form of medium, be it the previous game or the anime. Some of the systems in the Western release also share the same issues, such as the awkward text lines, which diminish the experience a bit. Furthermore, half of the content that’s available just isn’t up to snuff when compared to other fandisk releases from Idea Factory.