Miguel Moran's Reviews
Kandagawa Jet Girls follows the unfortunate pattern that many of HONEY∞PARADE GAMES latest titles have fallen victim to. There's style and charm galore, with sharp character visuals, fun music, and a charming anime-as-hell story mode. The actual gameplay, though, is rough at every possible edge, presenting a half-baked version of a truly interesting idea that simply wasn't executed on well. There's a lot to love with this game, but unfortunately, there's plenty to dislike as well.
Spiritfarer has a soft, caring, bittersweet tone that I've rarely encountered in video games. For a game all about death and dying, I only ever felt calm and relaxed when playing it. The management gameplay is varied and engaging, and even though the scope if it leads to the game getting a bit too long in the tooth, it helps connect the incredibly emotional story beats together so well. Mix that up with its beautiful art style and enchanting music, and you've got one of the most emotional management games I've ever played.
Death End re;Quest 2 is the horror RPG I never knew I wanted. Its mysterious and grim story is reminiscent of some of the all-time great Japanese visual novel and indie adventure experiences, but the fact that it's tied up into an addictive and enjoyable RPG package is the icing on the cake. The fun begins to get soured a bit by the sudden difficulty spikes throughout the game, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this terrifying and jaw-dropping story from beginning to end.
It's clear that the developers of Banner of the Maid have a lot of love for the historical French period they've adapted in this game. Unfortunately, the gorgeous character art and intricate story is hampered by a rough localization and awkward gameplay systems. The intriguing characters are hard to follow thanks to awkwardly translated dialogue, while the upgrade and faction mechanics of the game only serve to bloat the experience. Banner of the Maid has plenty of solid ideas, but only a few of them truly shine through.
Fight Crab is weird, wild, and fun as hell. It's a game purely focused on delivering charming and silly moments, and that chaotic, no-rules atmosphere leads to hours of hilarious crustacean combat. The game could have easily been an unpredictable, button-mashing physics mess, but the fact that there are legitimate layers of executable strategy to the combat makes it a thrilling challenge to boot. Even if you don't like crabs, Fight Crab will easily convert you into a claw-believer.
The Fairy Tail franchise and the JRPG genre are a perfect match, and this game perfectly captures the silly yet surprisingly intense charm of the original series. It's a shame that the game often puts so little effort into adapting major story scenes, but that sacrifice is outweighed by the abundance of fun little character interactions and vignettes that are sprinkled throughout the game. Fairy Tail lets you live in the world of Natsu and co. like no other anime game has done before, and any fan of the series is sure to crack a smile at this dedicated RPG experience.
Jump King is an excellent experience in soul-crushing difficulty and nightmarishly precise platforming. It's the type of game that won't be for many people, but for the small percent that craves this kind of experience, they won't be disappointed. The somewhat imprecise nature of your jumping often frustrated me and diluted the pure player skill needed to clear the game, but it still ends up being a solid test of your patience and platforming skills.
Megadimension Neptunia VII is a delightful and silly JRPG romp that is sure to keep you entertained. The wide cast of characters bounce off of each other perfectly, and even if you're a newcomer to the franchise you're sure to get invested in Neptune and her laid-back, lazy gamer attitude. It's just as fun to stroll through dungeons and dive into the layered combat of the game, as long as you remember to disable the framerate-killing visual effects in this Nintendo Switch port.
Necrobarista is a game-changer for the visual novel genre, using slick cinematic visuals to tell its story. This is a sophisticated story full of delightful, three-dimensional characters that is perfectly complements by the groundbreaking presentation of the experience.
Panzer Paladin is the kind of game I dreamed of as a kid. A flashy and colourful platformer with nearly a hundred weapons, over a dozen levels, cool anime art, and even the ability to draw my own weapons? It's a tall order, yet Panzer Paladin manages to deliver. Its sharp combat and even sharper visuals kept me glued to my screen for hours, but there were times where I struggled to engage with the best parts of the weapon system. Managing durability and an overflowing arsenal ended up being far more of a challenge than any of the platforming or enemies within the game.
Death Stranding takes on a whole new meaning in 2020, and it's a story well worth revisiting or experiencing for the first time on PC. The pacing of the game can certainly drag to a screeching halt through the middle, but with boosted frame rate and crisper visuals, you'll likely be too mesmerised by the hauntingly gorgeous world of Hideo Kojima's latest masterpiece to even care about the uneven story beats.
All in all, this is a high-quality collection of games, but the experience is brought down by some missing content and a high price tag.
All in all, like with the companion Arcade collection, this is a high-quality collection of games, but the experience is brought down by some missing content and a high price tag.
Ys: Memories of Celceta does it's best to put the spotlight on the series narrative, but the adventures of amnesiac Adol barely hold a candle to the fast and frenetic combat of the game. What seems like a mindless hack-and-slash on the surface quickly becomes a palm-drenching test of patience through its punishing and satisfying boss battles. Even if you come to Ys: Memories of Celceta looking for a trip through the lore of the franchise, you'll likely end up staying for that classic, addictive Ys combat.
With fluid gameplay, gorgeous visuals, and an incredibly inventive story mode, there's a lot to love in this unique fighting game.
Ultimately, Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition takes a Wii RPG that was years ahead of its time and gives it new life and the visuals it deserved a decade ago. This is a must-play JRPG full of iconic characters, immersive environments, and addictive combat. There may be some minor technical and visual issues with this re-release, but they're outweighed by the brilliance of the new content and the inarguable timelessness of Xenoblade Chronicles.
Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen is yet another port of Utawarerumono for Japanese fans, but it's the first time in nearly 20 years that the first chapter of this iconic hybrid visual novel trilogy is playable in English. A unique world and unforgettable characters are at the heart of this game, but they're complemented by gorgeous artwork, addictive battles, and incredible music. It drags in the middle act, but once that final act ends and the credits roll, you'll barely remember the rough edges of this otherwise fantastic experience.
Touhou Mechanical Scrollery is a mess of a game. It's obvious that there's high ambition and plenty of love for the source material, but the final product is riddled with poor controls, rough visuals, and forgettable combat mechanics that make it an absolute chore to get through.
Relic Hunters Zero: Remix takes the standard roguelike experience and shifts it into overdrive, delivering a faster and more consistently rewarding experience. I always felt like I was making progress and never felt like a run was wasted. Some technical issues and a lack of environment variety keep the game from sticking the landing, though. With more environment variety and remappable controls, Relic Hunters Zero: Remix could easily go from good to great.
Sakura Wars may be a crisp, fully 3D modern release, but every inch of the story, characters, and sound feels like it's straight out of the 90s. This soft-reboot may not revolutionise gaming as the original game did, but it still manages to deliver an expertly crafted love letter to those old-school stories and characters that will put a smile on anyone's face. The combat scenes may lack the same depth and intrigue as the story beats of the game, but they're a minor part of an otherwise unforgettable anime adventure.