Tales of Symphonia is an all-time classic JRPG and arguably the best Tales Of game ever made. Ironically, Tales of Symphonia Remastered is easily one of the most disappointing remasters of all time. There are no significant improvements visually, audibly, or gameplay-wise that warrant buying this version. In fact, it’s worse than its original release in terms of framerate and stability. For a company that just put out one of the best remasters of the 2020s thus far with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R, it’s shocking that Bandai dropped the ball this hard. If this is what Tales Of fans have to look forward to in the future, it may be best to stop asking for remasters of other entries altogether.
Games based on anime are notorious for two things: being arena fighter Musou games and retreading the source material. So when Bandai Namco announced that the new One Piece game would be a full-fledged JRPG with an original story written by Eiichiro Oda himself, it sparked interest throughout the entire fandom. Thankfully, developer ILCA has largely managed to deliver an engaging adventure for fans and JRPG enthusiasts alike. Despite some rough edges, One Piece Odyssey stands out as one of the best games based on an anime in recent memory.
In an era of unwieldy UI and endless icons to manage, minimalist design sensibilities shine through in titles like Melatonin. Its dream-like aesthetic is pulled off perfectly from start to finish, and though the runtime is on the shorter side, the level of polish Half Asleep has managed to implement here is astounding.
The original JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle dropped on the PlayStation 3 in 2013 at the tail end of CyberConnect2’s golden era. Released just a few months after Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, All-Star Battle benefited from the wealth of arena fighting game experience CC2 had accumulated throughout the 2000s. Now almost a decade later, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R retains all of its old-school charm and heaps of content while looking better than ever before.
While K-pop groups like Blackpink and BTS are credited with popularizing idols in the West, the concept of idols and idol culture originated in Japan and continues to thrive there. Idol Manager is all about creating the next big group to top the charts and sell out arenas while navigating the cutthroat Japanese idol scene. It’s a harsh but unrelenting look at all the behind-the-scenes work that it takes to make it to the world stage, and it’s an absolutely addicting (if not soul-crushing) experience.
The Kunio-Kun series (known as River City in the West) has been through every incarnation imaginable. From its humble beginnings on the NES chronicling the adventures of delinquent high school boys to the excellent River City Girls that gave Kyoko and Misako a chance to shine last generation, the River City series has been faithfully serving beat ‘em up fans for years. Now, that same series is tackling the famous Romance of the Three Kingdoms story and making it its own. What results is a cheesy but heartfelt beat ‘em up that stumbles just a bit in its execution.
When Nexon first announced that they would be collaborating with Arc System Works to develop a fighting game based on Dungeon Fighter Online, the response was a bit muted. Arc System Works is arguably the best fighting game studio in the industry right now, but working with an IP that has such a niche audience–no matter how huge that IP may be–didn’t set the fighting game community on fire. Fast forward a year and a half later, though, and there’s no doubt that DNF Duel earns its place as one of the more accessible and polished releases the studio has had thus far.
From its beautiful art direction to its addicting loot system that respects its players’ time, Young Souls is yet another triumph for the beat ’em up genre.
The King of Fighters XV is a love letter to fans of the series in just about every way.
With New Pokémon Snap, Bandai Namco has not only made the best-looking Pokémon game in years, but also one of the most delightful.
Despite its age, Ys Origin proves that a captivating story and intuitive dungeon design still hold up against the gaming titans of 2020.
Just Shapes & Beats isn't bursting with content, but the execution, level of polish and number of options here makes it well worth picking up.
Wandersong is a charming-as-heck musical adventure that manages to live up to both parts of its name.
Little Dragons Cafe delivers on a soothing and charming experience for fans of slow games, but manages to be too slow to be worth playing for very long.
Iconoclasts is a game that you can't help but smile while playing. The meticulous attention to detail in every facet of the game save its storytelling (which is good, just not great) is remarkable. Failure to capitalize on the Switch's HD Rumble is a bit disappointing, but it's a minor blemish on an otherwise excellent experience.
SpiritSphere DX is a good game. Its colorful cast of characters and catchy, earworm soundtrack are all-around inviting and pleasant. The core gameplay (and, for my money, the addicting Squash Mode) is fun alone or with a friend. However, the general lack of single player content and a few disappointing design decisions keep it from being a must-have.
Sushi Striker wears its 3DS roots on its sleeve, but the core gameplay is addicting and the production values (minus the overworld) are top notch. Though it might appear like a high-end mobile game, this is the full-fledged real deal. If you don't mind dealing with a few pacing issues, this is easy to recommend to anyone who enjoys deep puzzle games.
The Banner Saga is a marvel as a personalized adventure game. The experience of leading a caravan and constantly making impactful choices that directly decide their fates is one that I'll never forget (and one that I look forward to continuing in Banner Saga 2). However, though its SRPG elements are generally good fun, they're not quite as polished (or balanced) as the rest of the package.
Death Road to Canada is an addictive and fresh take on the undeniably stale zombie genre. The game's sharp writing and ridiculous events filled with personality inspire multiple runs just out of want to experiment with the different outcomes. Though the game fails to utilize a couple key features of the Switch that would've truly enhanced the player experience, it's still great fun to be had here.
Liar-soft has succeeded in crafting a cozy VN with a lovable cast of characters and heartwarming story that's well worth experiencing.