The trip down memory lane that Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls provided has been a delight.
If you're one of those that is new to Atelier (and thanks to Ryza I know that there are a lot of you out there), then here's your chance to catch up on three of the most distinctive and interesting JRPGs of the PlayStation 3 era.
It's just unfortunate that the racing genre is such a competitive one and, even on the Nintendo Switch, there is everything from Mario Kart, to rally racers, bike racers, and a half dozen existing top-down speedsters. It's just not enough to provide such a stock-standard racing game, however good the intentions.
It's a character-driven, visual novel-heavy match-3 puzzler where terrible localisation has ruined the characters, the narrative is incomprehensible, and the match-3 action is so stock-standard it doesn't deserve to be celebrated, even if it does work.
Nurse Love Addition is subversive, intelligent, and quite beautiful.
Unfortunately Gunma's Ambition's joke only sustains it through the one play-through.
Future iterations or sequels fro Drawngeon could well see it become a series worth paying attention to. The strong hit of nostalgia, as well as the unique visual style, give the game a foundation much stronger than many of its genre peers. The execution is deeply lacking, though.
Princess Maker 3 is both funny and charming, and the core gameplay loop, limited as it is, is compelling if only because there are so many different endings to aim for that the game both encourages and rewards people that experiment with it.
This latest one is the most accessible and easy to follow yet, but it is still a spreadsheet simulator, and it services a very niche audience.
Between The Rebel Collection and the Assassin's Creed 3 + Liberation packs, the Nintendo Switch has the pinnacle of the series available for it now, as far as I'm concerned. Having these games available for on-the-go play makes the mild concessions made more than a fair tradeoff, and it speaks to the quality of Rogue in particular that I was more than happy to play it through yet again. It's a rare game indeed that ropes me in for a third replay.
Darksiders Genesis gets a lot right. It has plenty of personality and a dynamic, engaging action system. Its only real problem is that it has tackled a thematic challenge that it can't deliver - hell should not be dull, empty or repetitive, and yet this game fails on all fronts there.
The band of people interested in Princess Maker Go!Go! Princess would have to be very narrow, but it does provide a sound board game experience, backed up with some lovely art and a charming theme.
I can't think of a single thing that truly disappointed me about Transport Fever 2.
FuRyu continues to establish itself as a publisher with a knack for finding the most interesting and creative games.
This is a VR experience I can lose myself within for hours at a time, and will no doubt keep coming back to for many, many years to come. Keep it up, Degica!
The presentation is pedestrian, and the gameplay basic. It's genuinely difficult to imagine who would get much value out of this package.
Square Enix has been on a bender with its classic library in the later half of this year. The Mana collection came a few months ago, and there have been two SaGa titles re-released in just the last month as well. Star Ocean has always been the forgotten brother of the Square Enix catalogue, but it deserves better, and now that you're able to play four of the five in the series on your PlayStation 4, there really is no excuse if you haven't dipped into them already
It works, and if you're going to buy it, then you're going to get exactly what you're buying.
Good intent doesn't cover for a game this poor though. I would love to see the developers learn from this one and come back with something more, because there is a lot to admire about Decay of Logos. Enough so that I don't think I've ever felt quite as deflated having to give a game a score like this.
Lost Ember has its heart and soul in the right place, and every time I discovered a new area I was left amazed with the gorgeous vistas and intense beauty of it all.