Kenny McKee's Reviews
It’s been said that good things come in small packages, and WitchSpring3 Re:Fine is about the best JRPG equivalent of that saying that you’re going to find. Eirudy’s adventure around Derkarr is a full JRPG experience boiled down to a breezy 10 – 20 hours, depending upon how you play and what kinds of things you’d like to do. If you’re itching for adventure but don’t have much time, or just have an appreciation for cutesy, easily digestible JRPG action, WitchSpring3 Re:Fine is probably worth your while.
Abomi Nation knows exactly what it wants to be, and exactly the type of person that it wants to appeal to. And, best of all, it accomplishes everything that it sets out to do. While it might oversimplify its approach to exploration a bit too much, there’s no getting around the fact that Abomi Nation is a phenomenal Nuzlocke experience that Pokémon fans will not only love but immediately feel comfortable with once they begin playing.
Cris Tales is a lot of fun, and a really solid title overall. It’s great to see that smaller indie studios are able to pick up the slack when it comes to delivering more classically inspired RPGs, and that they even have the creativity to go above and beyond what’s expected of them. While Cris Tales might be lacking a little bit here and there, anything bad is absolutely outshined by all of the good—you’ve got nothing to lose by checking this one out.
The Silver Case 2425 may contain some of SUDA51’s oldest work, but that doesn’t stop it from feeling like a fun, fresh, and (appropriately) frightening experience for those who have yet to play it (and even those who already have!). If you haven’t delved into the world of SUDA51 and want to check this game out, just know that you’ll be getting into something wonderful and weird, and that it’s not going to be your fault if you find yourself not understanding everything at first. And if you DO know what SUDA51 is all about… well, then, enjoy!
Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed is a lot of fun, but it also leaves something to be desired given the fact that we’ve had its sequel for almost a decade at this point. If you’ve never gotten into the series and want to start, or are like me and love Undead & Undressed so much that you just want to know what came before it, then Hellbound & Debriefed is absolutely worth your time. It’s a charming title with a good amount of replayability, and gameplay that, in all likelihood, you probably won’t find anywhere else. Do be warned, however, that its age is showing at this point.
Ports can be great, but it’s important to know the distinction between “can I port this to the Switch” and “should I port this to the Switch.” In the case of Kickerhino World, the answer to the first question might be yes, but the answer to the second is most definitely a no. This game’s already been around for years, and it somehow plays worse now than it ever has before. Not by leaps and bounds, no, but worse is still worse when there’s as little gameplay going on as there is in a game like this. It may be free of ads and those all-too-pesky premium currencies, but it’s still not worth the money.
I suppose it’s fitting that Zed should be the protagonist of Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny because, much like a zombie itself, this game feels lost and incomplete. I know I’ve been harsh, but none of this has been fun for me. I wanted Disgaea 6 to be the best Disgaea yet. But it isn’t. What makes this even more ironic is that Disgaea 6, by normal SRPG standards, is fine. It’s really not bad at all. But Disgaea games have never been “normal SRPGs.” They’re Disgaea games. And, as far as that’s concerned, Disgaea 6 can’t so much as hold a candle to its predecessors. That’s not something that I can overlook so easily, especially after a six-year wait.
As strange and unprofessional as it sounds, I’m going to tell you that Song of Horror is only getting a sub-par score because the developers allowed such a dangerous bug to both exist and hang around as long as it already has. The game itself is an incredible homage to classic horror games with just the right amount of modern-day infusion to allow things to run smoothly (when they are running, that is). Bug-free, Song of Horror is scary for all of the right reasons and is absolutely worth checking out. However, in its current state, I’m not so sure that it’s scaring players in the way that it intends to. At least the PC version supposedly works just fine!
I may have already played through one of these two games before, but that didn’t stop Saviors of Sapphire Wings / Stranger of Sword City Revisited from being an absolute blast. While the punishing difficulty curve of SoSCR might be enough to put off those who don’t want to invest too much time into their dungeoneering experiences, SoSW is much more approachable and acts as a happier, easier version of its grittier counterpart. You’d best pick this two-for-one treat up if you’re even remotely a DRPG fan. You’re totally missing out, otherwise!
Necromunda: Hired Gun had the potential to be a great little romp into the delightfully dreary world of Warhammer 40k, but it missed the mark on getting there. If you really, really like Warhammer and want to scoop up every little piece of lore that you can, then there are worse things that you can buy than this. Unfortunately, unless the developers decide to dedicate some time to get things running properly, Hired Gun isn’t going anywhere good any time soon.
Edge of Eternity has not only met, but surpassed my expectations in every way imaginable. It goes beyond simply being a “love letter to the classics” and has the potential to eventually become one itself someday, given that it gets a little bit of polish here and there (which I’ve already heard that it will be receiving, at least in part). In a gaming landscape that seems to have largely given up on many of the more traditional JRPGs, it’s nice to see that there are others out there who insist on keeping it alive—and it’s encouraging to see that they have the means to see things through.
I wouldn’t immediately recommend Lost Ruins in the way that I might with other Metroidvanias, but it’s still a fun time overall. If you’re looking for a different kind of Metroidvania and don’t mind intentionally awkward controls, then give Lost Ruins a try. It’s honestly a nice feeling when you get all the way through it.
If everything that I’ve said about Root Film so far hasn’t convinced you of its greatness as a visual novel, then I’m not sure what will. If you’re even slightly interested in visual novels or are just a fan of good mysteries in general, your life will only be better for picking up Root Film.
I know that I said it at the beginning of the review, but I’ll say it again: Death end re;Quest is one of the best games that Compile Heart has ever made. While it may not manage to avoid all of the tropes that you’d expect to see from a CH game, it’s obvious that a lot of effort has been put into this game, and it absolutely shows. It’s a weird combination of sci-fi, horror, comedy, visual novel, and JRPG elements that were all put together in just the right way to allow them to work together in a near-perfect way.
Kaiju Big Battel Fighto Fantasy sure is something. While pre-existing Kaiju Big Battel fans will most likely have no issue picking this gem up, it’s such a high-quality game that I genuinely recommend it to anyone who considers themselves an RPG fan. Sure, it might rub you the wrong way if you’re particular about games being “serious” and whatnot, but everyone else who isn’t a stick-in-the-mud will probably end up loving it as much as I did—which is, to say, a lot.
Poison Control could have been better. The controls weren’t polished enough, and the levels—despite boasting some amazing aesthetics—were fairly same-y. But that doesn’t mean that Poison Control is a bad game. In fact, I really liked it—and I think that a lot of pre-existing NIS fans will, too. If you’re looking for games based on mechanical execution alone, Poison Control might not be your thing. If you want something with a lot of heart, however, and don’t mind the imperfections, then I would absolutely suggest diving headfirst into this little slice of Hell.
The Atelier Mysterious Trilogy is a piece of Atelier history marked by plenty of ups and downs, but that’s probably what made diving into the Atelier Mysterious Trilogy Deluxe Pack all the sweeter. I genuinely enjoyed all of the content that it had to offer—both new and old—and I’m sure that most other fans will, too. Plus, it’s pretty hard to beat the fact that you’re getting bonus content within each of the games at a reduced price!
Clea 2 is exactly what it needs to be—a short and engaging horror game with a unique mechanic that makes things just as fun as they’ve ever been. If you liked Clea, then you’ll most definitely like what Clea 2 has to offer. And, while the story might not make as much sense, the game’s good enough to stand on its own two feet if this is where you decide to jump into things. Either way, though, if you’re as much of a horror junkie as I am, you owe it to yourself to check Clea 2 out.
While I don’t ever really discuss why I score something the way I do in a review, I’ll admit that I struggled a bit with this one. I mean, this game is basically Qix, right? And Qix was good, so doesn’t that mean that this game is also good? In short, no; it doesn’t. While I understand what Bishoujo Battle Cyber Panic! was trying to do, it ultimately fails to provide anything novel to the table and doesn’t go anywhere near being as zany as Gals Panic did. If you have a few bucks and like both Qix and anime girls with no sense of artistic consistency, then go for it. Otherwise, I’d just go play one of the original games.
Sometimes it’s hard to determine what the best game in a series is. This time, it’s not. Regardless of what charms the Monster Hunter games of the past might have to offer, they’re no match for Rise‘s huge jump in overall quality and polish. I’m sure that Capcom will make a new Monster Hunter game someday and, when they do, maybe it will dethrone this one. But, until that time comes, Rise will be sitting at the top—and I’m very happy that it’s there.